That heading makes it sound like I enjoyed it. Spoiler: I did not.
Like most kids who grew up in the 90s, Tetris has long been one of my favourite games. I first played it on the Game Boy, then religiously on my Mega Drive (before you get excited, it’s a knock-off multicart). Its simple, tile-placing format makes it the perfect game for mindless achievement – since my childhood I’ve whiled away countless hours trying to beat the current world record holder (only 813,133 points off).
So when I heard about Monstars Inc/Resonair’s Tetris Effect I was cautiously excited. Cautiously, because whenever there’s a reboot or remake of anything my standard response is disappointment. The art of revamping a treasured classic while retaining what made it so great is nigh on impossible.
It’s no surprise, then, that I’m not a fan. As I suspected, the snazzy effects are all too much. I didn’t really feel nostalgic in the warmest sense – it was more like back in the 90s someone had come along and set my TV on fire in the middle of my game (‘warm’ in the wrong sense).
Sure, the visuals and music are impressive, and there are some clever subtleties – such as the music matching your movements, which is reminiscent of other rhythmic games I’ve enjoyed (She Wants Me Dead). But the pumping, club-scene overlay is far too overwhelming and detracts so much from the game (especially on higher levels). The concept is supposedly inspired by the so-called Tetris effect (or Tetris syndrome), which I find a bit ironic given that ultimately you can’t see the blocks well enough to hallucinate them later. The ‘effects’ are more like side effects from a migraine.
I can hear people saying ‘that’s the point – it makes it a harder game!’ And I guess that’s key – the aim of Tetris Effect is quite different from classic Tetris. It’s not just about clearing lines and maintaining technique in faster-paced levels; it’s doing those things through a filter of increasingly trippy neon animations. Some of them are pretty, but it’s almost a bit cheap – I would prefer to see variations in the actual puzzle mechanics.
EuroGamer named Tetris Effect their 2018 Game of the Year, stating ‘It makes for the perfect drug’. Perhaps, then, I’m missing the point – it’s not about nostalgia, more about transporting the player to an ‘altered state’. While that works with games like Rez (also produced by Mizuguchi), I don’t think it blends well with what people recognise from the original game. That’s overcomplicating the classic premise of Tetris.
Sure enough, Eurogamer goes on to say ‘I don’t think gaming gets any purer than this’ – and this is my issue. It’s not ‘pure’ Tetris at all – it’s quite the opposite. Tetris was successful because it used a very basic concept of slotting tiles together against the clock – it didn’t need over-styling. Why overcomplicate a game that thrived on its simplicity?
I accept, begrudingly, that this opinion is probably what you’d expect from a stubborn, traditionalist gamer like me. It ain’t like it used to be, yada yada, suck on a Werther’s, grandma. I know. While I’m not a fan of remakes it’s good to see developers playing with dated concepts and refreshing old game mechanics, and I bet a lot of ‘modern’ gamers would enjoy this one.
And sure, my beloved Mega Drive Tetris had dinosaurs and stone henge among its backgrounds, which could be considered distractions in themselves, though they were static and didn’t make me swirly-eyed. It also didn’t cost the equivalent of £30.
I have only played the demo, so I can’t speak for the whole game. I’ve also heard good things about the VR version, if you like that kind of immersion (it won ‘Best VR/AR game’ at the 2018 Game Critics Awards).
From what I’ve seen so far, Tetris Effect has mostly met with positive reviews, particularly with critics – but I’ve seen mixed opinions from gamers themselves.
Have you played Tetris Effect? What did you think?
Musings of a nitpicking girl 
Classic Tetris, for me that means NES (both Nintendo and Tengen) and GameBoy, is one of my favorite gaming exeriences of all time. It is top tier for me and I’d be hard pressed to choose a better game to take with me wherever I go.
I have played Tetris Effect, about 50 hours of it at this point actually, and I named it my game of the year. For me, Tetris Effect did for Tetris the exact same thing that Pac-Man Championship Edition did for Pac-Man, revitalizing the core game for today. I will admit, I did not have any issues with the backgrounds bothering me or being too busy. My wife, while watching me, was wondering how I was keeping my focus because her eyes were being drawn everywhere. While playing I was able to draw my focus in very narrowly to pretty much just the drop zone.
Something I really enjoyed about the game besides the music and visual style to everything was the variable speeds each board brought. Levels were designed around the music and the music designed around the player interaction. I love hitting a certain line marker in a level and the music shifts to a faster (or slower) pace and along with it so does the drop speed. This actually made me a better Tetris player as it forced myself to work at higher speeds than I generally get to and I’m now scoring higher on classic Tetris.
It’s a shame it didn’t work for you because I really feel the team behind it was trying as much to make a good Tetris game for the likes of you and me, as well as for more newer gamers not as versed in Tetris.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it – and I suspect I might be in the minority! I just found it all a bit sensory overload. It’s interesting that you found the quickening music/drop speed spurred you along – that sort of thing has always made me panic more and play worse, to the point that I end up hitting mute.
It’s a shame as I really thought I’d enjoy it.
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