Tetris. This was one game that I’ve played since I was a kid; back then, Tetris was available on knock-off handheld “Brick Game” devices. One of the newer versions of the game that had me occupied on the Nintendo Switch was Tetris 99. That game is still the gold-standard for Tetris battle royale, and just last week it played host to a Metroid Dread event.
Scrolling through the Game Pass library several days ago, I noticed that Tetris Effect: Connected was available so I had it downloaded the following evening. Settling down with the game yesterday evening made for a really surreal experience.
But before we get into that, the term “Tetris effect” comes with its own Wikipedia entry which states it to be condition where people devote so much time and attention to an activity that it begins to pattern their thoughts, mental images and dreams. For example, people who have played Tetris for a prolonged amount of time can find themselves thinking about ways different shapes in the real world can fit together, such as the boxes on a supermarket shelf or the buildings on a street.
Back to the game. The closest analogue to Tetris Effect that I can think of would be Lumines. Both games are a combination of music and Tetris-style gameplay with visuals dialled up to 11. In the case of Tetris Effect, an epilepsy warning sign looms when you start the game for the first time and I should have paid heed to that.
No, I didn’t get a fit from playing the game, but I was feeling nauseous with all the visual effects going on. Execution-wise, the single player had levels lined up through a path, reminiscent of Luxor Evolved. Each level has its own theme, visual style and music and some are misses rather than hits (cue the nausea).
I wouldn’t have bought the game outright (remember, I’ve already got Tetris 99), but an opportunity to check it out as part of Game Pass isn’t something that I want to miss. If you are looking for something different other than vanilla Tetris (nothing wrong with that), and have high tolerance for trippy visuals, Tetris Effect: Connected has your back.
We rate the game at a 3.5 over 5.
