It’s time to dive into the world of Tetris. I’ve played Tetris 99 a lot before and I want to say that I’ve played the original Tetris at some point before but this is the first time I get to formally dive into the world of the original one. It’s a fun game and I can see how it got really big over the years. Mainly I’d just say the problem is that I’m so used to the fast paced adventures of Tetris 99 and having to dodge a bunch of obstacles and play around the enemies’ movements. So going back to solo play just doesn’t go as hard as it would have otherwise.

The goal of the game is to continue filling each row with the shapes as quickly as possible. If you can pull this off then you will be in a good spot and ready to claim victory. However, if you don’t properly fill the rows then the blocks will reach to the ceiling and you will lose. So you really need to be careful where you put the shapes because if you put them in the wrong way then you will create a blind spot which will really come back to bite you. It’s the kind of game that you definitely improve on as you get used to the shapes and which ones connect perfectly with others.

Online you see people landing really crazy high scores after they have gotten used to the game and that makes sense. It is a game that absolutely encourages replaying and it’s a very calm experience so that also makes things a bit easier.

In terms of the graphics, the game looks good. It’s aged well and this one used a simple artstyle so it’s not like it needs a lot of power to run. There’s not much chance for the game to really show off either because there aren’t any real backgrounds or special effects. This is again where Tetris 99 really stepped up to the plate because that game really went all out with the bonus features. I’m not saying that they’re necessary or anything like that but they definitely do help to balance things out.

There isn’t much of a soundtrack here either. I would like for them to have added some more. Imagine if you were hearing Mario music or something as you played through the game. These are subtle elements that would just help boost the game to the next level if you ask me. They aren’t necessary for the game by any means but it still would have been cool. At the end of the day the game is just super basic and there’s nothing wrong with that but it does mean that there isn’t much to say about this one.

With Tetris, what you see is what you get. You either really enjoy the gameplay or you don’t. I do enjoy the gameplay but at the same time I don’t love it enough to keep playing and try to test my skills or anything like that. I’ll play it for a little bit but it doesn’t even work as a multiplayer title where you alternate because it would take too long between turns. Maybe if you put it on high speed mode then that would change things up. I do appreciate that you can alter the speed of the game to make things more difficult and really test if you know what you’re doing.

Overall, Tetris is a good game. It’s not really my thing for long periods of time though. It just won’t capture my attention the way that it would for long time fans. That said, I would still recommend checking it out. It’s a part of video game history and it is made in a very well crafted way. You won’t be seeing any bugs or glitches while playing this game. Yes there is RNG in terms of what shapes appear but for the most part if you win or lose, you can really only blame yourself. I remember a kid was on the news for actually beating the entire game so it is possible, but incredibly difficult. Over 99.9% of people on the planet will never be able to complete the game and that’s fine. Just playing it is still a good experience.

Overall 6/10