Tetris Effect in the test

Driving bass, plenty of effects and VR support: "Tetris Effect" catapults the Game Boy classic into the HD age and turns it into an absolute surprise hit.

Do you remember the first time you played "Tetris"? For many, it was certainly a special experience associated with Nintendo's Game Boy. The puzzler programmed by Russian developer Alexei Paschitnow is one of the most successful video games of all time, with well over 100 million copies sold.

Over the years, there have been repeated reinterpretations of the original game mechanics, but none of these remakes have been able to match the success of the original. "Tetris Effect" could close this gap. The revival, created under the direction of "Rez" and "Lumines" inventor Tetsuya Mizuguchi, mixes the tried-and-tested game mechanics with spherical sounds, pulsating effects and thumping beats.

Everything remains different

For long stretches, "Tetris Effect" stoically sticks to the gameplay of the original. This means that you have to arrange falling stones - known as tetrominoes - in lines on the 2D playing field. As soon as you complete a line, it disappears and earns you points. The high score is of course for rows of four - the Tetris.

The controls based on the digital cross are pleasantly simple and direct. You can also zoom the camera in or out using a key combination. In the main game mode "Journey" you will also find the zones. This focus view allows you to pause the game and place your bricks in peace for a certain amount of time. Although the rows you complete in this way do not count towards your level progress, they are still a good way to get some breathing space.

Otherwise, however, "Tetris Effect" is exactly what the name suggests: A "Tetris" with lots of effects.

A journey through space and time

The Journey takes you through 30 levels with changing locations. The style of play ultimately sets the tone for the entire programme. "Lumines" creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi shows here what already set his earlier titles apart from the puzzle competition: "Tetris Effect" skilfully combines puzzle gameplay, music and graphic aesthetics.

In plain language, this means that the programme creates completely new worlds around the playing field in the centre. In one of the first levels, whales suddenly form from particles and swim with you. In later sections, camels ride with you through the desert or "Tetris Effect" whisks you away to the moon or a rainy forest. Great images keep appearing around you, which, in combination with the unique music, create an occasionally almost meditative atmosphere. This is because you compose your own soundtrack with your actions: "Tetris Effect" reacts dynamically to your actions and repeatedly intersperses quiet sound effects with certain moves. In one level, for example, you become the musician of a jazz band and contribute irregular piano sounds by turning the bricks.

In "Journey" mode, the game divides the individual sections into 36 lines each. Within the scenarios, "Tetris Effect" keeps surprisingly changing the speed or puts you to the test with other nasty tricks. When the speed of the falling tiles suddenly increases from a leisurely six to a blazingly fast nine and you only have to complete a handful of rows, your pulse quickly rises to unimagined regions for "Tetris". The game is definitely not too easy!

Zombie blocks or what?

The second major pillar of the new "Tetris" is very similar: the Effect mode. This offers 15 different scenarios and game types as well as events, which are added via an online connection and made accessible to the entire community. The effect modes are split into the categories classic, adventurous, relaxation and focus.

For example, you can try your hand at the marathon and clear 150 rows at a steadily increasing pace. Or you can try to score the most points within three minutes in the sprint. Things get really wild in options such as "Purge" or "Puzzle". In "Purge", for example, you have to eliminate infected blocks before they spread further and further. If you don't succeed, the tower will continue to grow at regular intervals - until you die. The effect modes add a lot of variety to the game and keep "Tetris" fresh in the long term.

Even better with VR

But that's not the end of the story: You can enjoy "Tetris Effect" on a normal screen - ideally with the surround sound system turned up loud - or optionally with the help of Playstation VR. And even if the image on Sony's VR glasses is of course nowhere near as razor-sharp as on your 4K TV at home, you are still right in the middle of the action instead of just being there. In VR mode, the particle effects literally fly around your ears and the graphic details appear much more vivid. This brings the countless effects to life even more.

Disadvantage: The fireworks often overlay the game board and distract you from the actual action. At times, we didn't know what the next stone was going to be or where we actually were. There is no option to switch off the effects, which makes the advanced sections in particular very difficult. Nevertheless: "Tetris Effect" really comes into its own with Playstation VR and loses none of its strategic depth.