First Impression: Tetris Effect: Connected

By Chris Picone, 24 August 2021

My initial thoughts were along the lines of, Tetris remake – okay, so Tetris with modern graphics and maybe a few quality-of-life updates. Crikey, I was miles off! Tetris Effects: Connected is so much more than that.

First, “modern” Tetris plays the same as the original, except it’s a little friendlier with the addition of an end-state silhouette, a longer “next” queue, and the ability to “hard drop.” But there are a whole bunch of other Tetris variations built into the game, so if you just want to pick it up for a quick challenge, you can load up whatever you’re in the mood for – a chill session with no deaths, a marathon, a race against the clock, and even new modes like “purify” and “mystery” that involve whole new mechanics. There’s even a funky new “three vs one” mode where you join forces to fight against a Tetris “boss” that uses special abilities against you. They’ve also placed huge emphasis on the multiplayer aspect of the game; you can play online or locally, co-op or versus, and again there’s a whole range of game modes to choose from. The coup de grâce, though, is the campaign mode. It takes you on an audio-visual journey that changes Tetris from a game into an experience. It’s something you really need to try for yourself.

The verdict? I must say, I’m an old Tetris player from way back, and at no point did it ever occur to me that it needed a remake. But geez I’m glad they did. Absolutely mind-blowingly good.

Links: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1003590/Tetris_Effect_Connected/