Review | Tetris Effect takes immersion to a new level, with sights, sounds and addictive trippy effects
- Tetris was invented by Russian game designer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984
- The latest version of the falling blocks game mixes elements of a rhythm game
Tetris Effect
4/5 stars
I’ve never considered myself a fan of Tetris. Sure, I played it occasionally as a kid, whenever a friend briefly relinquished their Game Boy, but I don’t have warm memories of arranging falling blocks in neat rows to make them disappear.
Of course, Alexey Pajitnov’s game must be counted as one of the most accessible and broadly recognised video games in history. I just never figured that one of its iterations would prevent me from sleeping. That’s why, slowly, over the past week, I’ve tried to make peace with the possibility that Tetris Effect is a game I love too much.
Designed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the renowned Japanese designer of the Rez, Tetris Effect is a rapturous mélange of sight and sound. Though anyone with a PlayStation 4 can enjoy manipulating the game’s geometric shapes and vibing to its electronica soundtrack, Tetris Effect is best experienced on PlayStation VR, where it is an order of magnitude more immersive.
There is a world of difference between watching turtles swim around you on the Turtle Dreams stage and seeing them skirt about the game’s matrix on a TV.