Tetris Effect Critic Reviews

At times spiritual, transcendental and zen-like, at others excruciating, heart-poundingly tense and eye-wateringly immersive, Tetris Effect is game of the year material and essential on PlayStation VR.

Tetris Effect, from top to bottom, is my favorite iteration of Tetris yet. The music and visuals work together to create a truly unique Tetris experience, that is only enhanced by VR.

Whether you’re playing in VR or not, Tetris Effect is an incredible achievement. The familiar gameplay, stunning visuals, and beautiful music all come together to evoke a variety of different emotions. For a couple of minutes, you’re captured by what’s happening around you and it’s magical. It’s a near perfect puzzle game, but it’s even closer to perfection in VR.

One of the greatest games ever made returns and finds a perfect evolution in Tetris Effect. The result is a timeless take on that best puzzler ever, and one that gives PS4 owners a true Game of the Generation candidate. This truly is Tetris 2.0.

I’m certainly impressed on both the visual and audio front, and the VR component is just icing on an already delicious cake.

Beautiful, hypnotic and frequently surprising, Tetris Effect is a bravura reinvention of a classic game that deserves to be recognised as a series peak. The odd difficulty spike aside, there’s little to fault in what is undoubtedly one of 2018’s very best games.

Tetris Effect combines the simplicity of Tetris with an evocative and awe-inspiring mixture of music and visuals to create an experience unlike any other.

This is truly Tetris like you’ve never played or felt before, and the blissful escape we all need in 2018. Because when the real world is full of chaos, Tetris Effect, much like the psychological phenomenon the game takes its name from, is about finding order in things, and taking back control.

Tetris Effect and PS VR go together like ham and eggs. It’s the perfect pairing of tech and game design. Don’t have a headset? You can still join in but you’re missing out on the definitive way to play.

It goes without saying, but yes, this is all heightened in virtual reality. Tetris Effect is a must-have for PlayStation VR owners. You do lose some crispness compared to playing on a TV, but the way the world wraps around you in VR and further draws you into the experience more than makes up for it.

I consider myself lucky that I got to play this game. It’s special. If I could go back in time to show a video game to artists from the last century, I would choose this. God, I know that sounds hyperbolic, but I mean it. It is such an effortless and mesmerizing marriage of perfect game design and powerful imagery and audio. And it is an interactive lesson in why those things matter to games.

Nothing can topple Tetris. Tetris Effect accepts this premise and surrounds Tetris’ core with audio and visual cues that tap into subconscious, kaleidoscopic emotion and draw raw optimism out of the player. This combination is now inseparable. It’s essential. I don’t want to play Tetris without Tetris Effect.

It’s almost too easy to get lost in the game and its absolute beauty, something that feels odd to even say when talking about a Tetris game. Tetris Effect is, without a doubt, stunning and if you own a PSVR unit, it begs to be played in VR.

For all its glorious visuals, endless modes, and virtual reality additions, the game of Tetris needs not more than a set of reliable input methods to snatch a dozen hours from right before your eyes. Tetris Effect is a confident, yet elegant, take on the simplest game in the world and a sheer masterclass of game design, at that.

Tetris Effect takes you on an emotional rollercoaster through oceans and to other worlds. While its striking audiovisual achievements sing on a standard screen, virtual reality elevates the experience to euphoric new levels. And yet, for all the chatter of spiritual awakenings, there’s a damn good game of Tetris here, bursting with inventive modes and beautiful visuals which will keep you hooked for potentially hundreds of hours.

Colors, sounds, vibrations and that unforgettable gameplay: Tetris Effect is one of the most impressive Tetris games to date.

Tetris Effect is a transformative game.

There’s so much to take in with Tetris Effect for longtime fans and newcomers alike, from its vast collection of visuals and challenging game modes. When a mind like Tetsuya Mizuguchi puts his creative weight behind a classic like “Tetris,” this is the astonishing result. For “Tetris” fans or those who simply appreciate the melding of music, visuals, and addictive gameplay, Tetris Effect is a masterpiece.

The fundamentals may be recognizable, but Tetris Effect feels like something new rather than another reskin of the same old game. The presentation is such a natural fit for the gameplay, and it adds an unexpected layer of emotion.

This is a deeply immersive, elegant, intelligent take on Tetris, and the best example of it since the original on Game Boy.