Tetris is Tetris, and while Tetris Worlds is one of the million uninspired me-too’s of the theme, it at least holds to the core values of the sacred name. Read for the full review.
The Tetris name has established icon status since its first incarnation in the 1980’s. It has seen many of its core elements replicated and manipulated over the passing of time in numerous sequels and spin-offs like the true blueprint for puzzle games that it has become.
At its core, Tetris Worlds is Tetris. It doesn’t push the envelope of graphics, sound, or 3D, and it’s not meant to. There are six modes of play, including a story mode, which is a first for the history of everything Tetris. You get:
These various modes of play can add some spice to a Tetris game, however, at the core, no matter what mode you play, you’re still playing Tetris. None of the modes are particularly compelling enough to turn the game we’ve been playing for 2 generations upside down. In fact, if you didn’t know which mode you were playing, or its rules, you could still complete the game. That shows how irrelevant the modes can be to casual players.
That is not necessarily a bad thing for everybody. Hardcore Tetris fans have every reason to enjoy the variations to the tried and true formula. It is those types of players who will work their hardest to learn and master the modes to maximize their points. It would have been nice, though, if the developers could dream up some more inspired variations to the gameplay.
The mentioned Story Mode is also uninspired, if not almost nonexistent, as your goal is simply to visit six different worlds and play the Tetris mode of that world well enough to save your, err, fellow block friends. (Yes, the blocks are apparently living creatures, though you wouldn’t actually know it when playing it.)
Multiplayer options include “Race,” where you clear lines faster than your opponent(s), and “Knock-Out” allows you to spawn “garbage” blocks on your opponent’s matrix. No matter which MP option you choose, it’s still a race to clear your matrix first.
While Tetris Worlds features some 3D graphics and nice visuals, they’re generally bland and don’t particularly add anything to the game. You’re still moving 2D blocks around a 2D matrix, and too much more than that would be more of a distraction to the gameplay than an improvement.
The music is rather unimpressive and forgetful. The tunes don’t compliment the mode or world you’re playing in, and all around aren’t very catchy. You won’t be humming or singing them later as other Tetris titles have successfully done in the past, even as far back as Tetris for the NES.
Nobody is going to buy Tetris Worlds for its new options. People will buy it because it’s Tetris and because they haven’t discovered the many free versions that are floating the entire span of the internet. Tetris World’s discounted price of $30 is a bonus for a simple game, but it won’t be enough to capture more than the hardcore audience of Tetrisites.
