Tetris 99 Review - Embrace The Chaos
Tetris 99: More intense than the most intense Battle Royale!Surprise announcement from Nintendo Direct on February 13, Tetris 99 was immediately available. With its principle as old as the world but terribly addictive, the concept of Alexei Pajitnov launches into the Battle Royale. And it makes a lot more sense than it sounds.
Tetris in Battle Royale mode, the idea could make people laugh. However, this exclusivity offered to all Nintendo Switch Online subscribers is very real. At first glance, the concept seems childishly simple: 99 players play Tetris online and the last survivor wins the game. But it only takes a few attempts to realize that many elements from the dynamic Battle Royale have slipped into the heap, without distorting the work.
MURDER BY TETROMINOS
Tetris 99: More intense than the most intense Battle Royale!The rules of the legendary puzzle game are respected. The pieces (tetrominos) fall and you have to make as many lines as possible, without the accumulation of tetrominos going beyond the "ceiling" of the playing area. You can keep a piece in reserve by simply pressing the trigger and you have the view of the next six tetrominos to come. The first multi feature is that with each line made, you send a penalty (incomplete line) which will appear in one of your opponents a few seconds later. This is where the strategic aspect develops slowly. You can choose your opponents manually, or via automatic presets which each have their advantages. The K.O. Easy preset targets players already in difficulty, to ensure the kill. Why do you tell me? Because each time you cause an opponent to end a game, you gain a chevron, which increases the power of the attacks you send to other players. Yes, "kill" is indeed a viable goal in Tetris 99. It is all the more so when we take the preset "chevron", thanks to which you send your malus lines to the players who have the most chevrons. This tactic is more risky since they are potentially good players, so without more difficult to "kill". However, be aware that you recover all the chevrons of the players you eliminate, making your attacks much more powerful! Just like when you grab an opponent’s gear in a Battle Royale, in short. Already surprising, the strategic aspect is further enhanced with the latest preset "Riposte", which allows us to attack the players who are targeting us. This preset has two advantages: first, it annoys players who are trying to eliminate you directly, which can give you some respite. Two, it is the only attack mode that can send penalties to multiple players at the same time, with a ratio multiplied by the number of attackers. In short, ideal when you see several markers pointing to your table. This penalty system is both simple and damn tactical. Going from one preset to another can lead you to victory or cause your loss, and keeping lucidity and control at full speed is not easy, thinking mingling with reflexes. Either way, it makes Tetris 99 even more addictive than the original Tetris.
THE STRATEGY ABOVE ALL
Tetris 99: More intense than the most intense Battle Royale!You understand, your chances of making a Top1 in Tetris are not only dependent on your abilities on the solo version of the game, although having a very good level obviously has undeniable advantages. Typically, this is survival, as in the BR, and there are several ways to manage adversary attacks. The most obvious is the gauge on the left which indicates the penalties to come on your board, with a color code to indicate the impending penalty. The advantage is that you can counter these lines sent by your opponents when they are still in the gauge. Each destroyed line cancels a gauge block (which corresponds to an incomplete line). If you still have time before the penalty arrives on your board, you can even afford to prepare a Tetris, since it cancels 7 blocks instead of 4. As often, the Tetris is rewarded. Another element of gameplay rewarded, the T-Spin (which consists in turning the T-Tetromino at the last second to enter small spaces) makes it possible to send more lines to the opponent than the lines which you destroyed. Twice as many lines to be exact. For example, if you make a T-Spin that destroys two lines, you send four. A new way to take advantage even if T-Spins can be complicated, especially at the end of the game.
When it comes to explaining elements of gameplay, puzzle games are often among the most complex concepts to describe due to their abstract status. However, what should be remembered from Tetris 99 is that it is devilishly addictive, undoubtedly bringing the relative tension at the end of the Battle Royale game in a genre that did not seem appropriate there. The sweat on your forehead, at an incredible pace, that you will try to survive if you are one of the last 20 players present. Nothing is more intense and enjoyable than grazing death several times to finally return to the game with a few strokes of genius. This constant pressure is more tenacious than in other Battle Royales, with games that rarely exceed 10 minutes (and again, when you are in the Top10) and a short waiting time between each match. A real success at this level.
In the end, there are few pitfalls for this Tetris 99. The only major shortcoming is a tutorial (if only in text) to explain certain subtleties of rules. The artistic direction could have been further, especially in terms of music with slightly soft sub-techno as background sound, despite the gradual acceleration when you are one of the last players. Finally, we await the arrival of upcoming events, already, promised, and just as free as the rest of the game, hoping that they will use the level system which has no known goal at the moment.
The notes
+ Positive points
Even more addictive than Tetris already is
The intensity of the games
No long waiting periods
Quick games (about 10 minutes)
Attack strategy
The possibility of fighting back
The initial concept is easy to understand. It's tetris
Gigantic progress curve
-Negative points
No tutorial
Tasteless music
Only one mode for the moment
Tetris 99 is a real success! Perfectly suited to the dynamics of survival and award-winning kills from the Battle Royale, the title of the Arika studio proves to be strategic and ultra-addictive. The player is free to vary these phases, between attack to gain rafters and defense to survive, forcing him to keep a perfect vision of the progress of the game to hope to be the winner. Succeeding in keeping the intensity of Battle Royales while offering fast sessions (ten minutes), this is already an achievement in itself! Already excellent, it can only improve with the appearance of future events. If you are already subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online, there is no reason to deprive yourself of such a good and universal concept!
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