There’s support for online leaderboards but there’s no way to play against another player, be it locally or online. If I had to list one major flaw regarding Tetris Effect, it would be the lack of multiplayer. A person with the slightest case of epilepsy needs to stay away from this game, as some effects are just too intense. I was expecting for Ace Combat 7 to be the first VR game to make me feel unwell, but Tetris took that trophy home. I have never had a seizure in my life, but there were moments in which the strobing lights were so strong I was starting to feel a little pain on my eyes, as well as a little headache.

There are moments where Tetris Effect goes overboard with the amount of lighting effects onscreen. They need to release the trippy imagery from the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey as DLC. To make things even cooler, the controller vibrates according to the beat as well. During the game’s “story” mode of sorts, the speed in which the pieces fall down isn’t tied to your skill level, but actually tied to the song’s beat. You could say that you’re composing music at the same time you’re playing a puzzler. For instance, during a jazz session level, moving pieces left and right results in different piano keys being played, with a cleared line resulting in an upbeat tune.

The soundtrack is eclectic, ranging from drum n’ bass to jazz, and it’s all synced to your movements in the game. Tetris Effect is as much of a music game as it is an actual Tetris game. Tetris Effect‘s main selling point is its presentation, most specifically its visuals and music. The main draw of the game isn’t a new gameplay mechanic. You have no idea how useful that is once you’ve racked a hundred lines and may ruin your run due to a misplace Z-shaped tetromino. Knowing how to use this gimmick can save you from a previous mistake. You can hold a piece just like the newest iterations, as well as perform a brand new trick called “Zone”, in which you stop time for a few seconds and are able to clear a ton of lines at once. At its core, it’s your typical Tetris game, with lots of different modes and a familiar objective. Tetris Effect is essentially what would happen if you mixed the classic puzzle invented by Alexey Pajitnov with the freakiest scenes from the Doctor Strange movie. The puzzle field looks a lot larger when you’re actually playing the game.

Tetris game with little man