Back in March, 2024, we published an article that took a close look at six Tetris titles, some classic, and some modern. Tetris is the puzzle game invented in Russia by Alexey Pajitnov in the early 1980s. In the article, some of the Tetris games we focused on were great, and others were not so great. This year, we’ve decided to revisit the topic of Tetris games because there are yet more versions that are interesting and fascinating. So, in this article we take a close look at six more Tetris titles.
Are there any that you haven’t heard of? Of all types of games, Tetris is probably one of the titles that has the most amount of iterations. It’s almost a genre in itself, and Tetris games have sold over 500 million units. For some perspective, that is over half the amount of games that the Mario series has sold and slightly more than Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series. In terms of addiction, no puzzle game comes close. Last year’s article covered titles like Nintendo’s Tetris DS, the original Game Boy Tetris, and also the Japan-exclusive Tetris Advance.
Tetris (NES)
Released on the same day as Tetris for the Game Boy in 1989, the home console version was very similar to the handheld version, utilizing the same presentation that portrayed Russia as a distant, exotic land. The main advantage it had over the Game Boy’s Tetris was that it was in full color, blocks used green and blue color schemes, and generally everything looked a bit sharper. The game retained the same satisfying, addictive gameplay as the version of Tetris which first released for the PC a year earlier.
However, similarly to the Game Boy version, the game’s major drawback was that it didn’t have a save system. By this stage, games were beginning to use battery-powered saves on the NES (such as Legend of Zelda), so it was a real shame that this couldn’t be implemented in time for release on either the Game Boy or NES. While not the case with the NES release of Tetris, the latter releases of Tetris that lacked a save system often indicated the title being a poor quality iteration (Tetris Worlds on GBA is a great example of this). Tetris on NES was a must-have title back in the lack eighties and early nineties. It is a fun experience to this day, and its style and presentation went on to inspire many later Tetris games, including the game below.
Tetris (ModRetro Chromatic)
The ModRetro Chromatic is basically a premium modern-day Game Boy that was released in 2024. Similar to the Analogue Pocket in being a system that aims to replicate the hardware of Nintendo’s Game Boy and Game Boy Color, new titles were also developed for the system. The pack-in title was a new Tetris game. The game, titled simply Tetris, is in full color, has great presentation, and it even has a simple save system. Only the high score of each profile is saved, but if you create and use multiple profiles, you can get a good list of high scores on your system.
The Chromatic’s version of Tetris has even better graphics than Tetris DX. The colors are deep and lush, and when you form a full line or block, there’s a great graphical effect as the blocks disappear. The blocks themselves also have a fuller, more three-dimensional look than in the other Game Boy Tetris games. On top of that, there’s a great soundtrack. Songs are reworked from 1989’s Game Boy Tetris release. If you are in the market for a Tetris game for Game Boy, the Chromatic’s version comes highly recommended and is probably not only the best Tetris on Game Boy Color, but it’s even better than any of the GBA Tetris games, and that includes the seminal Japan-only Tetris Advance. It is a great achievement for what is, in essence, a homebrew title.
Tetris 99 (Nintendo Switch)
Tetris 99 was released in 2019 as a Switch exclusive and is a “battle royale” Tetris game. What that means is that in the game, you use Nintendo’s online service to play a game of Tetris against 99 other people over the internet. As time goes on more and more people get eliminated until only one is left, and they are declared the winner. There are also local co op options. Back in 2019, the game was an enticing prospect in getting people to sign up for the Nintendo Online Service.
In terms of art and presentation, the game is great, and it looks and feels like a next-generation Tetris game with high-definition graphics and sound. However, if you don’t have a Nintendo Online Service subscription, you can’t play virtually any mode. For this reason, the base game is free. There’s no point in purchasing the title unless you have a Nintendo Switch Online Membership. In terms of graphics and especially sound design, Tetris 99 is nowhere near as much of a next-generation experience as the next title.
Tetris Effect Connected (multiplatform)
Tetris Effect Connected is an updated version of the original Tetris Effect, which was released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 in 2018. I must confess that this is the only game on this list that I have yet to play, but it is also the most critically acclaimed, and is high on my must-buy list of games. It is priced at ยฃ34.99/$39.99 on the Switch, which certainly makes it a premium Tetris game. From what I hear, in Tetris Effect and Tetris Effect Connected, a brilliant soundtrack and clever sound design follow on with your gameplay of filling out lines and blocks of lines. This, combined with an almost vector graphics-like visual design, creates a unique Tetris experience.
There is even a story mode-like “Journey” mode where you play Tetris in different soundscapes and landscapes, meaning you get great value for money in terms of creative modes in addition to playing a simple game of Tetris. Tetris Effect is arguably the most advanced and high-end Tetris game on this list or last year’s list, and is the next game that I intend to purchase.
The New Tetris (N64)
I almost included the Japan-exclusive Tetris 64 in this spot, but as that game is a bare-bones, boring Tetris port, I thought that The New Tetris would be more interesting. The New Tetris, released in both North America and Europe in 1999, offered multiplayer modes as well as some new scoring mechanics. In this title, you can now score points and get pieces removed, from forming blocks that don’t form full lines, as well as through lines, as in the original games. On top of this, there is also a high score save feature, although only the number of lines achieved is saved, as opposed to a high score.
Speaking of high scores, most Tetris games that do include them have similar patterns, and a high score of around 50,000 can be considered a good score. The New Tetris also features a quick drop button, similar to later entries, and boasts a colorful, fitting presentation for an N64 game. However, I’d still say The New Tetris is inferior to games like Tetris (Chromatic), Tetris Advance, and especially Tetris 99/Tetris Effect.
Hatris (NES)
The last game on this list is a strange and unique twist on the Tetris formula, designed by the creator of Tetris itself, Alexey Pajitnov. Released in 1991 for the NES and Game Boy, the title is a puzzle game where you have to stack hats to score points. Similar to Tetris, the hats fall from above, there are different kinds of hats (as there are different kinds of blocks in Tetris), and you must stack the hats in groups of four to make them disappear. It differs from Tetris in that to make the hats disappear, you must stack the same kind of hat vertically, rather than horizontally.
The game is addictive and is a fun iteration on the basic premise of Tetris. On top of that, the presentation follows Tetris in that the game is shown as an exotic oddity, from a far away place. Overall, the game is definitely worth trying out for fans of Tetris. However, it doesn’t hold up as well as the base game of Tetris and doesn’t have the quality of life additions as a title like Tetris (Chromatic), or Tetris Advance. It is still worth a go though.
Conclusion
There are over 200 versions of Tetris and Tetris-like games. Most of the games in this list are straightforward Tetris iterations. However, each adds a new feature or two that make the game unique (except Hatrix, which is quite different). Tetris was a pioneer in video game puzzle titles and still holds up as an addictive experience that people can’t get enough of. It has even spawned movies and documentaries. While not every game in this list is a must-have, it is still worthwhile to know about a variety of entries to know what to avoid and which games might appeal to you. Maybe, in a year, I’m sure new Tetris titles and spin-offs will have been released, and we could make yet another Tetris iterations article.
If you look in the back catalogue, there’s at least one entry for most platforms when you include homebrew titles, so there’s still much to write about. Alexey Pajitnov is a great designer who finally got the credit for the creation of Tetris. It’ll be interesting to see how the series is iterated upon in the future.
