The best retro puzzler gets the perfect modern upgrade. You might be tempted to overlook this as simply another repackaging of 40 year old game with some added screensaver visuals, but a flashy, gimmicky, soulless cash-in this is not. Instead, you'll find a love letter to arguably the most elegantly designed game ever made.

Tetris has always been the gold standard for puzzler design for two reasons: the mechanics are accessible to almost anyone and the game-play loop is immediately and consistently rewarding. Enjoyment never requires complete mastery.

Tetris Effect understands this completely and so doesn't seek to reinvent the wheel. Rather the innovation comes in enhancing the 'experience' of playing Tetris. That is, guiding you into a state of flow that allows you to float, spin and rotate in the space between the cerebral and the celestial. Considering that Tetris has actually been used as a psychological tool to assist with processing trauma, it's not at all surprising to feel that the game simply wants to show you that your only opponent really is you.

Coming from the same team that created Lumines and REZ, the sound and art design, and how it is subtly synced with player input, will encourage you (and not a character) to take a journey that is, in a very literal sense, transcendent. The soundtrack (and visual art) is simply outstanding. Completely worth it as a standalone purchase.

There's a wide variety of modes, both single- and multi-player, to explore as well that shake up the game-play. The co-op 'Connected' mode is really great for playing together with people at different skill levels, while the PvP 'Zone Battle' adds a much needed sense of strategy and balance to a competitive experience that is often heavily influenced by RNG.

Simply put, this is the most comprehensive and accessible iteration of Tetris to date. Tetris Effect is a work of art and so much more than a simple nostalgic puzzler. If you ever want to purchase a version of this timeless game, I urge you to make it this one.

"I find myself wondering what the world must've been like before the bear crashed into our frail planet, transforming all we once knew into a colourful kaleidoscope of delicious chaos and I love .... it."

Never before have I been hooked by a game so quickly. The Behemoth are now 4 for 4 and I couldn't be more stoked about it.

The gameplay is grid-based & turn-based RPG team combat ... but the real joy lies in the execution of it all. The art, the story, the characters, the hilarious way they speak, the vibrant world. It's fun in its purest digital form.

Will Stamper as the Narrator is sublime, following on from his role in Battleblock Theater. I just love his delivery - it gets me chuckling every time.

The soundtrack is top-notch as well and I've found myself looking it up on YT a few times. Patric Catani has really captured the chaotic cartoony absurdity of 'Pit People'. "It's Us" (i.e. the opening theme) is a personal favourite of mine.

Love the game, love what The Behemoth is doing, glad I bought it, wish more people would too.