As part of the update, all platforms will now be able to play Classic Score Attack, Zone Marathon, Purify Mode, and Master Mode. The update has a trailer, explaining the new game modes.

Essentially, Classic Score Attack is a single-player version of the Score Attack mode. Available in Effect Modes, it also allows players to switch between NTSC and PAL game speeds. Zone Marathon is a version of the Marathon Mode with the Zone mechanic. Both Master and Purify modes are now able to be played as endless games.

Tetris Effect: Connected was originally released back in November 2020 as an expanded re-release of 2018’s Tetris Effect. Originally launched on Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One, the game eventually made its way on to Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Oculus Quest as well. For more details, check out our review of its original release.

During Nintendo’s recent Indie World showcase, it was announced that Tetris Effect: Connected will be releasing for the Nintendo Switch at long last, with its release date confirmed to be October 8. Honestly, it’s a bit surprising that it’s taken this long for a game such as this one to come to Nintendo’s hybrid (as the saying goes, it’s perfect for the Switch)- but hey, better late than never, right?

Tetris Effect: Connected is currently available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, and PC. You can read our review of the game through here.

Experience Tetris like you’ve never seen, heard, or felt before in the innovative Tetris Effect: Connected by @enhance_exp. Play solo and take on your friends in online or local multiplayer! Coming to #NintendoSwitch on Oct. 8! #IndieWorld pic.twitter.com/MaaUQZ7w3Y

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) August 11, 2021

Cross-platform play also goes live on the same day and those on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One along with PC players with the Microsoft Store version will receive an update along with PS4, Oculus Quest, Steam and Epic Games Store. Along with a skill rating reset for multiplayer, a new Spectator Mode, PAL and Slow speed modes, and new performance options for Oculus Quest 2 headsets.

For more details on Tetris Effect: Connected, check out our review here. This update may mark the end of support for the title especially since creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi confirmed in November 2020 that he was moving on to his next project. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Other new features include Spectator Mode for matches with friends which allows 4-6 players to spectate a match and use emotes to cheer for players. PAL Speed is also being added to local and friendly matches along with Classic Score Attack which looks to replicate the European PAL feel of the original Tetris on the NES. That means a lower frame rate, faster dropping speed in the later levels and faster horizontal movement. Finally, Slow Speed is coming to Zone Battle along with friendly and local matches.

A closed beta will be held for cross-platform play along with all of the new features starting today. It will be available as a separate download from today to June 23rd on PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Microsoft Store PC. All Tetris Effect owners can try it out from June 23rd to July 5th while Steam users gain access from today till July 5th (but only through closed invite). For more details on the update, check out the video below.

Enhance’s Tetris Effect: Connected released last November for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC via the Windows Store but its colorful journey is far from over. It’s slated to release on Steam this Summer with the publisher announcing the store page to be live. Fans can wishlist the title in the meantime.

As for additional details, Enhance stated that it would have “some more exciting news” on the update soon. Tetris Effect: Connected is essentially an update to the base game that added co-op multiplayer and a new competitive mode. Though currently exclusive to Xbox platforms and Windows Store, it will also be coming to PS4, PlayStation VR, Epic Games and Oculus Quest versions as a free update this Summer.

For more details on Tetris Effect: Connected, check out our official review here. Creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi confirmed last year that he was working on a new project with Enhance being the publisher once more. Stay tuned for more details on that as well in the coming days.

https://twitter.com/enhance_exp/status/1389323340435705861

https://twitter.com/enhance_exp/status/1389323342658686976

An upgraded version of 2018’s release, Connected contains all of the single player modes from the original, mostly unchanged. The primary, and likely first, that you’ll experience is the Journey Mode, which acts as the effective campaign. In this mode, you work your way through more than two dozen stages combined into a handful of four or five stage bundles that you play in sequence. Within each of the sequential stages, you need to clear a certain number of lines, which changes based on the difficulty setting, and between stages, the pieces you’ve already placed stay put, though if you fail, you can restart the stage you were on from scratch. Naturally, stages begin relatively easy and increase in difficulty, usually fairly, but there are a handful of times where the difficulty spikes become too much to handle. The drop speed of tetriminos can increase with almost no warning, especially when you’re focused on the board to figure out your next moves, and getting hit with an unannounced major spike in drop speed feels jarring and unfair. Luckily this only happens in the latter stages on normal difficulty and intermittently on expert, but when it does, it feels like an unavoidable setback.

"2018’s Tetris Effect understood what makes the original so great and built around it to improve the experience but leave the core unchanged, and Tetris Effect: Connected improves the formula even further by implementing new multiplayer modes and enhancing the already beautiful visuals to utilize the Xbox Series X."

The only adjustment to the core Tetris gameplay is the addition of the zone mechanic, through which you can slow down the drop speed of each piece and, if you’ve planned well enough, clear more than the traditional four lines at a time. This mechanic is almost akin to Guitar Hero’s Star Power, working to either help boost your high score or lend a helping hand when you’re about to fail. It’s easy to forget about when you’re in the zone, but if you’ve built up enough of a zone meter, it can be a secret weapon against those spikes in speeds. Plus, the stages react beautifully to going into the zone, and if you clear enough lines, it turns to a satisfying negative filter, making you feel like you’ve utilized it correctly. It’s the type of mechanic that can be completely ignored if you want the pure Tetris experience but only serves to help those who want or need it, and I found it a welcome addition to the formula.

The other modes transferred from the original are the Effect Modes, consisting of a variety of modified ways to play the base game. These include traditional quick play and Chill Marathon modes, more intense high-score and high-speed modes, and others with unique challenges such as clearing infected blocks, dealing with occasional I-tetriminos randomly falling onto the board, and the most fun Mystery mode, which pits you against a surprisingly large number of different factors like turning the board upside down or throwing in a bomb that needs to be defused. These are just more ways to play the game with a few twists, and, while they’re not necessarily breaking any ground, they’re great pieces to have for the longevity of Tetris in this particular package.

The primary addition to Connected is a slew of competitive or cooperative multiplayer modes. The most interesting of these is the Connected mode, which teams three real players up to go against a series of AI-controlled bosses. For the most part, this is a variation on three players playing their own game, but occasionally the three boards are combined and the three players are invited to clear even longer lines that make the boss’s board more difficult, similar to how it’s done in Tetris 99. The calculus for a handful of the mode’s features is never clearly explained, but the ability to combine boards and take down a common enemy, Tetris-style, never gets old. The other multiplayer modes are classic one-on-one modes that are fun in their own right, one of which includes the zone mechanic from Journey Mode. These are more features that don’t try to shake up the formula but are classic elements of the game that should be there for any Tetris experience and are fun to jump into as a shake-up from the single-player.

"What truly differentiates Tetris Effect from any other Tetris game is the unparalleled presentation that turns such a simple game into a transcendental experience."

What truly differentiates Tetris Effect from any other Tetris game is the unparalleled presentation that turns such a simple game into a transcendental experience. Each primary stage has its own unique theme, ranging from the darkness of space to the hustle and bustle of a city skyline and everything in between. Every stage has a gorgeous set of visuals that plays out around and behind the game board, each of which is almost mesmerizing enough to distract you from the game you’re supposed to be playing. Even more impressive is how the visuals react to your progression through the stage. Most stages begin relatively quaint and cold, but as you clear lines and make big moves, the visuals start to open up, getting warmer and more vibrant.

Take the stage that sees you climbing a mountain. Your initial view is cold, looking up at the long path ahead, but as you progress, you move your way up the path until the end, when you’ve cleared enough lines, you reach the summit and see the beautiful orange sunset covering the snow. While some stages are more impactful than others, each is still uniquely gorgeous. Though it might not push the boundaries of the Xbox Series X with character models or draw distance, it’s instantly mesmerizing to see the array of colors that fly around in the form of countless particles that could not have been rendered this beautifully on past consoles.

Complementing the visuals for every theme is the equally mesmerizing music that not only sets an undeniable tone for each stage but also interplays with the gameplay just as much as the visuals themselves. The music, too, starts soft but slowly builds to a triumphant climax as you reach the latter stages of each level, and it even reacts when you clear a line or rotate a piece. The combination of the music and visuals culminates in one of the most satisfying feelings as you progress, with particular moments like reaching the mountain summit or breaching the ocean surface with a pack of dolphins becoming entirely unforgettable and incredibly replayable, even through the Theater Mode that eliminates the Tetris aspect altogether.

"Tetris Effect: Connected is undoubtedly the best complete Tetris package that I’ve played."

Tetris Effect: Connected is undoubtedly the best complete Tetris package that I’ve played. With Connected’s addition of cooperative and competitive multiplayer, it contains virtually every mode you could hope a Tetris game would have, whether it’s relaxed or intense, alone or with others. The true star of this version of Tetris, though, is the presentation, which mixes visuals and sound in a way that uniformly enhances the experience without touching the core gameplay. Tetris is one of gaming’s quintessential pieces, and Tetris Effect: Connected makes that piece ever more unforgettable.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox Series X.

Enhance Games’ Tetris Effect: Connected is now available for Xbox Series X/S, coinciding with the consoles’ launch today. It’s also out for Xbox One and PC for $39.99 on the Microsoft Store. However, Xbox Game Pass subscribers on both platforms can also play it. Check out the launch trailer below.

Along with the base game – which you can read our review here for more details – Tetris Effect: Connected features new modes. There’s the Zone Battle multiplayer mode which changes up the Zone mechanic and Connected co-op mode that sees three players working together. Over 30 stages are available to play along with ranked and unranked play.

Tetris Effect: Connected will also be coming to owners of the original on PS4, PC via the Epic Games Store and Oculus Quest as a free update. However, they’ll need to wait until Summer 2021. For more details on the new features and changes, check out the gameplay overview trailer below.

As with Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Codemasters’ DiRT 5, Enhance Games’ Tetris Effect: Connected will be a launch title for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. However, it will also be coming to Xbox One, PC and Xbox Game Pass on November 10th. This will mark the surreal puzzler’s debut on the Xbox family of consoles.

Of course, Tetris Effect: Connected isn’t a simple port. Along with native 4K/60 FPS support on Xbox Series X and PC, it also adds new multiplayer modes. There’s “Zone Battle” which makes for one-on-one games featuring the Zone mechanic and “Connected” mode for three players to work together against AI bosses. All of this is in addition to the base game’s single-player modes and 30 stages.

Those looking forward to playing the new content on PS4, PC via Epic Games Store and Oculus Quest will need to wait. It’s coming as a free update in Summer 2021, which could mean a release as late as September 2021. As always, stay tuned for more details and check out our review for the PS4 version here.

Enhance Inc’s Tetris Effect lit up 2018 with its psychedelic tunes and visuals on PS4. It’s now available for PC though, albeit exclusive to the Epic Games Store. Regardless, if you’ve been wondering what the big deal is – that too in VR – then you might want to check it out.

Tetris Effect on PC has a couple of enhancements over its console counterpart. The framerate is unlocked and keybindings can be customized. Support for 4K resolution is also included but even the base visuals have improvements to lighting and texture quality. There are even more particles because of there would be.

For more information on Tetris Effect, you can check out GamingBolt’s official review of the PS4 version. Sure, it still plays like Tetris (though additional modes like Purify can be entrancing in their own ways) but the presentation and new features make it worthwhile. The real question now is whether we can expect it on Steam in the future.

Enhance Games’ Tetris Effect, a trippy take on the classic by Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi, is coming to PC on July 23rd. It will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store and support Oculus Rift and HTC Vive for VR out of the box. Check out the announcement trailer below.

PC players will also have options like 4K resolution and higher, an uncapped framerate and ultra-wide monitor support. Those who pre-order or pick the title up in the first two weeks of launch can get it for 20 percent off. A sampler soundtrack and desktop wallpapers will also be thrown in as an additional bonus.

Tetris Effect launched last year for the PS4 and received a large amount of critical acclaim. You can check out our review here. There’s no word yet on when it could come to Steam, if at all, but we’re interested to see how the PC version turns out. Stay tuned for more information in the coming week.