Tetris Ultimate - Review

When word reached my ears that a new Tetris was coming to the 3DS, I was intrigued enough to get it, but I was not happy with the recent releases that EA had done, so when I heard that Ubisoft were behind this one, my expectations were peaked, but could they surpass what Nintendo had done in years past?

Tetris Ultimate, for those that are not in the know, is the latest version of the classic block stacking game Tetris, which was created back in the mid 80’s. The game has since many releases, by many developers over the years and perhaps even many more homebrew versions, but each offered something a little more different than the last, with Tetris DS from Nintendo being the most complete version of Tetris in ages.

Tetris Ultimate does not have anywhere near the number of modes that the last handheld version of the game, but what is on offer are very well put together. The first point of call when you start up the game will be Marathon, a simple challenge where you must complete 15 levels of the game. Once you have beaten that, Endless opens up and it is the same for the other modes, you must complete Sprint in order to unlock Ultra.

Thankfully, the controls in the game are spot on, the control stick is not used at all, you only need to use the d-pad and that’s the best way to control the pieces. The face buttons rotate the pieces and the L button is used to put a piece into the hold space, or swap it out for a new one. Dropping pieces down to clear some lines is fast and easy, a nice ghost shape of where your piece will land helps you see your moves and the next up piece has the next 5 pieces shown, so you can plan your moves.

The game does offer an online mode, but with the few games I was able to get into, it offered nothing different, just allowed me to play online against people. Local multiplayer is also on offer here and either online or off, the game mode is the same, clearing blocks will add more to your opponents screen. The only main issue that I faced with the online portion was trying to find a game, it just seems like there are not many people playing the game online yet.

The game has a nice slick visual style, with multiple effects, none that are too overwhelming though thankfully, but the presentation is solid. The bricks themselves are very easy to tell apart thanks to bright colours that stand out from the darker background. The music is a little bit strange, it has a synthesiser sound to it, but it also appears to be using elements from the classic tunes we all know, the combination of the two parts makes it hard to really like it, but it does the job well enough at the same time.

The problem that I have with Tetris Ultimate is that nothing here really screams ultimate, each part of the game is built really well, the visuals pop and the music is ok. The lack of annoying power-ups in the single player is a plus, but the name sets an expectation that the game doesn’t support. If you are like me and love a good round of Tetris, you won’t be disappointed here, but if you are looking for more than just the old block stacking mode, you may want to look elsewhere.

The Score

8.0

Review code provided by Ubisoft

The Pros

+Solid Tetris gameplay, where everything just feels right

+The controls are wonderful

The Cons

-There is a lack of available modes

-Doesn't really live up to its name