How many times do you think we can say the word ‘Tetris’ in a single review? Well, since Tetris Forever contains a total of 18 games based on the original 1985 title, you’d best strap yourselves in, because we’re going to be saying it a lot. Well, okay, we might mix things up a bit with the odd sprinkling of ‘tetromino’, just to be nice.
Anyway, Tetris. It’s often been described as one of, if not the greatest game of all time thanks to its unrivalled approachability and remarkable staying power. Yet we wouldn’t be surprised if you perhaps weren’t overly familiar with the game’s origin, release, and subsequent proliferation across the video game industry.
That’s where Tetris Forever comes in. Developed by Digital Eclipse, this marks the studio’s third entry in its Gold Master Series and takes a comprehensive dive into the creation of one of gaming’s most iconic franchises. If you’re familiar with the previous Gold Master releases (The Making of Karateka and Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story), then you’ll know what to expect with this one. It’s jam packed with interviews, images, documents, and archival material spread across five distinct timelines.
Not only that, but as we mentioned earlier, Tetris Forever contains 18 playable games, from a recreation of the earliest version of Tetris on the Electronika 60 right up to Tetris Time Warp, a new spin on the classic gameplay that takes you on a journey throughout the franchise’s history, built by Digital Eclipse specifically for this package. It’s a generous release, and although the selection of games on offer is merely a fraction of the total catalogue of Tetris titles, the timelines more than make up for this with references to most major releases.
Speaking of which, the timelines will prove particularly interesting for Nintendo fans. If you’re even vaguely familiar with the history of Tetris, then you’ll know that a big part of its success can be attributed to the pack-in version included with the Game Boy's Western release. Tetris Forever delves into this story in surprising depth, showcasing the crucial back-and-forth battle to obtain the relevant rights to the game, the visits and tours held within NCL’s headquarters, and of course, a momentous meeting between Nintendo’s president Hiroshi Yamauchi, Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov, and licensing extraordinaire Henk Rogers.
Pajitnov and Rogers are really the heart of Tetris Forever. It’s their collaboration, friendship, and stewardship of the Tetris brand that drive the narrative featured within the five timelines. Pajitnov’s original creation of the game is of particular interest, beginning with his love for pentomino toys in which you try to fit a selection of trominoes, tetrominoes, and pentominoes into a box. By taking this concept, focusing on the tetrominoes specifically, and applying it to a video game, Tetris was eventually born.
We’re then taken on a journey that covers the initial release of Tetris, publisher Tengen’s failed attempt at re-engineering Nintendo’s NES version, the many, many sequels and spin-offs that would follow, and the eventual formation of Tetris Inc. and its work with the recent Tetris movie. It’s comprehensive stuff, and if you’re a particular fan of the videos contained within Digital Eclipse’s Gold Master Series, you’ll be in heaven with this one; there are loads of ‘em, and it’s a joy to watch Pajitnov and Rogers deliver such incredible passion for their work on the franchise.
As for the playable games, Tetris Forever understandably shies away from titles released in the 2000s and beyond, which is largely when firms like Ubisoft, Sega, THQ, and EA began to dip their toes into the series. Instead, it focuses mainly on the various early variants of the main game alongside some of the lesser known direct sequels. Remarkably, to start with, Digital Eclipse has recreated the original Electronika 60 version of Tetris from Pajitnov, which boasts both Russian and English versions, green and white colour palettes, and an awesome Electronika 60-themed border.
We’ve then got versions of the game from the MS-DOS, Apple II, and Famicom before launching into sequels such as Hatris, Tetris 2 + Bombliss, the Japan-exclusive Tetris Battle Gaiden, and Super Bombliss DX. Granted, the differences between many of these versions are negligible at times, but it’s great to see how original publisher Bullet-Proof Software looked to evolve Tetris and introduce variety for players as the years went by.
Some minor issues do crop up, however. The first is that the control guides for some of the games are incorrect. For example, in the original Electronika 60 version, the controls state that ‘A’ is used to rotate the tetrominoes, but it’s actually ‘B’. It’s a small mistake, and one that we’re certain will be fixed in a patch, but it’s worth highlighting. The other issue (and this is a minor, temporary gripe) is that the controls aren’t standardised by default across the games. So if you jump from one to another, you'll just need to make sure to either adapt to the new controls, or configure the button functionality for each title for the most seamless experience.
In contrast, one of the highlights of the entire collection is the new, bespoke title Tetris Time Warp. This provides a great way to experience different variations on the classic Tetris gameplay, while also mixing up the visuals. The premise is pretty straightforward: you clear lines of blocks as per the norm, but occasionally a special tetromino will drop down. Once you clear this, you’ll be warped back to another version of Tetris for a limited amount of time.
For instance, it might transport you to the ‘1989 version’ (which is essentially the Game Boy release minus the official branding), in which you’re tasked with clearing a double line within mere seconds. Or you’ll be sent to a Bombliss level where you’ll have to detonate a large bomb. Successfully completing one of these challenges sends you straight through to another time period, allowing you to quickly bump up your score if you successfully complete several in one go.
There are also some neat variations on Time Warp if you’re after a more traditional experience. You can set it to marathon mode where you simply play a standard game of Tetris without any time warp features, or ‘1989 marathon’, which is the same but with those sweet Game Boy aesthetics. Finally, multiplayer is also available, and it takes the basic gameplay from Time Warp but allows each player to effectively weaponise different time periods, forcing opponents to take on new challenges while you continue to clear lines from the main screen. It’s great fun.
Conclusion
Tetris Forever might not be the final word on the complete history of Tetris, but it's certainly the best breakdown of the franchise's creation and evolution so far. Digital Eclipse has truly mastered the art of the interactive documentary, and this one is absolutely filled to the brim with interesting videos, interviews, and archival material. The playable games don't necessarily represent the most varied selection across the Tetris franchise, but it's a comprehensive bunch of titles, nonetheless, and newcomer Tetris Time Warp is a fantastic new addition to a back catalogue that seemingly just won't stop growing.
Comments 41
Good old Tetris fun. Which I started on MS-DOS on my parents' pc back in the early 90s. And then on my own GameBoy and many, many games after that.
And, if you're wondering, yes I still have my original GB Tetris cartridge
Tetris is brilliant...and how amazing that as someone that loved the Gameboy version, I think 'Tetris Connected' on Switch was the best EVER. I can only think of Super Mario, Tetris and Cher that just keep going and getting better over the decades haha
Give me physical or give me a slightly shorter lifespan!
I don’t have any games from the Gold Master Series yet and probably won’t go for this one. After Tetris Connected and Puyo Puyo Tetris, I’m not able to enjoy the older variants as much. If the documentary elements of Karateka and Llamasoft wow me, then I might dive into Tetris’ history.
No DX?!
What a drag.
Thinking of Tetris has me remembering playing a few titles. Such as Tetris Plus, Tetris DS, & Tetris Axis. Never played Tetris Worlds, Tetris 64 nor Tetrisphere.
I hope they do a Tetris Forever Vol.2...if that even does becomes a reality...
Thanks for the review, just waiting to see if there will actually be a physical release (my usual retailer here in Italy has it for preorder, but with a generic end of next year release date), but I'll eventually get this for sure as I absolutely want to learn and play more of Tetris!
No The New Tetris from the N64 means no sale, how could they leave out this classic version!
I’m 95% all digital on Switch, but for “special releases” I like to have the odd physical release in my collection (I do collect retro CiB for Nintendo’s handhelds) it’s really too bad that DE’s Gold Master series hasn’t had a single physical release so far, and I’m not holding my breath that when they will do them they won’t simply hand them out to boutique publishers like Limited Run, and similar, meaning I won’t get them. Sigh.
I'm both embarrassed and proud, in roughly equal measure, about the number of times basically the same game can be released over a 30+ year timespan and we just keep buying it up. Here's to the next 30 years of Tetris 🥳
Gold Master is great but I have loads of variations of Tetris that are all basically, well, Tetris. This collection seems a bit more narrow compared to Llamasoft but I will probably pick it up down the line once my wallet stops laughing at me
I didn't mention this in the review, but it's worth noting that I spoke directly with Jason Cirillo at DE, and he said that additional Tetris games via DLC may be possible in the future.
This wasn't a tease, but merely an acknowledgement of the possibility.
@Olliemar28 Great review! Did you also happen to ask about the possibility of a physical release?
Never got around to playing Tetris Party Deluxe, so the only Bombliss version I've played is the supposedly easiest one on Axis, yet I still love it. Really interested to try the older versions.
The story of the creation of Tetris has always been a favorite of mine, right up there with Mario's creation. Overall looks like a blast to play; I'll be adding it to the 'ol wishlist.
As I've brought up before, though, I am craving some Tetris Plus. With it being a Jaleco product, I hope that City Connection may bring it back to life.
I love Tetris but I already have so many ways to play it and I've seen enough making of Tetris documentaries to quench my thirst in that area. I'll wait for a sale on this one. I'm more interested in the release of NES Tetris on NSO this winter.
No SNES titles? Not even the N64 one??
I really wish this had Tetris DS on it. Fingers crossed for future dlc.
I've seen a list on here of 14 games that are in the game, but now there are 18. Can there be an updated list somewhere?
I'm also curious what the plan is for the very unique Tetrisphere. It's not on NSO yet, either.
@Olliemar28 You mentioned the different games controlling differently right before talking about Time Warp taking you from game to game. You didn't mention though if Time Warp changes the controls as you go from game to game. Does it?
Digital Eclipse is so underrated. Glad to see it confirms what I already knew.
I do wish there were more modern titles like mentioned in the review. Tetris Party or Tetris DS (my favorite) would be awesome.
@XiaoShao I didn't sadly, though I don't think he'd be close to those kind of decisions at DE.
@Thomystic It doesn't, no. I think that would be a bit overkill - thankfully, it's consistent regardless of which era you warp to.
Tetris 99 and Puyo Puyo Tetris are some of my most played games on the Switch. This collection is a safe yes for me. Going to get it soon!
Kind of wish 3D Tetris was included. The regular game was such a slog but I still fire up my Virtual Boy (or red viper on 3ds) occasionally to play the Puzzle mode where you are tasked in creating a sculpture with the pieces.
(question: any plan to have Internet-related features added to this collection (such as leaderboards))
This is getting great reviews, Push Square gave it a 9!
@MirrorFate2 There are five playable SNES games on it...
Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss (1992)
Tetris Battle Gaiden (1993)
Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss Genteiban (1993)
Super Tetris 3 (1994)
Super Bombliss (1995)
Again, for the people asking why the Sega or Arika or Nintendo or Atari or THQ variants of Tetris aren't in the collection, it's simply copyright. Digital Eclipse does have a budget to consider, and most of the games are from Bulletproof Software, which was founded by Henk Rogers, and who runs The Tetris Company that owns the Tetris license.
I’m kinda hoping the Mirrorsoft C64 version appears as DLC at some point. One direction of rotation, hard drop only and the playfield is a bit muddy (yay 16 colours 💧), but the background is gorgeous and the music by Wally Beben goes 26 minutes before looping.
The Atari coin-op would be nice at some point too, but that probably won’t happen.
Honestly, it sucks that they didn't include games from the PS2/Gamecube era nor the WII/PS3 era. Especially because they are better releases content-wise.
For history sake, I'm interested in this. Honestly, I can't hack intense sessions of Tetris, but I can definitely play it for fun. I never played Hatris, and that's the one that interests me most. I wish Wordtris was a part of this, but I guess that was another team and wasn't significant enough.
@John_Deacon We should be getting NES Tetris on NSO soon, right? I believe they said it would be this winter.
@Olliemar28 Are instructions for Hatris included? I never could figure out what I was supposed to do.
@Clyde_Radcliffe Oh, thanks.
@LinktotheFuture Yep, instructions are included with every title.
Are there leaderboards? Local only or online as well? How many of the versions support multiplayer?
@MastaRedSnappa I agree. I have both Puyo Puyo Tetris and Tetris Connected on Switch and PS5 for VR. This is more than enough for me.
Tetris, especially Tetris 99 and Tetris connected, however this seems like a horrible purchase. It has a bunch of videos in it that they could have just put on YouTube, and then they release a bunch of versions of the game that are subpar. I'm sure some people will love being able to get to the old Tetris games, but honestly the Old testers games are not very good compared to the newer Tetris games in my opinion.
@LinktotheFuture I only played the first chronological version of Hatris, but you have to stack five of the same hat consecutively.
@Danrenfroe2016 I doubt 90 minutes of Youtube videos would yield the same financial return. As for the older games, that is very subjective. Tetris 99 effectively only has one mode, Effect has a ton, but it's been out for six years. Axis on 3DS has Bombliss just like Forever, but every Bombliss version I've played in Forever has been better than Axis's.
I haven't even touched Time Warp yet.
@Kilroy Cool, thanks!
sigh Even Tetris forgot about Tetrisphere.
They even mentioned Magical Tetris Challenge, but no Tetrisphere -__-
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