Tetris 99

The Tetris series has more than it's fair share of spinoffs, so it's never much of a surprise when a new one is announced. However, I don't think anyone saw this one coming. Tetris 99 released while the battle royale genre, led by the likes of PUBG and Fortnite, was absolutely exploding. Every online shooter was trying to capitalize on the last-man-standing action. Then Nintendo blindsided the world by announcing this gem as a free title exclusive to subscribers to their online service. Competitive Tetris games have been around for awhile, so the basic concept wasn't profound, but the fact that Tetris was diving into the battle royale scene was enough to draw plenty of attention.

I picked up Tetris 99 right away, because I like Tetris, I was intrigued by the concept, and the price was right. After trying to get my Tetris fix from the Puyo Puyo Tetris demo, this was a welcome change. It complemented my style of playing in short, intense bursts, and the multiplayer was executed phenomenally! Everything about the game was straightforward, and I was a fan. Since then, more game modes have been added in both paid and free DLC, but I tend to stick to the original. It is pretty cool to see that the community was into the game enough to prompt DLC in the first place, even if it isn't for me.

Tetris 99 is a joy to play, so much that I often prefer it to the regular game! Plus, at the beautiful price of free, it's easy to see why it's worth picking this up. Do yourself a favor - start clearing some lines and kicking some butt.

The game is available for Switch here (as of 9/25/20): https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/tetris-99-switch/

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