Are you a fan of Tetris however haven’t performed it multiplayer? No offence, however that’s like saying you’re keen on bacon however have solely tried it uncooked. Whoever got here up with the thought of a Tetris versus mode, whereby you’re rewarded for making strains with an avalanche of unhelpful junk blocks being poured into your opponents effectively, is a genius who’s presumably misplaced quite a lot of buddies (in keeping with the Tetris wiki, it was began by 1989’s Bloxxed, which implies we’ve loved over 30 years of this pleasure/ache).
It’s much more enjoyable/relationship-destroying should you play a model that throws objects into the combination, like the superb DS model, inflicting hilariously unfair debuffs like reversed controls or not with the ability to rotate your tetriminos. Be sure to’re a protected distance away if you use the latter on a foe to allow them to’t rotate the lengthy one which was going to win them the sport, as a result of they’ll probably be on the verge of whittling it right into a shiv. I feel Tetris Impact had so as to add that glorious co-op multiplayer mode simply to counteract how shut the versus model took us to a different world battle.
Anyway, I’m delighted to report that I’ve found a single-player sport that captures the magic of versus Tetris. Flowstone Saga is a 2D RPG with beautiful pixelart and the even lovelier thought of changing the same old turn-based fisticuffs with… effectively, one thing the sport by no means calls ‘Tetris’ for presumably boring authorized causes. You play as Mirai, an amnesiac protagonist (take a drink) residing in a small island village (and once more) who discovers a mysterious mystical artefact (decelerate now) referred to as the Flowstone, which possesses the facility to make 2D RPG fight enjoyable and attention-grabbing. Wow!
Now every time Mirai walks right into a monster, the sport cuts to a Tetris effectively on the precise and the beasts you’re battling on the left. These creatures have pink bars beneath them that steadily refill, and once they do, they’ll strike. Naturally, your solely recourse is to aggressively play Tetris, with every line you clear appearing as an assault. If Flowstone Saga simply left it at that, it could simply be a enjoyable little mash-up of puzzler and RPG.
As a substitute, it virtually instantly begins throwing in additional concepts. Monsters can cost up devastating assaults, and to interrupt them, it’s important to get some hits in first. Which means the traditional strategy of steadily constructing a wall with a pleasant hole in it for the lengthy tetromino so you may clear 4 rows without delay isn’t going to work right here. Typically you’re additionally combating two or extra monsters concurrently, so should maintain monitor of who you’re hitting whilst you’re attempting to focus on clearing strains.
Tetrominos typically have little yellow diamonds on one in every of their squares. For those who stick three of those diamonds collectively, you acquire “warmth” which makes your assaults extra highly effective. However naturally, sticking warmth blocks collectively hardly ever entails placing them ready the place they will simply be cleared as strains. So now you’re not solely avoiding creating four-line lengthy alternatives, you’re additionally actively taking part in the ‘fallacious’ manner and creating future complications for your self. These are simply the primary two of many, many occasions that Flowstone Saga cleverly forces you to unlearn outdated Tetris habits and adapt to new, riskier methods of taking part in.
Simply after I was lastly adapting to specializing in making as many small strains as doable in fast succession, new enemies introduce concepts like protect blocks that give them excessive defence till I clear them, or making giant sections of the effectively much less efficient to clear strains in, forcing me to pile up within the increasingly-likely-to-be-fatal optimum space. I can’t keep in mind the final RPG after I was this excited to see what new widespread enemy the sport would throw at me, purely as a result of I need to see what recent wrinkle they’ll add to the fight.
You unlock equippable frogs (er, after all), which grant talents that change the fight dramatically. Just like the Brigand, which throws within the occasional flaming tetromino that does persistent fireplace injury to enemies when cleared. Great things, however my favorite frog is the superb risk-reward riot that’s the Demolitionist. This one makes your strains do extra injury the upper your tower is, urging you to gamble by taking part in close to the highest of the display. It additionally lobs in 2×2 TNT blocks, virtually at all times within the least useful place doable (however should you clear them, it’ll destroy the underside two rows, doubtlessly saving you). I really like this construct, regardless of what number of occasions it’s screwed me over and made me lose to even the most typical enemies—which, after all, additionally makes each battle within the sport extra tense and thrilling.
Moreover, upon shedding you may immediately simply strive once more, and may even change up your frog earlier than doing so. This, alongside together with your well being refilling between battles and a super-speedy run button, typically makes it really feel like taking part in an RPG in fast-forward. Good factor too, as a result of the narrative connecting all these glorious Tetris bouts collectively is admittedly fairly overfamiliar stuff. There’s a number of enjoyable writing in right here, but it surely’s a predictable story that feels prefer it could possibly be a template included with RPG maker.
Nonetheless, a barely generic framework does assist showcase how effectively Influence Gameworks has efficiently squeezed Tetris into historic RPG tropes. Puzzles the place it’s important to get previous obstacles are enjoyable little sequences the place it’s important to determine the right way to place a set sequence of tetrominoes to make a selected form. And the best way you collect assets is thru a foolish mini-game whereby a pal retains throwing wooden, rocks, and so on, into your effectively and it’s important to make strains out of them to ‘acquire’ them. All of it makes about as a lot sense as a concrete parachute, however who cares?
I want they’d gone even additional with this everything-should-be-Tetris pondering. There’s a espresso store the place you may hang around with characters to study extra about them, Persona-style. A pleasant contact, with a few of the sport’s funnier writing, however I’d have beloved them to have compelled Tetris into this too. Just like the chat getting extra stuttered and compelled the longer you are taking to clear strains. Or placing dire topics like ‘POLITICS’ and ‘WHAT I DREAMT ABOUT LAST NIGHT’ within the effectively that it’s important to desperately clear earlier than your dialog companion can carry them up.
Between Battle Royale Tetris 99 on Change, and the audiovisual delights of Tetris Impact, followers of spinny block enjoyable have been consuming effectively these days. For those who’re searching for one other nice riff on this puzzle traditional, go try Flowstone Saga on Steam instantly.
