The legend that is Tetris just keeps on giving. Along with the brilliant Tetris 99 from 2019, we got the effervescent Tetris Effect a year earlier.

Developed by Japanese studios Monstars, Resonair, and Stage Games, the stunning result is like a rhythm game meets chillout Tetris. And it’s fantabulous.

Tetris Effect’s Chillout Glory

Tetris Effect began development in 2012 between three Japanese studios: Monstars, Resonair, and Stage Game.

The end result is something along the lines of Thumper (2016) and Runner2 (2013), but with falling tetromino blocks from Alexey Pajitnov’s classic.

It’s Tetris as you’ve never seen it before!

And this is also a game, following a bunch of others, basically ordering us to play the game with headphones on. Don’t tell us what to do, game!

But, well… it’s a very idea to do that. The soundtrack is excellent and along with Tetris Effect’s visual appeal it’s easy to get drawn in. Behold!

We’ve always maintained Tetris has an incredibly therapeutic quality. Studies show it’s great for relieving depression, PTSD, and various addictions.

So the magical thing about Tetris Effect is you get all the usual glorious benefits of playing this magnificent video game.

But! Added into that you have “levels” with different themes and music to open your eyes about the possibilities of this puzzle game.

That’s the main part of the experience, moving through the levels to open new types of challenges and game modes.

As with games like Runner2, your actions and movements in the levels sort of adds to the soundtrack as you play along.

Your brain kind of gets in rhythm with your onscreen motions.

We highly recommend playing the game on as big a TV as possible, really, as you get quite absorbed into the whole experience.

Whereas Tetris99 (a game we play regularly) is primarily about pulse racing action and mighty fast decision making, Tetris Effect is largely about relaxing.

Seriously, we’ve often said games have a highly therapeutic quality (check out our podcast on explaining gaming for non-gamers).

And we can’t think of any better title than this to back that up.

If you’re feeling depressed or just want to relax a little bit after a busy day, this is the title to turn to.

It’s a proper Zen Buddhism experience! Our suggestions are:

• Play the game in the evening or at night.
• Get some candles out.
• Light some incense.
• Quote from Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows.
• Drink some herbal tea.
• Play with your headphones on.

Proper belting, right there. So, yes, it’s fair to say we love Tetris Effect a great deal.

And it’s further proof of the perfection of Alexey Pajitnov’s game. It can be adapted over and over to provide new experiences with each gaming generation.

When the results are as stunning as this, long may that continue.