Match time factors into how both of these games approach the genre. Apex: Legends seems tuned to the prevailing 20 to 25-minute window. This is actually a fairly important feature of all battle royales since the circle closing pushes players together for encounters the game can end exactly when the developers design it too. On average the matches actually fall into two categories, less than 5 minutes whenever your squad loses the first series of fights and over 15 when they survive. Apex then returns players to the main screen to restart the match process of picking a hero and dropping into battle. Tetris 99 lasts at longest 10 minutes and a rematch button on the death screen. While Apex has opted for the traditional flow of the genre, Tetris (by way of its mechanics and design) can speed that cycle up dramatically. The time between Apex matches is around 2–4 minutes, while Tetris has that interlude down to 30–40 seconds.

After seeing your placement, there are no unlocks or longstanding reward system.

Player progression is another important facet to the games if you’ll remember Fortnite solidified itself ahead of PUBG thanks to a regular new progression ladder in the form of battle passes. In short, Apex is stealing the same model and Tetris has none. Well, to be fair, Tetris has an arbitrary account level that doesn’t unlock anything. This has been the one area that has distinguished the good battle royales from the great, and Apex’s developer Respawn has messaged their understanding of this. Apex actually has even more room to be successful in this than Fortnite, thanks to Legend characters as an unlockable, expandable area of the game.

To continue touching on aspects of the titles that aren’t necessarily tied to the gameplay itself, the platforms each of these games are appearing on is noteworthy. Apex released on PS4, Xbox One and PC, each system with a massive player base and stores known for marketing and sharing the highest profile games. Tetris 99 is exclusive to the Switch, it was developed by Nintendo. In fact, these games cannot directly challenge each other, but the form factors help tie in outside elements that have proved successful in games of the past. In the month since release Apex has had tie-ins with Twitch Prime’s service to provide free in-game items and a free skin with PlayStation Plus. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see more and more of these deals happening as the platform mindshare shifts from traditional titles to this. Tetris 99 gets to capitalize on the portability of the Switch, making it the first on-the-go battle royale I have been interested in seeing since Fortnite and PUBG’s mobile version in mid-2018.

There is one final area of battle royales that I haven’t touched on but that is hugely important, and that is how the last few moments of a winning round play out. The adrenaline rush, the narrative build, the heightened demands on execution, these are the building blocks of dramatic final engagement. Both games have ways to make this the best part of the experience, but much of it is inherent to the genre. When you have started from scratch, dropped into the match fresh and undeveloped, battle royales are borrowing the “from the bottom up” narrative building of roguelikes. Starting with nothing and building steadily to a winning moment creates a satisfying and complete narrative. On top of this basic idea, each game has specific buttons it pushes in elevating the moment. In Tetris, it is purely additional speed. As you finish a match the speed and music increase, lending a momentum that is absent from most moments in any given round. As for Apex, the collection of gear ensures you will be best suited to fight by the end, and ultimately feel your most powerful and most in control for the final engagement. These engagements can go one way or the other, but the intensity from facing them is where the magic lies.

Mobility is an important aspect to Apex, the developer’s last game Titanfall 2 set a new standard in first person movement.

So now, considering all of the similarities and differences between the two, how do you know which one to dump your time into? The beauty of battle royales, especially free ones, is that it is easy to figure out for yourself. Playing a match gives you almost all the information you might need about whether or not the game is for you. If you survive the first 2 minutes then the game will slowly dole out all of its surprises. But besides just jumping in, there’s another way to tell that will serve you outside of this two-game pairing.

You need to ask yourself, what kind of player am I? Am I a planner, an adapter, or an improviser? These are recognized methods in which we all approach games and play, and figuring out which you most closely align with might help you maximize your enjoyment with one game over another. The Planner is someone who likes to know what they are getting into ahead of time, they enjoy perfect information and more structured play sessions. They would probably like Tetris 99 a lot. An Improviser is someone who likes the random elements, they enjoy the dynamic elements and feeling as if each session is unique or bespoke in some way. I would definitely suggest Apex to an Improviser. The Adapter, a distinct third type, will typically find a specific style in which they play and sticks to it regardless of the game or systems they are thrown into. Of the two, Tetris seems like it would be suited to an Adapter over Apex’s need for flexibility.

But who really cares about your type? The beauty of video games is that they support all types in some way. Both Tetris 99 and Apex: Legends are interesting and provide a wealth of enjoyment for those who choose to play them. If I was forced to pick between them I honestly don’t think I could, they are so unique and have so many different things on offer even as they are bound up in the same category.

Pairings like this get me excited for what is coming in game design. Both of these games were undoubtedly influenced by the likes of Fortnite and PUBG, so what will the Apex’s and Tetris’s produce a year from now? I can’t wait to see.