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Tetris Ultimate PC First Impressions

Okay finally arrived better late then never. I have played only about an hour and dabbled in most of the game types (Except the ones that crashed) and here's what I think.



Lets start positive because there are some good things. It looks great. I like the aesthetics it is probably one of the better looking versions of Tetris there is. People who prefer the really really minimalist designs in some of the unofficial variants like Lockjaw or Nullpolimo might not like it but I do, especially when you compare it to last gen which i really did not like. There are also a good number of game modes so every kind of player will find something they are after, whether its Marathon, Sprint or Battle. Okay thats all I got for god things so lets move on.



My criticisms are divided in 2 minds, one as an aspiring game designer and one as a Tetris fanatic.



I really dislike the approach to TU's Menu design. It looks good, and animates well. But its not intuitive and clutters the screen with a lot of information most of which is hard to direct around at first. Especially since there is no real tutorial. Or I should say there is one but its placed in a spot that no first time player is gonna find. And when you do get to it you are faced with an encyclopedia of text. If you were trying to follow the instructions you would have to constantly flop back to that menu.



I could understand if the dev team wanted to not have the players go through menu after menu but I would of rather something simpler. A starting menu that says "Online, Solo, Settings, Profile" which then opens up into something else. instead of an overwhelming amount of text as soon as you hit start.



On the subject of clicking things. I'm not sure why they decided to make somethings clickable and somethings not. Everything in the footer requires key presses and somethings require clicks. You have to be a little more consistent than that. Its like trying to play an FPS in an options menu. Also who thought it was a good idea to make the two keys to press "O" for confirm and "Backspace" for exit. Those keys are in the middle of nowhere and doesn't relate to any of the keys during play.



And now we come to some issues with the gameplay.



Something happens the faster you want to play and it comes from your expectation compared to what happens. 2 things that are really critical is line clear speed and when you are allowed to rotate the incoming piece. The longer that delay is between what you want to do next and when the game allows you to do it Is very important especially the faster you want to play. Very important for sprint players.



I am not that quick of a player, relatively speaking compared to the really really hardcore players, but even I am getting irritated with the delay. When you know what to place next, and when you know you hit the button to rotate, but the game lets you down by not keeping up with you. Its very frustrating aspect.



The decision to allow sensitivity was good. Maybe not to the degree I'd like, something finer than a 1-10 scale would of been nice, but a lot of variants don't have it so fine. The decision to Lock the Controls and the Piece orientation on the other hand is baffling to me. I had no idea they did this because I thought it was a given before it came out. I play with the numpad because it means I can rotate both ways with just my right hand. Thats how I play thats whats comftable for me. I also don't like using the space bar for drop, I prefer a smaller key and one next to my hold like "z" because i prefer using my index finger instead of my thumb.



these specific issues for everyone to play a certain way makes me think Tetris Ultimate had a very clear goal in mind and I'm not one that likes it.



If you are a casual player who doesn't play tetris often, maybe occasionally a long time ago. The game is fine. There are bugs here and there (3 of the game modes crashed on startup for me in the first 20mins) but its manageable, and if you are able to navigate the god awful tetris party up system, its okay.



The problem is I don't think its worth it to get it on PC. because if you are playing causally, 4 controllers will work, 4 keyboards won't.

More pressing is I don't think its worth your $15USD. You can get the same things from other outlets that let you satisfy that craving and then move on... and get back to Fallout 4 or something. If you hadn't already bought the game on your XBone or PS4, theres no reason to get this version.



If you are like me and you are a Hardcore player. This game is missing far to many options and crashes to many times to be taken seriously for your play. If you are a marathon player you would rather play TGM, if you are a multiplayer player you would rather play Top or Cultris. If you are a sprint player you would rather play Nullpol or Lockjaw. Most of them cater what you are after better for you, and most of them are Free to play as well.



The only reason you would play Tetris Ultimate is if you hadn't tried any others. And thats really disappointing.

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