Skip to main content

Tetris Effect: Connected is the multiplayer I need right now

We're all together in this love.

A multiplayer game of Tetris Effect: Connected with all three player boards joined together.
Image credit: Enhance Games

Tetris Effect: Connected is one of the greatest single-player games ever made with multiplayer (and an unlikely Xbox Series X and S launch killer app). It's an easy sell to someone like me, who adores Tetris Effect to the point of never really shutting up about it. But its timing couldn't be better.

I was lucky enough to get the chance to play Tetris Effect: Connected for just over an hour recently, and yes, it has the versus multiplayer you'd expect, with the time-stopping Zone mechanic cleverly woven in, but what's most interesting about this game is the co-op.

The co-op, called Connected (a riff on Tetris Effect's life-affirming title song), sees three players team up to try to defeat computer-controlled bosses. That's right, boss fights in Tetris Effect - and it's wondrous.

Watch on YouTube

Here's how it works: you start by playing in your own matrix, clearing lines as normal. Occasionally the boss will send over attacks, called Blitzes, your way, triggering a game-changing effect that annoys the hell out of you. The boss might turn your screen upside down, or send over a super large Tetrimino. That kind of thing. The boss can also choose to go on the defense, too. Here, the boss can remove some of the garbage lines you've sent over.

Meanwhile, as you clear lines all three players fill up their shared Connected meter, and once it's full, all three matrices converge to become one. When you're all connected, you each take turns to place Tetriminos, clearing lines that are pushed to the bottom as they normally are during Zone, then sent over to the boss when the meter expires in a bid to top it out. This is the only way to attack the boss - together in co-op. There's no way to attack the boss as an individual. Also thrown into the Connected mix are Magicminos, magical purple Tetriminos that work to fill gaps, pushing anything in their way to fix the playfield.

At first this is a quite bewildering thing to do. You see an outline of where your Tetrimino will land, and you're sort of competing for position as your co-op friends move about their outlines on the connected screen. But it's not long before all three of you somehow start thinking as one, almost leading each other to place Tetriminos in such a way as to create that Tetris endorphin shot. When all three players are in the zone together, quickly placing blocks one after the other, it is a quite magical thing. I was playing with strangers, and yet we found ourselves in unison. No voice communication. No pings. Just... Tetris.

There are 12 bosses to work through, each based on one of the signs of the zodiac, and each with its own stage, style and, crucially, music. Music of course is one of the best things about Tetris Effect, and I'm told new music has been recorded for Connected. I'm also told the final boss is something special. Dear reader, I cannot tell you how excited I am to play this game with friends and reach this boss. Truly, the next generation has arrived.

And it arrives, as I said, at the perfect moment in time. In the middle of a pandemic, amid lockdowns and crushing isolation, at a time when I have no idea when I'll next see my elderly mother, Tetris Effect's new Connected mode is the multiplayer I need. It is an effortless co-op. It can be played in a quite lovely chill out variant, a breezy co-op Tetris I imagine will have that brilliant virtual pub effect I used to get from mindlessly farming in World of Warcraft - I am doing things in a lovely video game almost in pilot mode, and having a laugh with friends. I appreciate Tetris Effect is not the only video game to offer such a thing, but only Tetris Effect is Tetris Effect. So.

And get this, for 24 hours every weekend, Tetris Effect: Connected gets a versus variant, which lets a fourth player control the boss and fight against the team of three. I, the best Tetris player I know, will certainly give that one a shot.

What else? Oh yes. I played Score Attack - a one-on-one competition with standard Tetris Effect rules (so, no Zone mechanic) and where no line attacks are exchanged. It's all about your high score. The developers think of this as "single-player competitive Tetris". It can go on for quite a while and can be quite chill. I can see this one being popular with couples on the same couch.

Classic Score Attack is a one-on-one score-attack competition played using old-school Tetris rules. It is, essentially, competitive NES Tetris - you know, the Tetris the pros play at the big live tournaments. As someone who has focused on Tetris Effect and all its mod cons in recent years, I found this mode pretty brutal. There's no hard dropping, no ghost outline to show you where your Tetrimino will land, no ability to hold a Tetrimino. Only one piece is shown in the next queue. The pieces spin a bit differently, too, and lock down immediately when they touch a surface, so none of that desperate spinning at the last. It felt like playing Tetris with one hand tied behind my back. Certainly one to work on.

I keep coming back to Zone Battle as I think about the game. It's here I reckon I'll end up spending most of my time, working on improving my skill rating by winning ranked matches (cross-play between PC and Xbox confirmed!). The Zone mechanic is used here as an aggressive offense or defense. When in the Zone you send over bonus lines and block incoming garbage. Time to dust off those Tetris 99 tactics muscles.

All the while, you progress through the various tiers, each indicating a different level of overall ability and experience. Which tier you fall into is based on an aggregate of your skill rating in all the different modes (your SR increases when you win ranked matches and decreases when you lose, as you'd expect). So, you don't have to play one-on-one ranked to move through the tiers, which is good because Tetris Effect: Connected has a sort of galaxy-themed story in which you slowly work your way from the outer rim to an odd pyramid shaped object at the centre. What's there? And what's the nearby black hole about? Tetris Effect secrets - you gotta love it.

I'm also thinking about how stripped down the multiplayer is from a visuals point of view compared to the eye-catching single-player. You won't find any of the fancy background visuals here, and with good reason. The fewer distractions the better when it comes to competitive Tetris! But the multiplayer is still a gorgeous game. Effects are flying all over the place, all at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second on an Xbox Series X.

This isn't a review. I haven't played enough of Tetris Effect: Connected for that. But let's be honest, it was always going to be a banger, wasn't it? It's the Eurogamer Essential single-player game - Eurogamer's 2018 game of the year, too - with brilliant multiplayer added on. I feel confident saying this one's looking good.

And yes, dear reader, I have been listening to the Tetris Effect soundtrack as I typed this article. Get hype.

Tetris Effect: Connected will be available digitally on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, Game Pass and for the PC via the Microsoft Store starting 10th November 10th - the day the Xbox Series X and S come out. The expansion will then be made available as a free update in summer 2021 for all owners of Tetris Effect, on all platforms.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com