Tetris Forever Review

This Tetris Forever review is played and tested on Sony PlayStation 5.  Tetris Forever is available for the Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X & S, and PC for $34.99US/€33.

Tetris Forever is the third compilation in a series known as the “Gold Master Series,” released by Digital Eclipse. The first two collections in the series are The Making of Karateka (#1) and Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (#2), both excellent compilations worthy of purchasing if you haven’t done so already. Tetris Forever is a beautifully curated and expansive collection of fifteen classic and new Tetris variants, spanning forty years. It begins with Alexey Pajitnov’s 1984 version, created on a USSR-made Electronika 60 Computer, and ends with Tetris Time Warp!, a love letter to the legacy of Tetris with nods to past games across four decades.

Digital Eclipse’s Craftsmanship

Digital Eclipse is celebrated as one of the best retro/remaster video game developers, with a history dating back to its first releases in 1992. They took on the task of curating a museum-style collection, showcasing different eras of Tetris along with previously unseen footage. After initial success on PC and Steam, the game was expanded to current-generation systems, including the Xbox Series X & S, Sony PlayStation 4 & 5, and the Nintendo Switch. Let’s examine how well they delivered on this ambitious release.

Tetris Recap

If you aren’t well-versed in the history of Tetris, here’s a quick recap. Tetris was created by Alexey Pajitnov (b. 1955) while he worked at the Moscow Academy of Sciences (MAS) in 1984. Alexey was inspired by a puzzle designed by Solomon W. Golomb (1932–2016) in 1953, where he introduced “Polyominoes”—a set of shapes formed by equally sized squares. These shapes include Trominoes (three squares), Tetrominoes (four squares), and Pentominoes (five squares). The objective was to fit all the pieces onto a set-sized board without leaving any open spaces, a challenge that captivated Alexey. This fascination led him to create his own puzzle game, which he eventually shaped into what we now know as Tetris.

Using these square-based forms as a foundation, Pajitnov developed the recognizable shapes we associate with Tetris today. After showing the game to his colleagues at MAS to an enthusiastic response, Pajitnov aimed to share his creation with a wider audience. However, in the USSR of 1984, the government owned all intellectual property, and creators were rarely, if ever, compensated. In 1985, Alexey asked a 16-year-old student who frequented MAS to help port Tetris to the IBM PC, which the student managed to complete later that year.

In 1986, entrepreneur Robert Stein visited MAS, where he saw Tetris running on the Electronika 60 computer. Recognizing its potential, he sought licensing rights for the game, though the process was complex and fraught with restrictions. Despite these challenges, Stein played a crucial role in bringing Tetris to the world, turning it into the legendary game it is today and securing its place as the second entry on our Top 20 Games of All Time list.

Labor of Love?

Tetris has been a game I’ve enjoyed immensely since 1988. When I first saw it in arcades, I was drawn to the falling puzzle pieces in the Sega version—the very version that sparked a copyright case for Robert Stein, adding yet another layer to the intriguing history of Tetris. I was hooked, and over the years, I experienced many different versions. One that left a strong impression on me as a kid was the Tengen Tetris on NES, as well as the iconic 1989 Game Boy version. Tetris has seen countless variations over time, many developed by Alexey Pajitnov himself, ranging from innovative to outright quirky. Yet, even as it ages, Tetris remains one of those rare games that continually introduces new ways to play.

The story of how Tetris reached the world is part of why I love it so much. It’s a tale fueled by the ambition of a young Alexey and by a chance encounter with someone who, through insight and negotiation, managed to secure a deal that brought Tetris out of the USSR and into the global market. This journey took the game through the Netherlands, New York City, and even Japan, where its key players made names for themselves. For me, Tetris embodies a sense of nostalgia, excitement, and inspiration—qualities that are beautifully documented in this Tetris collection.

The Collection in Tetris Forever

In Tetris Forever, we’ve compiled fifteen versions of Tetris spanning multiple decades and a wide variety of systems and platforms—including the Electronika 60, MS-DOS, Famicom, Apple II, Game Boy, NES, Super Famicom, and Game Boy Color. This collection covers nearly every major development in Tetris’ history, with the notable exceptions of the ‘bootleg’ Tengen NES version and the Nintendo-licensed version.

Digital Eclipse has done an impressive job in wrapping these games up, creating a journey through Tetris’s history. They went to great lengths to present each emulated game in a way that evokes the experience of its original context. The Electronika 60 version, for instance, includes an overlay that simulates playing on an old Soviet-era Elektronika monochrome monitor, with an additional screen line filter adding to the authentic feel.

Attention to Detail

While the Electronika 60 version stands out as the most enigmatic, each game in the collection benefits from this careful treatment, enhancing the authenticity of the entire set. The UI for each game is largely untouched, staying true to the original design, except where necessary, such as in the Electronika 60 version, where players can experience it with different monitor options and gameplay styles to capture its early development phase back in 1984. A fun fact for Tetris fans: the now-iconic “Tetris” (a four-line clear) scoring bonus was not introduced until 1988, so early Electronika 60 versions won’t include that feature. However, later versions in the collection were updated to offer it for purists.

Adding to the richness of the collection is Igo: Kyu Roban Taikyoku, the first “Go” board video game, released in 1984 on the Commodore 64. It’s presented here in its Famicom version—a fascinating tech demo at the time, though limited to a 9×9 board rather than the full 19×19. Although the limited grid was due to hardware constraints, it’s a fascinating part of this collection.

Evolution in the 1990s

As the timeline progresses, Tetris variations become even more unique. For instance, Hatris introduces hats in place of traditional blocks, while Bombs and Blocks carries the series forward into the 1990s, offering novel twists and a glimpse into Tetris’ enduring appeal.

Tetris (High) Value Pack

This Tetris collection includes fifteen distinct releases spanning from the 1980s to the present day, making it a comprehensive set for fans. Beyond the games, it offers over an hour of video content, numerous photos, and in-depth discussions covering everything from Tetris World Championships to the Tetris movie.

The additional content delves into the future of Tetris, including plans by Maya Rogers and her team at Blue Planet Software, the longtime rights holder. Maya, the daughter of Henk Rogers—who, alongside Robert Stein, played a pivotal role in bringing Tetris beyond the Iron Curtain—discusses the vision for a new generation of Tetris.

This collection also highlights Tetris’s newest star, Willis “Blue Scutti” Gibson, who achieved the (presumed) impossible in December 2023 by becoming the first person to “Kill Screen” the NES version of Tetris—a feat that had eluded players for 34 years.

Given the wealth of content and the attention to detail in this release, the pricing at $34.99 USD / €33 seems like great value for what it offers.

Tetris Museum

This collection of fifteen games covers forty years of Tetris history, and all of them are excellent—even the earlier titles that required tweaks due to limited keyboard and mouse support. The UI and museum-style presentation are some of the best I’ve seen in this genre, comparable to the Namco Museum series released on the Sony PlayStation 1 between 1995 and 1997 (1998 in Japan). After playing over twenty hours in preparation for this article, I can confidently say there was nothing major, or even moderate, that I found wrong with this compilation.

The current set is impeccably curated, capturing the essence of “a day at the Tetris Museum.” Any minor gripes I have mostly concern the user interface and some quality-of-life issues, which may have been patched by the time of release. A few games can be quite difficult—or even impossible—to exit and return to the timeline, of example. But that is about as severe as it gets.