Tetris 99
| Tetris 99 | |
|---|---|
 Digital artwork, featuring the game's logo | |
| Developer(s) | Arika |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Switch |
| Release | February 13, 2019 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle, battle royale |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Tetris 99[a] is a free-to-play online multiplayer version of the tile-laying puzzle game Tetris, developed by Arika and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch in February 2019. Incorporating elements of the battle royale genre, Tetris 99 has up to 99 players competing simultaneously to complete rows with falling tetrominoes, which in turn send attacks in the form of "garbage rows" to other players with the goal of knocking them out of the game.
Gameplay
Tetris 99 is a battle royale-style multiplayer puzzle game in which 99 players play against each other at the same time, with the aim to be the last player remaining. As with the traditional Tetris formula, players rotate and drop shaped bricks known as tetrominoes onto a board. Players can clear tetrominoes by completing rows across both sides, whereas players will lose if tetrominoes overflow off the top of the board. As with normal Tetris rules, players have the option to store a tetronimo piece to swap out at any time. By clearing multiple lines or performing continuous line clears in a row, players can send "garbage" to other players, which will appear on their board unless they can quickly clear lines in response.
During gameplay, small grids representing the other 98 players are displayed at the sides of the main board. Players can either choose to target individual players, or have the computer automatically target other players based on one of four criteria; random players, those who are targeting the player, those who are close to being defeated, and those who possess badges. Badges are earned by knocking out a player with garbage, which earns them a piece of a badge, along with any other badges or pieces that player had. The more badges a player completes and possesses, the more garbage they can send to other players at a time (up to a 100% damage boost). At the end of a game, players will earn experience that will increase their level. The game will periodically feature special events. [1]
Development
Tetris 99 was announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation on February 13, 2019, and made available later that day. It is available for free exclusively to players who have subscribed to the Nintendo Switch Online service.[2]
Reception
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 83/100[3] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Nintendo Life |   [4] |
As the video game industry began to shift towards battle royale, Tetris 99 appeared to be Nintendo's attempt at entering this genre. However, Tetris 99, though, was nothing like any other game in the space. As people began to hear of a battle royale game from Nintendo, they did not know what to expect. However, nobody expected it to be a Tetris game. Reception was amazing as "people went wild" for the newest battle royale game.[5]
![[icon]](/enwiki/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2019) |
Notes
References
- ^ Gach, Ethan (February 14, 2019). "Tetris 99 Has No Tutorial, So Here's What You Need To Know". Kotaku. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ^ Alexander, Julia (February 13, 2019). "Tetris is now a battle royale game with Tetris 99". The Verge. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ^ "Tetris 99". Metacritic. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- ^ Craddock, Ryan (February 15, 2019). "Tetris 99 Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
- ^ "'Tetris 99' Is A Free Battle Royale Game People Are Going Crazy For". UPROXX. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
