Before Alexey Pajitnov reclaimed the rights to Tetris, numerous unofficially licensed versions of his game circulated worldwide. The creation of The Tetris Company was to ensure that every game bearing the Tetris name would meet Pajitnov’s standard of quality. While the franchise has been licensed to many talented developers over the years, there have been numerous duds that have suckered unsuspecting consumers by simply slapping the Tetris brand on a shoddily-made product.
There are countless ways to experience this timeless falling block game, but many are not worth the money or time that they command. Players who want to enjoy Pajitnov’s classic are better off avoiding these versions.
10 Tetris Splash’s Underwater Presentation Doesn’t Justify Its Price
While it was nice to see this game available for digital download, Tetris Splash didn’t really offer much to justify its cost. For a game that had just turned 23, the asking price of $10 dollars was kind of steep. Had the game offered some additional modes, unique gimmicks, or further refinements, players might have been inclined to fork over the extra money for yet another version of Tetris. What Splash provided was basically an underwater aquarium in the background. While there are most certainly worse versions of Tetris available, there are many other versions that are cheaper and offer more features.
9 Tetris Evolution Is An Overpriced Retail Version
Released around a time when HD and digital distribution were changing the gaming landscape, Tetris Evolution was a boxed retail game that charged $30 but offered very little. Even entries on the cartridge-based Nintendo 64 sported more innovation than this supposed high profile 720p release. Both the graphics and the music do little to stand out, although the familiar Korobeiniki tune makes an appearance.
Had this title been released as a digital download on Xbox Live or PlayStation Network for much cheaper, the mediocre presentation and lack of any new content could have been overlooked, but as a full retail game, more should have been done.
8 EA’s Tetris 2011 Charged A Monthly Subscription Fee
Requiring a monthly $2.99 membership fee and forcing players to join some sort of club, EA’s 2011 mobile version of Tetris was needlessly cumbersome. The touch controls got the job done, but lacked the precision needed for when the blocks fall faster. The lack of any online or multiplayer modes in a release as late as 2011 is particularly baffling. What didn’t help matters was that there was previously a perfectly fine version of the game that only charged 5 dollars before this release ended up de-listing it. Thankfully, EA’s license to the Tetris IP expired, and they didn’t seem interested in renewing it.
7 Tetris CD-i Is A Barebones Version On A Dead End Console
One of the first versions of the game to run on a CD format, Tetris for the CD-i didn’t really feature much to justify the purchase of Phillip’s ill-fated console. As with many old versions of the game, blocks can only rotate clockwise, and there are no wall kicks. Despite Atari’s version supporting 2-players years before the CD-i, this one lacks any multiplayer modes. The game doesn’t really flex the CD hardware that much with its sparsely animated gif backgrounds and redbook audio music. There are no sound effects and the music is comprised of a bunch of relentlessly bland new age synth tunes that grate very quickly.
6 Tetris PLUS’s Puzzle Mode Is Too Easy And Classic Mode Had Terrible Controls
In addition to the classic version, Tetris PLUS includes a puzzle mode where players must clear blocks while an archeologist walks through the playing field. If players don’t clear the blocks fast enough, he gets killed by spikes at the top of the ceiling.
Unfortunately, this mode requires very little strategy and can be easily beaten with brute force. If that’s not bad enough, even the traditional mode is hampered by stiff controls. The game sports a chibi anime art style that’ll prove charming to some and irritating to others while the music is little more than the typical bouncy tunes heard in countless puzzle games.
5 Tetris Plug N’ Play’s Controller Kills The Game
While some might find it callous to judge a simple Plug N’ Play Tetris too harshly, players still have to pay actual money for something that’s outclassed by versions that can be played online for free. The Block-shaped controllers that players are supposed to use are ill-suited and unresponsive. One wonders why they didn’t just go for a joystick or a d-pad and two buttons. The visuals and sounds are exactly what players would expect from a Plug N’ Play title. Though the game boasts six different modes and supports 2-players, it’s unlikely anyone will play one for more than two minutes.
4 3D Tetris Is The First Stumble Towards A VR Experience
Years before Tetris Effect, T&E Soft attempted to deliver a virtual reality spin on the old classic with 3D Tetris for the Virtual Boy. However, the monochromic color scheme mixed with the game’s 3-dimensional gimmick will strain the eyes of anyone who tries to play it. The arena constantly rotates to give players a sense of where the pieces will land, but it ends up feeling more disorienting than helpful. It would take time and further technological advances to deliver the definite VR Tetris experience, and 3D Tetris will be forever remembered as the first stumble in that long road.
3 Tetris Worlds Adds A Feature That Ruins Any Challenge
During the 2000s, the Tetris formula was starting to get long in the tooth, so Tetris Worlds decided to innovate the series with a storyline. Aside from its unnecessary emphasis on narrative, Worlds adds a feature that removes any sort of challenge- its infinitely rotating blocks. As long as players keep rotating the block, the game will refrain from sending players the next one, allowing gamers to essentially cheat the game. Although later ports for the GameCube and Xbox made this easy spin mechanic optional, players cannot disable this feature in the initial PlayStation 2 release.
2 Tetris Blitz Adds Microtransactions To A Classic
Leave it to EA to try to innovate on an old classic in the absolute worst way possible- with micro-transactions and advertisements. Tetris Blitz was a mobile version of the falling block game released on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
The default mode of the game gave players a two-minute time limit and tasked players with getting as high a score as possible. With actual real-life money, players could purchase power-ups to aid them. Needless to say, this really ruins the spirit of the original game which rewarded problem-solving and clever foresight instead of the size of a player’s bank balance.
1 Tetris Ultimate Was Quite Possibly The Worst Commercially Sold Version
Despite being released as late as 2014, Ubisoft’s Tetris Ultimate somehow struggled to maintain a consistent framerate for a game that’s over three decades old. These hiccups could lead to many misplaced pieces and other mistakes that can cost players victory, essentially making its initial release borderline unplayable. In addition to the game’s abysmal framerate, features that are usually taken for granted such as button mapping were completely absent before a post-launch update. Aside from that, the presentation is nothing to write home about and offers nothing that should strain the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One hardware.