One of the most stylish iterations of Tetris is soon heading to PC, although even that announcement may be overshadowed by what comes along with it.
First releasing on the PlayStation 4 to critical acclaim, Tetris Effect will now be making its way to the PC, along with VR and ultrawide monitor support, but as an Epic Games Store timed exclusive. The announcement was made with both a trailer on YouTube (with the expected like-dislike ratio) and an announcement on Twitter by the publisher Enhance Games. Check it out below.
In case that this is the first time you’ve heard of this game; I can’t say I blame you. Tetris Effect was initially released as a PlayStation 4 exclusive last November, and featured support for the PlayStation VR. It was very well-received, with many praising how it revitalized the longest-running Tetris series with its amazing art direction. The new game modes add substantial content, the soundtrack is amazing, and of course its VR integration can't be overlooked.
The series has been on a resurgence lately, what with this title and the Switch-exclusive Tetris 99 receiving considerable media attention, which may have been the reason for the port now. I personally haven’t played it, but from the trailer it looks stunning, and the way you place the tetrominos with the beat of the music is really interesting.
The Epic Games Store exclusivity is somewhat questionable, though. I do get that it’s a timed exclusive, meaning that it will eventually release to other storefronts like Steam and GOG, but what worries me is that this bad publicity will bury the potential of a great game. Already this is evident by the replies to the initial announcement via Twitter and the YouTube trailer.
This isn’t the only thing that troubles me as well. While Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, has been quoted on saying the Epic storefront supports VR titles, it remains to be seen how well it will be implemented, and what kind of hitches there will be. The only game I’m aware of that has VR support that’s on the Epic Games Store is Trover Saves the Universe, and according to a short thread on Reddit, the storefront does support VR, but you have to run it through SteamVR still.
Tetris Effect will be released on the PC on July 23 via the Epic Games Store.
