Tetris Ultimate review for PS Vita, PS4, Xbox One, PC, 3DS

Platform: PS Vita
Also On: PS4, Xbox One, PC, 3DS
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: SoMa Play
Medium: Digital
Players: 1-4
Online: Yes
ESRB: E

Tetris Ultimate on the Vita works exactly as it should.

Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t be saying much. In fact, it might even be seen as damning with faint praise. I mean, it’s Tetris, one of the most widely played games of all time. Thirty or so years into the game’s lifespan, you’d think its formula would be more or less settled by now.

tetris_ss3_184298tetris_ss3_184298

But these aren’t normal circumstances. These are circumstances in which Tetris Ultimate’s release on the PS4 back in the fall was…a little problematic, to say the least. You wouldn’t think it’d be the sort of game that could be screwed up at this point, but the ample number of complaints would suggest otherwise.

Which, again, is why it’s such a relief that Tetris Ultimate works so smoothly on the Vita. There’s no glitching, no freezing, no tearing: it’s the core Tetris game that people have been playing and loving for decades now, working exactly like it’s supposed to. The blocks come down, you fit them in (or you don’t), and as you make more lines you level up and the blocks start falling faster.

tetris_ss1_184285tetris_ss1_184285

That’s not to say this version is perfect, mind you. The online has been dead every time I’ve tried playing the multiplayer modes, so I can’t vouch for how well they work — though, on the bright side, the AI is balanced enough that you can still play them offline and not have the gameplay suffer. Much more seriously (at least as far as I’m concerned), the music here is seriously weird. Rather than the standard Tetris theme, Tetris Ultimate features some weird remixed version that goes heavy on the melancholy. It’s a little offputting to hear that iconic music chopped up and turned into something sad, but…well, that’s exactly what they did.

All things considered, however, “The music is messed up” doesn’t seem like that big a complaint; not when the alternative, apparently, is being a game that just doesn’t work. Tetris Ultimate on the Vita won’t redefine the game by any stretch of the imagination, but it also won’t tarnish its legacy — and as one of the many, many people for whom Tetris is a seminal gaming memory, that’s really all I could ask for.

Grade: A-
Matthew Pollesel

Recent Posts

Koei Tecmo releases a Wild Hearts S demo for the Nintendo Switch 2

Check out the first few stages of Koei Tecmo's enhanced "fantasy hunting" game before it…

11 hours ago

PS Plus Game Catalog for July 2025 – Cyberpunk 2077, Abiotic Factor, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Heads up PlayStation Plus subscribers, the next set of Game Catalog releases are almost upon…

16 hours ago

Nintendo eShop Update – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY, System Shock 2 Remaster

There's a pretty well-rounded selection of new Nintendo eShop titles, content and sales launching today/soon…

17 hours ago

Iron Galaxy details Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4’s accessibility options to ensure skating will be fun for everyone

You really have no excuse to not digitally go outside and shred.

1 day ago

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves sees a 33% percent discount on Amazon’s Prime Day event

Think of it as SNK not charging you for Salvatore Gannaci and Cristano Ronaldo.

1 day ago

Fahkuram, the Muay Thai juggernaut to set foot in Tekken 8 on July 11th

So who’s going to be the first person to put the Atelier Yumia Hair accessory…

2 days ago