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Tetris Effect: Connected goes old-school with 'Classic' mode

Experience Tetris just like it used to be with Tetris Effect: Connected's new (old?) Classic Score Attack mode.

Ozzie Mejia

October 28, 2020 12:50 PM

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Tetris Effect: Connected is all about bringing Tetris players of all stripes together for a mind-blowing puzzle experience. While the new multiplayer modes are going to be the biggest difference from the previous Tetris Effect, the teams at Enhance and The Tetris Company are also looking to add something for the seasoned Tetris veteran. You know, the old-school Tetris player who remembers a day when Tetris didn't have these newfangled mechanics and "modern" ideas. On Wednesday, players got to take a first look at Classic Score Attack, which takes Tetris back to its roots.

Classic Score Attack is designed to be Tetris just as people would see from the Classic Tetris World Championship. It's a raw head-to-head mode where the top score wins. What makes Classic Score Attack noteworthy is that it removes almost every modern element of Tetris. That means no garbage mechanic, no Hard Drop, and no Hold Queue. Tetriminos will lock down immediately upon hitting a surface and the only way to score is through singles, doubles, triples, and Tetrises. The folks at Enhance are big fans of the CTWC (they're also sponsoring this year's event) and have sought to replicate this experience in as exact a manner as possible, which should appeal to those who can't find their old NES Tetris cartridge.

Other multiplayer modes include the more modern Score Attack, Zone Battle, and Connected. Connected is an intriguing co-op option that sees three players team up and combine their Tetris abilities to battle boss characters. All of this will go alongside the other game modes previously included in the original Tetris Effect.

Tetris Effect: Connected is set to release on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Windows 10 and will be available through Xbox Game Pass on November 10. Existing Tetris Effect owners on PS4, PC via the Epic Games Store, and Oculus Quest have a long wait ahead of them. They won't get the Connected update until Summer 2021.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?