It's a rare treat to see a game that was previously non-cooperative gain co-op support. That's just what happened to Tetris Forever this week. The third game in Digital Eclipse's Gold Master Series (which also contains the delightfully quirky Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story) is a collection of new and classic Tetris games from throughout the franchise's history, plus documentary content. The arrival of Super Tetris, which supports 2-player local co-op, pushes the game count up to 21. That's a lotta Tetris!
The new update adds plenty of upgrades to Tetris Time Warp, the all-new game that was created for Tetris Forever. These upgrades include:
- Blast Off To Level 30: The single-player modes in Tetris Time Warp, which previously topped out at Level 15, now go all the way to Level 30!
- Time Warp Shield: In Tetris Time Warp's multiplayer mode, the Time Warp Tetriminos now have a new power – Shield! Clear a line including a Time Warp Tetrimino while the Shield design is showing, and you'll earn a Shield that will stop other players from sending you into a Time Warp.
- 1989 Mode Upgrades: 1989 Mode, a single-player mode found within Tetris Time Warp, now has a variety of fixes and new options. You can choose to turn off "Modern Gameplay" and experience more historically accurate gameplay.
- Take the 40-Line Challenge: Celebrate Tetris' 40th anniversary by trying to clear 40 lines as quickly as you can. Playable in both Modern and 1989 modes.
- Options, Options, Options: A vastly expanded Options menu lets you customize the visuals, sounds, and gameplay in Tetris Time Warp to your liking.
What's more, the update adds two classic games to the collection:
- Super Tetris: Released by Spectrum Holobyte in 1991, this was an early attempt at creating a "sequel" to Tetris. The gameplay is quite different — the Matrix is half-full of garbage when a game begins, and players can earn and use Bombs to clear out the spaces and find power-ups buried in the garbage. It includes Cooperative and Competitive multiplayer modes, in which two players play in the same Matrix!
- Tetris (AcademySoft) v. 3.12: A historically important inclusion, this is the final version of Tetris created within the Soviet Union in the Academy of Sciences, ported from Alexey Pajitnov's original Pascal code by Vadim Gerasimov. Dating to 1988, it is notable for its inclusion of Phantom mode, in which all O-Tetriminos (square-shaped pieces) are invisible!
Visit Digital Eclipse's website for more update details.
Tetris Forever sells for $34.99 on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and Steam. We'll try to work up some co-op impressions soon!