Tetris Effect: Connected, the multiplayer addition to Tetris Effect, was only available to new adopters when it released last November—you had to either buy a new copy of Tetris Effect or download the game via Game Pass. Tetris Effect: Connected will eventually become a free upgrade for all gamers, regardless of platform, this summer. It will also be available on Steam in late July.
Tetris Effect: Connected will also support crossplay—players may join up for a closed crossplay beta that will run through July 5 and will support all platforms, including Oculus Rift. Along with crossplay, a few additional features, such as a Spectator Mode, will be included. Between 4 and 6 spectators can join to watch a match in this mode, which is allegedly the “most desired feature by the Tetris Effect community.” This is a welcome feature, especially given how tough it is to get people over to watch a couch co-op match. A PAL speed setting, a setting intended at emulating the framerate and movement of Tetris on the NES, and a slow speed setting are also included.
Making Tetris Effect: Connected available to all players is a fantastic idea—the active competitive Tetris community has already demonstrated what a fantastic multiplayer game it is, and Switch users have their own multiplayer Tetris with Tetris 99. Aside from that, Tetris Effect is simply a fantastic game—it converted me into a fan with its PC version, and I still play it on a regular basis.
