“Tetris Effect” and the Power of Positivity and Culture
I discovered Tetris recently. That isn’t to say I had never played the game until a mere few months ago, but I only just began to dig deeply into the true intricacy of the game. The concept is simple: The player is randomly given a set of four blocks condensed into a single mass in some pattern which they must build into a wall. If you fill out an entire line horizontally that line is then cleared, allowing you to continue building. However, if you consistently fail to fill out these horizontal lines, the wall will eventually fill up the screen, resulting in a game over. The best Tetris players will be able to build perfect walls as the pieces fall at high speeds, but for an untrained mind it can be quite difficult to maintain a clean structure, especially at higher speeds. If you want to dive down the rabbit hole that is competitive Tetris, I highly recommend researching footage of the Classic Tetris World Championships, simply to see how deep this game truly runs.
Where I found most of my love for the game, however, was through a sense of relaxation I could never achieve prior. There’s something therapeutic about aligning the pieces as neatly as I can only to watch them clear out when I’m dealt the “I” block. To me, it is a form of mindfulness which fills a role that common practices have traditionally failed in. While I have learned less stimulative and more natural methods of mindfulness, I can still use Tetris as a way of relieving stress or winding down for the day, as I become focused primarily on building walls and clearing lines, rather than the daily stresses plowing through my head.
Though discussing at length how I personally feel the basic design of Tetris is a perfectly valid means of reducing anxiety would be fun, I’ve always felt I’m better suited to writing opinions and observation rather than research. Luckily, I can bring my personal story with Tetris and how I feel others can find similar joy through last year’s Tetris Effect, a new iteration of Tetris which aims to recreate how we see this game, not as a fun puzzler, but as a beautiful experience of human connection and strength.
What immediately separates Tetris Effect from other versions of the classic game isn’t through it’s formula, as that remains as classic as usual, at least for the campaign. The catch here is the audiovisual synergy at work. Each time you move or rotate a piece, a short musical note will play in relation to whatever stage you are on. As the song plays, the background will shift around to the beats of said song as well as the notes you create through dropping your pieces and clearing lines. After you clear enough lines, the song will shift into a different verse along with the background visuals. It’s a simple design decision, yet there is this wonderful sense of cohesion through every part of it. No matter how you move your pieces or how swiftly you clear out lines, every song is perfectly designed to match naturally. The ears and eyes are working together to create this beautiful synesthesia which no other game has ever accomplished for me.
I first discovered this game through Giant Bomb, a video game journalism website which named Tetris Effect their game of the year. During this time, I was also just beginning to feel the more positive effects of my anxiety medication and treatment, so my exposure to the game hit at the perfect time. I was immediately mesmerized through it’s design. It took the addicting Tetris formula and added on a layer of catchy pop music and gorgeous art direction. But if that were all the game had, it wouldn’t be so special. In order to truly understand the greatest success of Tetris Effect, we need to dig into the lyrics presented in the songs.
I’m not one to analyze music, to be honest. I have no understanding of music theory, and my ability to interpret lyrical messages is quite poor if said lyrics aren’t presented bluntly. But the lyrics in this game aren’t meant to be digested through profound theoretical philosophy, they’re meant to convey immediate feeling as a method of empowering the player. Let’s dig a bit into some of the words from the first song we meet in the campaign, The Deep: Connected (Yours Forever):
I’m yours forever / There is no end in sight for us / Nothing could measure / The kind of strength inside our hearts / It’s all connected / We’re all together in this life / Don’t you forget it / We’re all connected in this life
While the initial reaction is to assume this is some form of love song, we can view these words in the perspective of our relation to the video game. As we are players, the game is lulling us into a sense of security, showing us how, despite us being new to this journey and not having an idea of where it is going or how long it will take, we will be guided through to the end. It is empowering the player for the coming difficulties, sparking our inner strength and telling us we won’t be alone. After this stage, we jump into Pharaoh’s Code: Next Chapter:
Close your eyes / So you see my vision / Unite the souls / So there’s no division / Look into the future / We see all seasons / Aiming for the top / But what’s the reason / Hands to the sky / And realize we’re free / We become the legends / We were meant to be / Now open your eyes / And you will see / I can lead you home / Just follow me
This stage is a means of further empowering the player by helping them understand their potential before taking on this journey. The game doesn’t want you to focus on your insecurities, telling you to see in yourself what it envisions. We know we are about to embark on a long and arduous path without any known reason, but one does not need to fully comprehend why they are doing something, as that is the beauty of free will, and it is through this free will which we achieve what is hidden deep inside of us. The game then tells us to open our eyes back up, and sincerely follow this advice.
After this second song, you are treated to many instrumental songs. There are a ton of musical styles from various cultures across the world. Some stages are relaxing, others intense, and some even emotional. It isn’t until we get to the twenty-third stage that we return to lyrical delivery in Balloon High: Look Up:
We embark / On this ride / To find out who we are / We look up / To the sky / To find out who we are / We embark / On this ride / To find out who we are / We look up / To the sky / To realize / Nothing can stop us / Nothing can stop us / We can touch the sky
By this point, you’ve likely had a rough go of things. This game doesn’t like to let up much, so if you’re not already pretty good at Tetris, it’s likely tested your will. But ideally you believed the words of Connected (Yours Forever), and you followed the advice presented in Next Chapter. Now, the game is assuring you that you have not been wasting your time and that even though the end isn’t in sight, we’ve found ourselves through this journey and discovered how tenacious we truly are. We’ve learned our true potential and are now given verbal confirmation that we are strong and can’t be stopped from reaching our objective. Once we pass this stage, we enter into Mermaid Cove: World of Colors, which shares this passage:
We are the light of hope / We’re shining like no other / Like diamonds in the rough / We found our world of color / Now we’re never going to give it up
This is the game indicating how far we’ve come while also foreshadowing the nearing end of our journey. We have risen from the bottom, an area literally named, “The Deep”, as a beacon of light which has not only seen the world, but seen the true colors of each area. Suddenly, the themes of connection mentioned in the beginning start to make sense. Throughout this game, you experienced the musical styles of so many different cultures, all the while playing a fairly simple puzzle game. While this may not seem like much, you have stayed connected to these cultures individually through the same process, a process that brought you comfort and encouragement to fully grasp said culture by completing that stage. Though they were different, they all had shared meaning through the game of Tetris which rendered them consumable to our minds. And now that we’ve seen the world, we can never give up what we’ve come to learn about each culture, and we will also never give up the strength we found within ourselves.
The following stage is another instrumental, but one that plays into a melancholic sentiment of our journey coming to an end. The song is simply titled, Orbit, and the background art shows us leaving the Earth we’ve ventured across in hopes of a greater vision. This is the beginning of the end for us, and fittingly, during our efforts to leave, we travel through the penultimate area and song named, Stratosphere: So They Say:
From my view / I can see you / I told you / That’s it’s greater / We are one / We’re just some in this universe / All around the Earth / You can find / The stars align / The way they shine / Over all mankind
And all the galaxy / Is one of many / Anyway / So they say / Wanna save me please / Too far to reach / But just a grave / Is what they say / How can we change the world / Change the world overnight / In this game of life / This game of life / How can we take a break / And make a difference tonight / I won’t leave you behind / Leave you behind
Live life in the moment / In the time that we have
There’s a lot to unpack within these wonderful lyrics, but to put it simply, we have gained a new way of understanding the world on a more holistic level. Despite being able to see each other individually, we can now also see the greater humanity across the world, sharing the same Earth and sky. In it’s second verse, the song asks if it’s possible to change the world even with our newfound knowledge. And as idealistic as it seems, it briefly answers these possibilities as achievable if we stay together in harmony, living life to it’s fullest in the short amount of time we’re afforded on this planet.
Everything mentioned so far has shown us a wonderful metaphor for our world and the joy we can find in remaining positive and embracing others for their own practices, but it needs something to tie all of these messages into a neat package, which is where the final stage, Metamorphosis: Always Been, but Never Dreamed, comes into play:
Come follow me / I’ll show you this side of the world / The places that you’ve never seen / Come follow me / I’ll show you the side of yourself / The person that you’ve always been / But never dreamed
What could you be afraid of / If I’m right here with you? / You know everything will change / Show me what you are made of / ’Cause I’m always with you / Come on, we could leave today
The first two verses of the song are meant to reiterate the message of the game. It is showing you the places that you have no knowledge of through the power of music, while also hoping to show you how strong you are along the way. Further, we are given reassurance of how the game will be guiding us the entire way, therefore we have no reason to be afraid of this undertaking. The verses are meant to reprise the roles of the songs we heard at the beginning, yet less as a means of encouragement, and more as an understood conviction of confidence. But immediately after we pass these two sections, the difficulty of the game ramps up to it’s highest yet. A speed which is so fast that one cannot even begin to plan out specific placements of each block. But the song playing in the background isn’t frenetic or tumultuous, rather it is one which soothes the mind, preaching these lyrics as you struggle:
Look at this / World we’re made for / Come with me / We’ll take tomorrow / Everything you want / Is waiting for you / Take it in / The light around us / Perfect love / Is all around us / Everything you need / Is waiting for you
Do you understand what the game insists? Look at how far you’ve come. You’ve traveled across the world searching for reason and achieved enlightenment through the connectivity of humanity. How are you going to allow speed to keep you from the finish line? The theme of the song is within the very title: “Metamorphosis”. We are aiming to transcend beyond what is expected of us, and we have learned of our ability to do just that. But with all of the mental barriers we tore through over the course of our journey, all that is left is the physical. In order to achieve true enlightenment and prove everything the game has been showing us of ourselves, we must take on the challenge. And even though it’s difficult and infuriating to fail near the end, we know that the game is always on our side, allowing us to try as much as we need so long as our will remains in tact.
And once we complete this level, we are treated to an image of one who has achieved true nirvana. We absorb into the cosmos to look over this beautiful world we now understand at a much deeper level. And as the credits play, we are treated to an extended version Connected (Yours Forever):
When you were born / Something changed / My heart could not contain / The miracle / Of this world / And all that it creates
With every passing day / The winds might blow stronger / And carries us away / But we will hold on to / Joy to light the way / To keep the reminder / That love does not escape
I’m yours forever / There is no end in sight for us / Nothing could measure / The kind of strength inside our hearts / It’s all connected / We’re all together in this life / Don’t you forget it / We’re all connected in this life
Beyond the stones and the seas / The sun and the breeze / The stars and the galaxy / Beyond the time that we take / The days that we make / I’m always gonna to be with you
Suddenly, a song which was once used as a gentle way of easing your mind before your journey is understood as something new. It is about the miracle of childbirth and the potential a newborn has simply through being brought to this world. Just as we began our journey in The Deep, so too do we end it there. But when we have offspring, we now have fresh new minds to open up to the many joyous experiences we’ve had. Thus an endless cycle of knowledge and love is created.
Perhaps Tetris Effect isn’t meant to have this deep of an impact, but it truly does create sincere emotions of joy and pride within me. Despite how massive this world seems, it is quite beautiful how closely connected we are in the scope of the universe. We allow anger and hatred to consume our lives, yet we fail as a collective to realize just how special this truly is. So if you ever wanted Tetris of all things to teach you valuable lessons on humankind, I highly recommend Tetris Effect.
