Tetris 99 has announced an entirely new competitive game mode coming to the Switch title. With this new game mode, called Team Battle Mode, players will be able to take the core game mode in a new direction. The new update also includes some other minor additions.
Puzzle and battle royale are not two niches within the games industry you would normally think to combine. This strange and exciting twist on the classic formula of stacking blocks is all about turning the game into a frantic competition. The core gameplay mode sees 100 players all playing Tetris at once, struggling to build lines. I say struggle because the other 99 players can easily screw with you in a variety of ways. Tetris 99 will allow you to “attack” other players by sending lines at them, it’s surprisingly hectic for what would otherwise be a simple puzzle game.
In Team Battle Mode, players will join up on a team within the match. There are four different teams at the beginning, with normal play slowly eliminating individual players. Those who are eliminated early can still earn XP, specifically by “liking” the moves of their teammates still in play. Whatever team that has a member still standing at the end of the match wins for their entire team.
The update also includes some out-of-game bonuses for Nintendo fans. These include the original Game Boy Tetris, Splatoon, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Super Kirby Clash. Included with the patch is well are some bug fixes, and a much-needed option for more button configuration options. You should be able to download the patch on next boot of Tetris 99. The patch is free for all users, so that’s cool.
Tetris 99 is out now for the Nintendo Switch. You can download it digitally or check out the retail version. The physical edition even has a 12-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online, which is required for the multiplayer portion of the puzzle battle royale game.
