Many people, students and desk jockeys alike, have, at one point or another, played Tetris, and felt the joy and satisfaction of completing a row, and getting that new high score. But now, the fast paced game with blocks falling from above, has been replaced by an entirely new game: Block Blast. Its popularity skyrocketed on social media and has been a big hit with today’s teens. Is Tetris slowly becoming obsolete now that Block Blast is starting to steal the spotlight?
Tetris is a game sporting bright, multicolored blocks that fall from above almost like rain. It was originally made back in the mid 1980’s, during the peak of video game entertainment. The goal of the game is to rotate the falling blocks and fit them into spots where they would logically fit, clearing rows, and trying not to let the blocks pile to the top.
The game features the aforementioned blocks, along with a score counter, a display for the high score, and a variety of other bells and whistles on the side panels, which quite frankly make my head hurt. There’s a second version of the game that you can play, called B-type, where instead of endurance, the only goal is to clear 25 lines. In addition to that, there’s also a two player option that not many people know about. While the goal in single player Tetris is to survive as long as you can, your goal in multiplayer is to make your opponent slip up, by sending down “garbage” to fill up their board.
Each block has tetra (ancient Greek for four) blocks molded into a variety of shapes, ranging from solid cubes, to L shapes. The speed at which the blocks fall steadily increases the higher and higher your level and score gets, which is a tad annoying, but makes the game more challenging. There’s very little time to think about what you’re doing, and throughout the entire game, you’re trying to compensate for the mistake that you made a few blocks ago. Tetris was originally made in Moscow, Russia, by computer engineer Alexet Pajitnov, for PC. Later, Tetris was made for arcade, and lastly, it was released as a handheld version, being packaged on the Game-boy alongside Super Mario Bros.
A little over 30 years later, another game featuring suspiciously similar blocks was released: Block Blast. The game was made available in late 2022, and started to gain traction in 2024. While similar to its predecessor in a variety of ways, it also put its own spin on the block puzzle genre. The game’s openings are unsurprisingly similar, but while Tetris’ blocks fell downward and you had to collapse rows as quickly as possible, Block Blast allows players to be slow and methodical.
Block Blast gives a selection of three blocks with varying amounts of tiles within them at a time, and gives you the choice to clear upward columns of blocks as well. However, there is no way to rotate these blocks, like in Tetris.
One major difference between the two games is Tetris’ 8-bit vs the Block Blast’s high definition graphics. Block Blast includes the perfectly square board with a score counter atop it, as well as a high score counter in the top left of the screen across from the games settings button. Similar to how Tetris progresses, the game gets more and more difficult the more that you play it. With the added vertical lines to collapse, you would think the game would be considerably easier, but not being able to rotate the blocks reduces your options. Thus, the game in many ways felt considerably more difficult than Tetris.
It didn’t really evoke the need for that split second reaction time, but it certainly made you think more about what to do. For me, Block Blast felt like playing chess, working against the game, having to look multiple steps ahead to see what repercussions your decisions will have down the line.
This shiny new game has some of the newest graphics, and quickly gained mass popularity everywhere, especially social media. Content creators came in waves, trying to get sponsorship deals. Tetris on the other hand, is slowly becoming obsolete. Only middle aged mothers and students who are bored in their Spanish classes played an online web version of the game.
While Block Blast and Tetris each put their own unique twist on the block puzzle game genre and seem very similar, they both have incredibly different play styles. Block Blast allows you to take a slow and cautious approach, while Tetris does the complete opposite, relying almost entirely on reaction time and speed. Each of these games are an incredible way to work your mind, and a five star rating is most definitely deserved for each.
