Even more so than Polybius, Tetris effect in VR is the perfect confluence of ideas and people.
In one way, it might feel odd that Tetsuya Mizuguchi's crowning achievement so far is in essence a game with mechanics long defined by others.
This is a purely theoretical argument.
In reality, the match is made in heaven and the whole is so perfect everything feels obvious. How else would Tetris work? How else would it play? And why in the world would anyone choose to play this on a flat screen instead of in glorius, soothing, synesthetic VR? And why would anyone but Tetsuya Mizuguchi do it?
You begin playing a level with calm visuals, small sounds accompanying your every move and drop.
Clear a few lines, and beats will start appearing. Visuals grow richer, more particles swarm, form shapes, and swirl in the periphery. The visuals are rich but never distract. (In fact, I look forward to trying the mode where all you have to do is watch so I can enjoy more of them.)
Clear more lines, beats and rythms will form into melodies, singing might start, and eventually you will reach a pulsing visual and aural chorus as the end of the level approaches.
Levels sometimes feel too short.
Wish for the future: Tetris on tour. Let various creators make their versions of Tetris. Could be fun. Not eveything will be this. Nothing will be. But they can be good.
I have enjoyed Tetris since playing it for the very first time on a Commodore 64. I read the review in Datrormagazin, learned how the pieces fit together. So much experience picked up over the years. Will it feel the same to people first learning the mechanics now? (I assume there are such people even though it feels strange to me.) Will it be as magical when you have to think about the controls? When you have not seem the same pieces on infinite platforms, without even considering how the game could be enchanced on a new platform with new visuals and music?
I think a great game is still a great game, but I feel the long-term relationship is an added luxury for people like me.
I do not dream in Tetris pieces, but I want to play more. A lot more. Most of the time.