TETRIX

Tetris is simply Tetris. Don't look for a game that'll get you into a trance or bring you some revolution — Tetrix from 1995 is just another attempt to tackle the classic falling blocks on DOS, when legal Tetris already existed, along with dozens of official variants. But that's exactly the charm of that era: too many clones, too little talent.

It plays like Tetris plays. Blocks fall from above, you rotate them, push them to the sides, and when you complete a line, it disappears. Nothing more, nothing less. The score goes up, the level speeds up, there comes a time when you can't keep up anymore. Game over. The graphics are nothing more than ASCII characters or primitive pixels — maybe straight out of Game Boy's Tetris, just with a different color palette. The sound, if there's anything at all, will probably be the least reason to play this version.

What sets this variant apart from dozens of other DOS Tetris games? Hard to say. There's nothing here that springs to mind when you think of the word "innovation". The controls are precise, if they exist — keyboard or joystick — but nothing special. Some versions from that time at least had some special modes or a story. Here it looks like you got a basic template and that's it.

Tetrix exists as an artifact from the time when every personal computer had its own version of Alexey Pajitnov's miracle. It's not the worst thing you've ever experienced, but it's also the most unnecessary. If you want to play Tetris on an emulator, go for the classic — maybe the GBC version, or the smooth Game Boy Tetris, which at least has music stuck in your head.

You don't need to look at it today. If you're stubbornly set on experiencing some DOS version of Tetris, reach for something that knows why it exists. Tetrix is made only because Tetris can be made. It's not bad — it's just pointless.