Recently, my brother introduced me to a new Tetris website called Tetr.io. After using it for a few days, I’ve found it to be a lot more versatile then the website I’ve been using. So this week, I want to share why it’s better and my experience so far with it.
To start, why exactly is this websites better than previous ones? The short answer is customization. Prior to Tetr.io, the website that gave me the most freedom was Tetris Friends. On that website, you could select up to nine game modes from Marathon to multiplayer PvP. Tetris Friends also allowed you to spend in-game currency to customize more technical aspects of the game that’d allow you to play faster. Tetr.io takes this a step up, where you can freely customize your AAR (Automatic Repeat Rate), DAS (Delayed Auto Shift), and SDF (Slow Drop Factor) free of charge. They all do different things but to keep it short, AAR makes pieces fall faster, DAS allows you to move pieces side to side quicker, and SDF determines how powerful the slow drop is, a feature that makes pieces fall faster when pressing a certain key.
Unfortunately, Tetr.io does have less predetermined game modes. Including the multiplayer, there are four game modes. In single player there is 40 Lines, the goal being to clear 40 lines as quick as possible, and Blitz, where you want to clear as many lines as you can in two minutes. In multiplayer, there is a casual and competitive game mode. In casual or Quick Play, there is no regulation between top tier and bad players. On the other hand, the competitive scene or Tetra League, pits you against another player with a similar skill level. Tetris Friends had all four of these game modes, including five others. However, notice how I said predetermined. In Tetr.io, you can recreate virtually any single player game mode in Tetris Friends and more. I haven’t fully explored the full extent of Tetr.io’s customizability, however there is seemingly one missing feature. The feature in question being the skill progression one seen in many Marathon game modes on the internet. Basically, in most Marathon game modes where the goal is to achieve the most amount of points you can before topping out, the game slowly speeds up making the it harder overtime. Tetris.io doesn’t seem to have this feature, that or I simply haven’t discovered it yet, there are just so many options.
In addition to the amount of customizability Tetr.io offers, there are also the quality of life improvements as well. While you’re playing a game, the website makes it really easy to restart or exit to the main menu, both being done by holding their respective key on your keyboard. The website also added a feature I’ve never seen before, the 180 spin. To be honest, I’ve never honestly really thought about it, but a 180 spin button would’ve really been the next logical step. For example, let’s say you have a L or J piece and you want it facing the opposite direction. Regardless how it’s positioned, you’ll need two spins of either clockwise or counter-clockwise rotation to accomplish your goal. Two spins take up more time and can be costly if your pieces are falling fast enough. In some cases even the direction of how you spin your piece will matter depending on your stack (the arrangement of previous pieces), another small thing you need to consider when placing. With this new 180 spin button, you won’t need to worry about spin direction anymore. Theoretically if you’re really good, you’ll only need to press one key when getting ready to place a new piece, excluding tucks (filling a gap in the stack by sliding it in) and spins (filling a gap in the stack with a precision spin). However, even with all these neat quality of life improvement, there is one thing absent, the pause button. Scrolling through the menu, I could not find a way to freeze the game. If you want a good score you’ll just need to soldier on, no breaks in between.
Overall, Tetr.io is a great website and my new go to for Sprint and Blitz. I’ve slowly interest in Tetris PvP but still occasionally play, though the casual scene on Tetr.io might be a bit much for me. I’ll likely still use Tetris.com for my Marathon needs, but Tetr.io does everything better. In the end, Tetr.io is great for people who like PvP Tetris or just want to challenge themselves against the clock.