Tetris Worlds

2006, Age 24

There are some games where story is intricately woven through the gameplay, some games where story is a cinematic experience isolated from the gameplay, some games where story is just tacked on, and some games where the presence of story is so baffling that it actually detracts from the gameplay. Tetris Worlds provided me with the insight that adding story doesn't necessarily improve a game.

All I wanted when I picked it out of the used bin was a version of Tetris for my PS2, so I wasn't expecting the ridiculous "narrative" and "setting." Though it startled and confused me, it didn't make the game any *worse,* aside from a distracting little thing bobbing around on the side that may have been a character (for an explanation of the story of this game, see Wikipedia). Eventually, though, the thought of the story made me embarrassed to even play the game.

Maybe someday, somewhere, someone will draw out an elegant and relevant story for Tetris. This game did no such thing.