Tetris 99 For Nintendo Switch Coming To Physical Stores This Fall

Tetris 99 began as a free bonus for subscribers to the Nintendo Switch online service, but soon physical copies will also be available--with an online subscription included. Nintendo has confirmed a release date of September 20 for Europe. No release date has been announced for North America.

The physical version of Tetris 99 will include the Big Block DLC with CPU Battle and Marathon modes. Separate local arena and 2P Share Battle modes will be available later this year as part of the Big Block DLC. The physical edition also includes a 12-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online, which will let you play Tetris 99 in its default battle royale state against other players.

The Online subscription will also grant access to other bonuses like a growing collection of NES Classics. In June that included Double Dragon 2, City Connection, and Volleyball. In addition to the NES games in their original emulated state, Nintendo also sometimes releases special editions with save files that give you a leg up or some special equipment. The online service also enables online play for most games, and gives access to cloud saves.

Tetris 99 takes the classic block-stacking puzzle game and makes it a wild competition against 98 other human players, each trying to be the last player standing. It's a battle royale model that, surprisingly, really works for the game. If you're already playing Tetris 99, remember that the next game event, themed after Splatoon, is running this week.

"Tetris 99 may not be a proper battle royale game, but it taps into the same emotional well, where a large number of players vying for supremacy creates an ever-present intensity that's difficult to shake," Peter Brown wrote in GameSpot's review. "Add that layer to a game that's plenty capable of instilling tension on its own, and you've got a riveting experience that even at its worst is still a game very much worth playing. There's obvious room for improvement, but that's the last thing on your mind when the pieces start falling and the players start dropping."