'Tetris 99' turns 'Tetris' into a fast-paced battle royale game

I wouldn't call myself a Tetris master by any means, but I would say I'm very good at Tetris. At least, I thought I was very good at Tetris.

Nintendo revealed Tetris 99 during its Nintendo Direct livestream on Wednesday, which is available for free on Nintendo Switch. It has that classic Tetris vibe except this time you're not just competing against falling blocks or a timer, you're competing against 98 other players in a battle royale-style Tetris showdown.

I thought I'd kill it given my history with Tetris.

I am not killing it.

I assumed I'd be walking into a match with players who hadn't played as much as me. For years I played Tetris every day, trying to beat my times before going to bed every night. I've played a handful of different versions of the game, but I only ever played solo.

I guess I never really compared myself one-on-one to other players. Well, now I have, and I'm really not that great.

In my first match, I landed in 42nd place. Not bad, I figured there's nowhere to go but up. I did need to warm up, after all. The next two matches I placed in the 70s.

Devastating.

Tetris 99 is not like other Tetris games. Other players are actively attacking you so you need to be wary of the garbage blocks stacking up on the left side of your board. Sometimes it's best to hold off on clearing a few lines in case you get in trouble and need to blast away incoming attacks.

It's a very hectic ordeal, especially when you make it into the top 50 and everything speeds up. Garbage blocks start piling up faster and you have to keep up or else in a matter of seconds your tower will shoot up past the top of the board and you lose.

The pressure gets to me as I need to move faster and faster, and I find myself making dumb mistakes at the worst moments. Tetris 99 is the first puzzle game I've played that gets my blood pumping.

I've gotten in the 20s a few times but I just can't seem to keep up with the speed and accuracy of some of these players.

I thought I was good at Tetris, but Tetris 99 showed me my true self: just decent at Tetris.