Nintendo surprised everyone by announcing Tetris 99 in their Nintendo Direct last week and surprised even more people when it actually turned out to be pretty awesome. I for one audibly laughed at the suggestion of Tetris entering the battle royale format, seemingly a testament to how ridiculous our obsession with the genre has become. I’ve spent a lot of time with Fortnite and honestly a non shooter battle royale game without guns or gear didn’t really make immediate sense to me. That being said, after spending some time with Tetris 99 it has become my favorite battle royale experience on the market and made me reflect on what makes a battle royale game truly great.

For the majority of players, battle royale games are all about queueing up over and over again hoping for a decent placement or the occasional win. In many ways the genre has been successful because the rarity of that win and the odds to get it create a sense of accomplishment and excitement not seen elsewhere in gaming (or media, period). Because of this, battle royale games have often confused and disinterested me. The thrill of consistent kills in a traditional multiplayer experience like Halo or Call of Duty Multiplayer seems like a much more rational route for satisfying gameplay. If you get close to winning and fail, you have another roughly 50/50 chance to come back and win the next game. The reason I love Tetris 99 now is the same reason I loved Fortnite when I played it: the win isn’t the focus, enjoying all the things that lead to that win is.

To clarify, these “minigames” exist in every battle royale game. In PUBG, Blackout, Apex Legends, the goal of getting the best gear possible can be as exciting and rewarding as any player interaction. Fortnite hones in on this concept further, making material gathering an entire game unto itself. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as learning which objects accrue the most materials and quickly stacking those materials so you can make any structure you’d like. Even when it comes to breaking objects down, there’s a satisfying audio/visual cue for hitting the right “spot” on the object, breaking it down faster.

Having a distraction from your larger goal is what makes battle royale games so fun every time you play. In that way Tetris 99 is a completely natural fit. You don’t have to be aware of the other 98 players you’re in lobby with or even the people attacking you. At it’s heart Tetris 99 is just about making lines out of Tetris blocks, and that game within the larger game never gets old.