Tetris Extreme MegaDrop

Formats available: Online
Developer: Red7 and SG digital

The arcade game Tetris is widely considered to be one of the most popular and commercially successful video games of all time. Bringing a unique, space-age brand of basic yet addictive gameplay, Tetris is a gaming franchise that’s transcended multiple generations.

Developed by Alexey Pajitnov in 1984, at its peak, the Tetris franchise was reportedly worth billions of dollars. That’s thanks largely to its plethora of adaptations and spin-offs, which helped to keep the brand alive and relevant in the eyes of popular culture.

The Tetris Series Has Shed a New Skin

Aside from arcade machines and consoles, Tetris has also made inroads in the fast-growing iGaming sector, which is now awash with licensed slots, table games and instant-win games. One of the latest adaptations is Tetris Extreme MegaDrop, which has rapidly become the pin-up for immersive, online scratch cards at licensed online casinos around the world. Fusing traditional Tetris gameplay with scratchcard game mechanics, we thought it was high time to see how this stacks up for the Tetris franchise.

General Gameplay

A game of Tetris Extreme MegaDrop begins by setting the stake size and hitting the play button beneath the game grid. From there on in, the game plays out in front of your eyes, with Tetriminos of various colours and sizes falling down from the top of the grid. The aim is to build clusters of matching Tetriminos to win multipliers.

The Free Spins feature is activated once a player completes 15 line clears, achieved through successful Tetriminos clusters.

Visuals and Audio

First and foremost, it was good to see this scratchcard stay true to the Tetris roots. From a visual perspective, the animation is sharp and vibrant, with Tetriminos, the shapes which are part of the game’s iconic language, taking centre stage.
The original Tetris soundtrack plays in the background from the moment the game screen loads. This will be a hefty nostalgia trip for anyone of a certain age reading this. The futuristic, high-pitched sounds which greet every successful Tetriminos cluster also help to build the anticipation. The pitch gets higher and higher as you get closer to triggering the Free Spins feature.

Features and RTP

One of the headline features of note in this scratchcard game is the MegaDrop game mechanic. It has the potential to trigger one of three progressive jackpots, The smallest being the “Minor” jackpot, followed by the “Major” and “Epic” jackpots. They can be activated at any time during a scratch game. all of which adds an additional layer of intrigue and anticipation. The size of the jackpots have the potential to rise over time too, although they are programmed to ‘drop’ before they reach set payout levels.
There is a range for the return-to-player (RTP) percentage of Tetris Extreme MegaDrop. It’s marketed as 94.31%-96.31%. It’s not clear what causes the range. It may just be that some online casinos will choose the one with the lower RTP and others may prefer to offer the higher RTP version. At 96.31%, the higher version sits above the industry average for all slots and scratchcards, which stands at around the 96% mark.

Pros and Cons

Pros
– Immersive audio and visuals
– Additional opportunities to win jackpots
– Cluster Pays game engine is easy for slot/scratch novices to understand

Cons
– It’s quite rare to trigger the bonus game
– Scratchcard mechanics may not appeal to traditional Tetris fans

It’s pleasing to see that the Tetris game franchise is alive and kicking. Although it’s in a very different guise to its original skin, this iGaming title remains a visual and audio feast for a gamer’s senses.