This colorful variant of Tetris is the break in gaming that I needed.
After a year spent on challenging games like Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Tetrachroma is the relaxing puzzle I needed to calm down.
Last year, I faced several challenging games. RPGs like Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island tested my skills. Though I found Black Myth: Wukong, inspired by the Souls series games, to be relatively more accessible than others in its category, some of its bosses were extremely difficult for me (especially the Yellow Wind Sage). When December rolled around, I decided to look for something more relaxing to play during the Steam winter sales; I needed a moment to unwind. While browsing the deals, I stumbled upon a new version of the classic Tetris for just a few dollars: Tetrachroma. In this puzzle game, it’s not just about clearing lines; matching colors is also necessary. The great advantage of Tetrachroma is that it can be as easy or as difficult as you want, and it seemed like the perfect game to end 2024 on a high note. Or so I thought. I wasn't prepared for the high level of difficulty it would present later on. It’s an addictive and lesser-known game that I continue to enjoy on the quiet days of January 2025.
The puzzle concept of Tetrachroma resembles Reversi, a Japanese board game. Placing pieces of different colors adjacent to a line changes the color of that line. Not only do you need to completely fill a line, but its color must be uniform as well. In a conversation, the developer, who prefers to remain anonymous, mentioned that the initial inspiration for Tetrachroma came from playing Reversi in the Nintendo Clubhouse Games series. From there, they began exploring various Tetris games to better understand the genre, with Tetris: The Grand Master being one of the greatest direct influences.
The developer expressed their appreciation for fan-made Tetris games, as each presents different details that give them a unique style, such as sounds and visual effects when fitting the pieces. Tetrachroma offers several game adjustments, typically determined by the number of colors available. In Spectrum mode, you can choose from different difficulty levels, ranging from two-color blocks (duochrome) to four colors (tetrachrome). There’s also a mode resembling classic Tetris, called monochrome, where color matching is not necessary to clear lines. This allows players to get familiar with Tetris block placement before diving into the color-changing mechanics of Tetrachroma. In Marathon mode, players have the option to select double-width blocks for an added challenge.
The developer believes that Tetrachroma presents challenges at a fundamental level since the core mechanism requires anticipation. “Until you develop an intuition about how color transformations work, it can be very tricky,” they commented. Therefore, they made an effort to provide control options, visual indicators, and generous difficulty adjustments, ensuring that players have the necessary tools to take on the challenge.
Personally, as someone who doesn’t play many Tetris-style titles, I struggled to grasp the color-changing mechanics. I spent many rounds in monochrome mode to master the basics, supplementing my learning with Tetris strategies. Once I felt comfortable, I was able to start experimenting with higher difficulties, applying the color-changing system. The game's aesthetics and soundtrack played a crucial role in this learning process, soothing my nerves when I got frustrated by a challenging game.
Tetrachroma features a visual style reminiscent of Y2K and vaporwave aesthetics, which are very popular in contemporary music and fashion. The developer aimed for a look that was retro and slightly artificial. “I thought about how many Tetris players have nostalgia for the moment they learned to play,” they explained, adding that while their game doesn’t resemble Tetris, they wanted it to have a sense of nostalgia. This aesthetic was influenced by artists like Macroblank and Slowerpace, who transform old and obscure music into their own renditions.
Regarding the music, the visual aesthetic also inspired its style, focusing on unconventional electronic versions of classical music. The developer enjoys experimenting with simple mechanics to build complete games around them. Their next project, Jump Mechanic, promises to follow this line, where players control a robot named J.Me who gets lost in a world filled with different game mechanics and must jump to survive. I’m eager to see it and discover what else is in store, considering how hooked I am on Tetrachroma.
