Ratalaika strikes once again. It hasn’t been long since the release of their previous title, the deeply flawed but somewhat enjoyable Devious Dungeon and now the company strikes back with another deeply flawed but somewhat enjoyable (but also very disappointing) title, Tetra’s Escape. No, it’s not related to the pirate girl from The Wind Waker. Bummer, I know…

Tetra’s Escape features a simple premise. Think of a mixture between a 2D platformer with no jumping abilities (reminds a bit of the overrated Captain Toad games when I think about it) and Tetris. Yes, you heard me: Tetris. The main objective is to manage to guide at least one sentient and walking cube to a colorful LSD-esque portal by morphing other colorful cubes into Tetris pieces that can act as ladders, bridges, platforms, and the like. In theory, that’s an excellent idea and I commend the developers for coming up with such fresh concept. That doesn’t mean the game has been masterfully developed, though.

Tetra’s Escape fails in its execution. For starters, it features the most basic and mediocre art style anyone could come up with. Sure, the game features a nice array of colors and the framerate is high and constant even in portable mode, but it’s just uninspired. Every level is just comprised of blocks, blocks, and more blocks. The soundtrack is equally mediocre and hard to talk about. I was playing the game while wearing headphones and I can’t remember a single tune or sound effect. In my mind, it’s like I was playing a game on mute, given how forgettable the entire sound department was.

The main flaw in the game, however, lies on the lack of one specific function: rewinding. While the first dozen puzzles are ridiculously easy (although they work pretty well in teaching you how to play the game), the game gets progressively harder and harder. If you don’t do every single step in the exact order, you’ll fail, and there’s no way to rewind the round a bit in order to correct it. That’s right, if you do a single mistake, you have to restart the round from scratch. That led me to constant bouts of frustration, as the game isn’t very kind on those who try to to experiment.

Tetra’s Escape isn’t exactly a bad puzzle game, but it’s far from being a remarkable one. It features a fantastic but severely underdeveloped concept, as well as a frustrating lack of a rewind button, making you feel extremely frustrated whenever you fail a puzzle. Despite being one of Ratalaika’s best releases in recent memory, it’s still an okay at best title. It’s probably best appreciated on a Vita than on a Switch. You can get a handful of trophies on the Vita, at least.

 

Graphics: 5.5 It’s cute, it’s colorful, and it runs at a nice framerate. It’s still pretty simplistic and generic, though.	Gameplay: 6.0 The controls are simple and responsive, albeit with a weird button placement. The lack of a rewind feature in a game like this is a frustrating disappointment.
Sound: 5.0 The soundtrack isn’t exactly bad, but it’s so forgettable you’ll barely even notice music is being played at all.	Fun Factor: 6.5 The game features a very unique but slightly underdeveloped concept. It could have been a much more enjoyable title if the developers had added a rewind button.
Final Verdict: 6.0

Reviewed on Switch.
Tetra’s Escape is available now on PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, PC, Switch.