PlayStation Plus free game is an all-time great that must be played

PlayStation Plus is a treasure trove. It’s a constantly updating hoard of amazing games from recent releases to age-old classics. Sony is always updating the catalogue. I booted up the PS5 earlier and browsed through finding six games I’ve wanted to play for a while but passed me by. With a few taps all games are downloaded and ready to play.

Among the 450+ games, which include PS1 and PS2 retro gems, if you subscribe to the Premium tier, there is a puzzle game gem that is worth all of your time.

It’s a game that simply cannot be missed. Tetris, in whatever form, is an ageless game. A system of simple mechanics over 35 years old, a game understood across languages and cultures. Tetris Effect is one of the most recent releases in the franchise - if one could call Tetris a franchise - and it does a great job of sticking to the known formula while bringing the game to life in ways that seem beyond imagination.

Tetris Effect, which is free to play with a PlayStation Plus subscription, is quite an experience. And it’s one hard described. Picture this; there’s a Tetris field in front of you. The blocks are beginning to fall, but sometimes they’re not blocks, they may be cogs. Music plays in the background and each time you rotate or move a block, a note or motif plays to fill in the soundtrack. Completing lines creates a symphony.

The soundtrack is an astounding collection of work; from jazz-infused smooth cuts to synthpop bops. There’s something for everyone on here, and each track morphs and changes as you place blocks, meaning the music can often sound different each time.

The visuals are themed in each level, spreading outwards to the screen edges, leaving the playing field empty in the middle. Whales made from light particles crash in from the sides; camels cross swirling sands; colours burst like fireworks and drench the surrounds. This is the game you play when you want to revel in 4K quality graphics. Or, if you want to showcase the wonders of virtual reality. Of course, you need a PSVR or PSVR 2 to enjoy the VR experience.

The virtual experience is exactly that. Every inch of your vision is filled with fizzing and popping visuals. Motes of light drift like dust across the field as if you could reach out and wave them away. They collide to create cityscapes or effervesce into a deep, dark nothingness that surrounds your head.

I come back to Tetris Effect every once in a while. Sometimes when I’m feeling sad, I let the gorgeous visuals and interconnecting music wash over me; other times I return for the challenge of later levels which test my decades-long Tetris skills; I occasionally pop on the VR headset and just sink into the swirling colours that envelop my senses and whisk me away.

It’s a game about feeling. The act of creating lines, and scoring points is something that can feel central to your play session, by chasing heady high scores, or you can drop the difficulty to easy and use your session as a visual and audio meditation. Tetris Effect is simply one of the most astounding games to play on PlayStation Plus, and one you will remember forever.