From Below Pocket Coming to GB, GBC, NES in October

The rise of Tetris over the past 35 years has left to many different interpretations of that formula over the decades. The ’90s saw a Game Boy Color remake of the Game Boy classic, while the PC market was flooded with a billion clones – but none really stood out. We’ve even seen some come out in more modern times, like Tetrominoes on the PS3 and Switch. We have seen a lot of homebrew GB and GBC games, but none that went for a Tetris vibe and with good reason – it’s a classic on both platforms and hard to find a way to improve upon, however, that’s been done here.

The graphics are a lot more vibrant than any GB or GBC Tetris game, with a lot of color in the GBC version especially. Having a vibrant blue against a black background helps a lot to tell the pathway of the pieces and having a large black well to work with as the background makes it easier to see where you’re building up pits – something that you want to keep an eye on at all times, but can be tougher in newer entries like Tetris 99 that fill the screen with so much stuff that it can be hard to tell.

The gameplay is also a bit faster-paced and far more modern-feeling than any early portable version of Tetris, and that helps make this an easy recommendation for fans of that classic who wanted a faster-paced game feel. Even on high speeds, the GBC Tetris felt like just dropping pieces at a faster pace and not actually speeding up the pace of the gameplay and piece-positioning. From Below looks great, controls even better, but sounds like a top-tier NES game.

One thing that stuck out to me while playing was the high-end Sunsoft-style soundtrack that gets the blood pumping while you’re playing. Even if you’re losing, you’re having a fun time doing it because the soundtrack is so good that playing the game is a joy no matter what. It’s surprising to see a new take on a classic wind up being so good, but that’s the case here.

All versions of the game can be pre-ordered on the game’s online storefront for those wanting a physical copy. You can also grab the Game Boy versions digitally via the game’s itch.io page for $4.95. The digital version includes wallpapers and the OST and the OST is absolutely outstanding on its own.