An aging retro gamer shares how a chain of console breakdowns and lost passwords culminated in experiencing Tetris Effect on PlayStation VR, which he describes as the greatest gaming moment of his life.
A Series of Console Misfortunes
The reader, who identifies as an old-school retro gamer, never owned a PlayStation 5 and only acquired a PlayStation 4 just before Christmas, thanks to a generous brother-in-law. Traditionally a Nintendo buyer, he bypassed the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One era with his Wii U. He also owns an Xbox Series S with a broken HDMI port, still debating whether to repair it for £80.
About four years ago, he bought a Meta Quest 2, setting up a pseudo account to avoid Facebook concerns. Ironically, the day it arrived, the servers went down. He enjoyed Star Wars games and spent nearly £30 on Resident Evil 4, his most expensive download. However, a year later, after Meta released a new headset and pushed updates, he forgot his pseudo account credentials, losing all downloaded games. He factory reset the headset for his youngest daughter, but one controller broke. CeX quoted £80 for a replacement or repair—the same price as his Xbox HDMI fix.
Turning to PlayStation VR
His attention turned to the recently acquired PlayStation 4, which he considers on par with the Xbox Series S except for load times. He discovered its VR capabilities cost only £95 for the headset, Move controllers, and a charger. He reasoned that buying games on disc would ensure he kept them. So he jumped in.
His top two games of all time are Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Secret of Mana on SNES, with Lollypop Chainsaw as a rotating third. He first played Tetris Effect on his Xbox Series S via Game Pass and never deleted it, calling it an indulgent game bordering on perfection. After the Xbox broke, he checked reviews for the PlayStation 4 version, which unanimously praised its VR immersion.
The Greatest Gaming Experience
He bought Tetris Effect for PlayStation VR and was immediately blown away. Unlike other top-tier games where he only realizes their greatness after completion, Tetris Effect made him aware within 10 minutes that he was having one of the best gaming moments of his life. He cannot praise it enough. While Ocarina of Time remains his favourite game, Tetris Effect on PlayStation VR is the greatest experience he has ever had as a gamer.
He implores anyone with the means and opportunity to play it, likening it to the A-Team intro: 'If you ever get the chance? Or you have the means to do so and have never played it? I implore you to do so.'
