With all the shovelware that exists within the Nintendo eSHop for both the Wii U and 3DS, I always find it surprising when new developers go with the route of developing a game that’s reminiscent of an old classic. Heptrix is developed and published by indie developer Jose Varela. I had no knowledge of what I was getting into when I downloaded Heptrix and upon playing it, I was disappointed. The name sounds creative but the game itself is a clone of the old classic Tetris, which ultimately put the GameBoy on the map back in 1989 but Heptrix fell short.
The goal and gameplay of Heptrix is organizing and stacking falling blocks so that they make a row within the grid. Forming a full line meets with fireworks crackling and points being added to your score at the top. The unique difference – although barely noticeable is that there are seven blocks in each formation and the some odd rectangle shapes that have an extra block poking out. That really bothered me for some reason. They weren’t perfect squares but built around odd rectangle formations. The basic function of the game works well but I found a few areas that fell flat. The distance from the top of the grid to the bottom seems way too long and it was hard to see a bottom shadow appearing so that gave me some issues.
I find it intriguing that Nintendo gave a very perfunctory description of the game in its eShop page. They even seemed to have problems talking it up.
- Clear 7 lines to complete the level.
- Each piece landed give 7 points. Each line cleared 70 points and increase exponentially by the numbers of simultaneous lines.
- At every level completed, the speed increases.
Graphically Heptrix is colorful with basic shapes and grid like features. My favorite effect is when you line up a full line and fireworks sound off with color particle effects. It definitely was not displeasing to look at. The music is pretty good. The genre of music I would classify it as, is a dance/trance track. Each block makes a clicking rotating sound when you move the blocks around.
The Recommendation
I don’t mind clones, if they are done well. However, Heptrix falls a little flat and comes across as shovelware to me unfortunately. If you are in need of a Tetris fix on the Wii U, then definitely pick this up. However, if you want something with a bit more substance and quality then I would hold out for the real deal.