An Oklahoma teenager has become the first known human to conquer Nintendo’s iconic Tetris, 34 years after the game’s release.
Willis Gibson, 13, documented this historical moment on his YouTube channel, capturing the instant he reached level 157 and caused the game to crash – a feat previously thought impossible.
The young prodigy exclaimed, “I’m going to pass out, I can’t feel my fingers,” as he achieved what many gamers had deemed unattainable. Remarkably, it took him a mere 38 minutes to vanquish a game that, until a few years ago, was believed to be unbeatable past level 29.
A brief history of Tetris
Tetris, the brainchild of Soviet engineer Alexey Pajitnov, was created in 1984 and soared in popularity following its 1989 debut on Nintendo’s NES console. The game, renowned for its simple yet captivating design, involves arranging falling blocks into perfect horizontal lines at increasingly rapid speeds. Today, Tetris remains a cultural mainstay, accessible on various consoles and platforms, including mobile phones.
Breaking barriers: the evolution of Tetris mastery
The Tetris community’s understanding of the game’s limits was first challenged in 2010 when Thor Aackerlund, a professional competitive gamer, reached level 30 using a technique known as hypertapping. This method, which involves vibrating the fingers to move the controller faster than the game’s intended speed, opened new doors for Tetris enthusiasts worldwide. Since then, gamers have adopted hypertapping and other strategies to push the game’s boundaries. Until last month, however, only AI had managed to reach the game’s true kill screen – a level so high that it causes the game to malfunction and crash.
A new champion emerges
Willis, who goes by ‘Blue Scuti’ on YouTube, has been an avid Tetris player since the age of 11 and has participated in various gaming tournaments. His journey culminated in an epic 38-minute run that ended with the game’s screen crashing as no more blocks descended – the definitive sign of beating Tetris.
Reflecting on his unexpected triumph, Willis shared on his YouTube channel, “When I started playing this game, I never expected to ever crash the game, or beat it.” But he did more than just beat the game; Willis also claims to have broken the overall score and three other world records in Tetris.
