What's better than one icon from my childhood being a major influence in a new game? Well... how about two? Ormblok takes the concepts of Tetris and Snake and puts them together into one awesome block-drop game with a difference. It also has shades of the homebrew game Snake Escape for the ZX Spectrum, but we're very much dealing with a worm here and not a snake, so bear that in mind as we're moving forward!
Ormblok is a new game made by Ben Jelter as part of the GB Compo 2025. You guys know that I love showcasing new creations by the retro gaming and Game boy communities, and this game is a belter that throws everything you know about block drop games out of the window. You see, instead of trying to avoid the pesky gaps that you accidentally leave in Tetris that mean you can't make lines, the aim of the game in Ormblok is to create gaps.
I know it goes against everything we've been training our fingers and minds to do since we first picked up a Game Boy with Tetris in it, but you'll have to get over that quickly.
Making gaps creates items that your worm can pick up; lines don't disappear and your playing field won't get smaller to give you more time before you reach the top. You'll need to make a 2x2 square gap to enter Worm Mode, a mode where you become the worm at the bottom of the screen in order to eat all of the items that you've made while making your gaps. There's a goal of how many items to make and eat, and once you've eaten them and entered your wormhole, you'll progress to the next level.
I'm not going to lie - it's harder than it sounds. It took me a while to get used to the concept and even longer to make an actual wormhole to become the worm (I bet Scotty 2 Hotty loves this game). Thankfully, there is a tutorial mode to teach you how to play the game that makes it super easy to understand, but you'll need to keep your head in the game if you want to win!
This is a game concept that hits all of my nostalgic criteria for a Game Boy game, and one that has been made perfectly. It's addictive and, as I've said already, challenges what we know about two classic games from our childhood while paying homage to them at the same time.
Head to the official Itch.io page to check it out in more detail!
