Tetris: US teenager Willis Gibson becomes first player to defeat the 'unbeatable' game

A teenager in the US is thought to be the first player - the first human, at least - to beat the classic Nintendo video game Tetris, 34 years after its release.

Previously, only artificial intelligence had made it that far in the game.

After a battle lasting 38 minutes, 13-year-old Oklahoma teen Willis Gibson officially beat Tetris - a moment of clear adrenaline and exhilaration that was caught on camera.

In Tetris, players must arrange falling blocks into straight lines. The speed increases the longer you play and eventually, the blocks fall so fast that the game's code can't keep up, causing it to freeze - that's what you call a kill screen. 

It's understood no human player has ever reached that point in the game before - and the significance of the achievement wasn't lost on Willis.

"I can't feel my fingers, I can't feel my fingers... Oh, my God. I'm going to pass out," the teenager can be heard saying in the footage.

Until a few years ago, level 29 was considered the end of the game but the teen, who goes by 'Blue Scuti', reached level 157 before it crashed - a feat only previously accomplished by artificial intelligence.

Now, gamers across the world are celebrating the historic win. 

"What an aspiration to be able to clock that type of game after all these years since it's been developed," Joy Keene, NZ Game Developers Association's executive director, told Newshub.

"A classic is always a classic. people are always going to come back for these types of games.

"There is a large resurgence in older people, the over 80s, getting into these types of games."

Other gamers are already trying to reach Willis' score, ushering in a new era for a retro classic.