What TETRIS THE GRAND MASTER 4 is
TETRIS® THE GRAND MASTER 4 -ABSOLUTE EYE- is the latest entry in the TGM series, which started in arcades back in 1998 and continued with TETRIS THE ABSOLUTE THE GRAND MASTER 2 in 2000 and TETRIS THE GRAND MASTER 3 -Terror Instinct- in 2005. This is the first time the series has come to Steam in 20 years. The focus is a deeper, more strategic take on Tetris: precise stacking, fast decisions and clean technique, with modes built to push experienced players while still offering something for newcomers. Music is by Shinji Hosoe, known for the TGM series, and the score is written to keep you locked in during runs.
The modes on offer
MARATHON is the classic score attack. NORMAL uses standard Tetris operation and asks you to clear lines in the fastest time. MASTER is aimed at advanced players, with Tetriminos dropping at maximum speed from the very first piece; T-Spins and All Clears are the tools you lean on as you push your level as high as possible. ASUKA suits intermediate players: pieces drop at top speed and you have a time limit to level up, but it also has a backstep function that lets you rewind a placed Tetrimino to just before it landed and place it again. KONOHA is a big-block mode where each All Clear unlocks a bonus illustration, with an early guide to help you land them, and everything you unlock goes into the KONOHA Character Gallery. SHIRANUI puts you against CPU opponents with different strategies; beating a CPU unlocks new levels, higher Tiers bring tougher CPUs, and under certain conditions a hidden difficulty can appear.
Playing together
Remote Play Together lets someone else join your session from their own machine, so one player owns the game and others come along through Steam. The store notes that players can compete against each other in local play, which is where matches against friends line up with the SHIRANUI-style face-offs against opponents. Beyond versus, most modes are score and level chases, which works well as a rotating hot-seat setup: pass the keyboard or controller, compare runs, and see who can hold the best score or push furthest into a mode.
Before you start
Expect a high skill ceiling. MASTER drops at maximum speed immediately and the series has always been built around mastery, so a first attempt will feel harsh. ASUKA is the gentler on-ramp for players with some Tetris behind them, and the store text says there are modes beginners can enjoy, so you are not locked out if you are new. Pick the operation type that suits you per mode, since NORMAL uses STANDARD and others use TGM-style handling. If you are set on unlocking everything, KONOHA asks for repeated All Clears to fill the gallery, and SHIRANUI rewards pushing through tiers rather than clearing once.