Update [Wed 26th Mar, 2025 14:00 GMT]: After missing its original target of a March release date, Arika has revealed it will be bringing Tetris The Grandmaster 4 - The Absolute Eye to Steam on April 4th in Japan (h/t: Gematsu).
The game is expected to go live on the platform on April 3 at 8:00 p.m. PT / 11:00 p.m. ET / April 4 at 12:00 JST and will reportedly cost $34.99 / £29.50 / €33.99 / 3,900 yen. The Steam page is also live, just in case you want to wishlist tthe game ahead of its launch.
To accompany this news, Arika posted a video overview yesterday on YouTube going over the modes that will be available at launch, which gives the following descriptions of the options available:
Marathon (Standard Only) - A mode where you play classic Tetris and compete for the highest score. The game ends when the stack reaches the top. Playable only with the standard control scheme. Aim to clear level 15.
Normal (TGM Only) - This is a standard Tetris mode where you compete for the fastest time to reach level 999. Playable only with the TGM control scheme. Aim to clear level 999! Clear level 999 and challenge the bonus game!
Asuka - A mode designed for intermediate to advanced players. Compete to see how far you can level up within a time limit by quickly placing Tetrominoes that fall at maximum speed. The Asuka mode features two unique mechanics not found in other game modes: Backstop function (rewind feature), Infinity.
Konoha - A mode where you play using Big Minos, and each All Clear you achieve gradually unlocks bonus illustrations. A Tetris Guide is available in the early stages. When an All Clear is possible, a guide marker will be displayed. The game ends when the stack reaches the top or TIME runs out. Clearing lines will recover TIME. Unlocked illustrations can be viewed in the Konoha Character Catalog under RECORD.
Master - A mode for true masters where your unprecedented Tetris skills will be put to the test. Starting from level 300, Pikii appears. A portion of the field becomes frozen, preventing lines from clearing even when aligned. The frozen area thaws after reaching a certain level. From level 700, Pike-2 imposes even stricter conditions on the player. And from level 1000, Cyclone awaits… After level 1300? And then…!!
Shiranui - This is a mode where you battle against the CPU. At the start, tiers 1 through 5 are available. As you win matches, higher tiers will be unlocked. Under certain conditions, secrets tiers may appear.
In addition to this, the studio has also announced that there are more modes and features that will be coming to the game at a later date too, but it plans to add these once post-launch issues are resolved.
It also revealed it will be holding a competition for the game in the US in June, with "a main event" competition also scheduled for Japan in October. Are you exciting for the latest entry in the series? Let us know in the comments!
Original Article [Tue 3rd Dec, 2024 16:30 GMT]: Back in September, the Japanese developer Arika announced that it had signed an agreement with The Tetris Company to make a new Tetris game, and we now have a bunch of new information about that upcoming game.
In the post published on social media, Arika revealed that The Tetris Company co-founder Henk Rogers had recently visited the studio to discuss the future of the series with its vice president Ichirō Mihara and the programmer Hitoshi Hirashima, before announcing that its new game will be called Tetris The Grandmaster 4 - Absolute Eye -.
That wasn't all though, as the company then went on to announce that the game will be coming to Steam in March 2025 and to share a bunch of new images of the work-in-progress title, including the title screen, a couple of single-player matches, and a menu listing various modes such as Marathon, Asuka, Master, Konoha, and Shiranui.
Master Mode is an option that was first introduced in Tetris The Grand Master 2 and served as an evolution of the challenging speed-oriented gameplay of the original arcade release of Tetris The Grand Master, whereas Marathon mode has been featured in several other Tetris games, including The New Tetris, Tetris DS, Tetris 99, and Tetris Effect, to name just a few.
Konoha, on the other hand, was previously included as part of the playtest for the cancelled Tetris: The Grand Master 4 The Masters of Round, and appears to be making its official debut here alongside the other two modes: Asuka and Shiranui.
As Arika states, the game will be offline only. We'll try to bring you more news about the title as soon as it is announced.