Tetris Effect: Connected

Stages
Journey mode features 27 unique stages arranged in 7 areas. Each stage has its own theme, block skin, background graphics and sound. The last stage is 90 lines long whereas lines cleared in the Zone won't count. The length of the other stages depends on the difficulty setting: 30 lines for Beginner, 36 lines for Normal, and 48 lines for Expert.

The current speed level depends on the selected difficulty, on the current stage and on the amount of cleared lines as well. Each stage has 3 speed values: The first value is used at the start of a game, the second value is used when one third of the specified lines have been cleared (30 on last stage, otherwise 10 on Beginner, 12 on Normal and 16 on Expert), and the third value eventually when two third of the specified lines have been cleared (60 on last stage, otherwise 20 on Beginner, 24 on Normal and 32 on Expert). Speed Level 15 is the maximum gravity in 150 lines Marathon (Journey mode never becomes that fast on Normal). Speed level 20 is 20G gravity, that means the pieces spawn touching the ground.

An area usually consists of 3 to 5 stages; the last stage is its own area though. The player receives a grade after the completion of each area: F,D,C,B,A,S and SS whereas SS is the best grade. This grade depends entirely on the score whereas the score requirement depends on the difficulty setting and the amount of stages in the area. On Expert difficulty, a player must reach roughly the following scores to be rewarded with the SS grade:


 * 85k points if 3 areas
 * 110k points if 4 areas
 * 135k points if 5 areas
 * 57k points if last stage

For comparison, the default Effect modes have the following requirements:


 * 500k points in Marathon
 * 35k points in Ultra
 * 70 seconds in Sprint