The gameplay remains similar to other previous Just Dance games, as players are judged on their ability to mimic on-screen dancers performing a routine to a chosen song. Karaoke-styled lyrics have been revamped, with lyrics being highlighted in a pre-set color. New features in Just Dance 4 include dance battle routines, which allows up to two teams of two to fight as one of the two dancers from two previous songs, expansions to the game's Just Sweat mode, unlockable alternate routines for songs, and a "Puppet Master" mode exclusive to the Wii U version, which allows a player to use the Wii U GamePad to serve as a "Master" to manipulate the routine and visuals, allowing them to create their own mashups by choosing any of the four dance moves from all four entries in the Just Dance series, as well as the ability to use the "Strike A Pose" mechanic, in which players will have to match the pose shown on the screen, while the "Master" has to choose which player earn a bonus of 1,000 points or decides not to award the bonus points.[3] Additionally, the Wii U Gamepad can also be used to draw during gameplay, as well as the option to display the lyrics on the Gamepad, and choose the next song while the current song is in progress. Previous additional modes (Simon Says Mode, Playlists, Medley, Speed-Shuffle, and Just Create (Xbox 360 only)) have been dropped. Additionally, the "On Fire" motive (from mostly Goods and Perfects in a row) and effort ratings have been removed, leaving only difficulty ratings and the "Gold Move" motive, which has been dropped in Mashups. The outfits and hairstyles of the dancers are now colored in a realistic style, rather than just solid colors.
Players have "Dance Quests", six missions for each song, that can be completed. Each quest nets the player Mojo points. Downloadable songs do not have dance quests. Players can also create "Dancer Cards", which can display their favorite songs, best scores, challenges, and more. Personal leaderboards are also available for the Wii version of the game.