While 2023 is a month away still, Just Dance is not going to let that stop its onslaught on to the holiday season gaming list and we’r treated to another batch of classic and new songs with an updated interface.
This year the whole game has been streamlined and, most notably, the constant adverts for Just Dance Plus, the subscription update, have been thankfully curtailed. That said, the game will still look familiar to long term fans with a list of current songs available and those that are only available on Just Dance Plus. Songs can be sorted by playlists that are pre-defined, including a K-Pop playlist and ones dedicated to workouts and a more family orientated list of songs. It really helps find a perfect list of songs to play in one go without interrupting the action to go back to find a new song.
It does feel like the corresponding actions you perform with Joycons have been tweaked this year and they’re much more in tune with the game’s scoring system, which makes the whole thing feel fairer (I’ve still been losing almost every song to my teenage daughter, so I guess I’ll have to admit that’s down to me now). Its a far cry from the early days of Wii Just Dance when you felt that the actions really didn’t get picked up at all. The dancers and backgrounds have also had a new lick of paint in terms of detail, especially in some songs which really impress when you’re looking on as a spectator waiting for your go.
The streaming side of things is pushed here again, so you’ll need to remain online to get the best of the game (it requires you to go online every so often even if you’re not streaming songs through the subscription) but in return there are going to be free updates throughout the year to increase the song count. Much as I hate to admit it, Just Dance Plus really does provide a wealth of new content and opens the game up more but at least you get a 90 day trial in the pack when you buy the game both digitally and physically.
There is no sweat mode this year but the game does provide several playlists that focus on workouts and the game rewards you for playing certain song types, styles and tempos so there is plenty of incentive to continue in single player.
Where Just Dance shines, though, is multiplayer and it’s never as good as when three or more players are stood around making fools of themselves with silly poses while others watch on. Despite its many previous iterations, the new entry in the series still has enough to warrant a purchase as one of the ultimate pick-up-and-play party games.
Just Dance 2023
Pros
- More detailed dancers and backgrounds
- New playlists help keep the dance going
Cons
- Lack of Sweat mode is a shame
- Still required as subscription to get the best from it
