Throughout the years Just Dance by Ubisoft has been a huge hit with families and parties everywhere. With the release of Just Dance 2019 people are still flocking to play. One of the biggest questions for the ongoing series is why does the company continue the long strand of the same games that people are already familiar with? Regardless, the population still shows up to jump around and have a grand time.
In the long line of games, Just Dance features bright images of characters dancing in funky patterns to popular songs from the radio. If you match the rhythm and movements, you get points, possibly some stars and the credibility of being the best dancer. Some new improvements added are the use of a smartphone instead of using PlayStation Move or the Xbox Kinect, routines designed for kids and choreography that encourages safer movements while dancing.
Just Dance has released a new game annually since 2009. The annual release of game series is usually reserved for sports franchises, such as Madden or WWE 2K. Unlike these other titles, there is little difference between one game to the next. There is no story mode to be improved on or adding different modes of play. The reason that Just Dance continues to succeed is a clever use of the stick and carrot method. This game wants you to exercise, but it tricks you by putting you into a fun experience. This is not to say that Just Dance has an ulterior motive of getting everyone into better shape. Much like the Brain Age games from Nintendo, this is a way to make the gamer do something good for themselves.
An argument in the earlier games that the songs picked were only top 40 and pop hits. Ubisoft has addressed this by creating an online request form where players can suggest songs to be added to the games. While this type of game doesn’t appeal to every type of gamer, there are worse things you can do than jumping around your living room for four whole minutes.
8/10
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, Wii, WiiU, Switch, Xbox 360
