Just Dance 2018 Review. Shake Your Tail-Feather

Just Dance 2018 continues where the series had left off in 2017, coming with extra characters, an enhanced UI and a new Kids Mode with a dedicated catalog of the simplest songs.

Graphics: 4.0

The graphics are unique and colorful, meant to especially appeal to kids who will find the game itself soothing. You control animated cartoon characters in rendered 2D and also get 3D avatars included using motion capture and superimposed on the background 2D environment. The graphics aren’t over-the-top, but they do give that pulsating feeling of being inside a club with lots of strobe effects. Though the action is centered on a single screen, everything is kept lively enough so that you won’t get bored easily.

Gameplay: 4.0

There’s nothing new to the game’s style of play. You need to break a move based on the rhythm of the song playing and mimic the dance style of the dancers on-screen. You achieve this through a motion controller for your Xbox, or download the Just Dance app and use your smartphone as a motion controller.

The addition of a Kids Mode is welcome news for parents who might have found some of the initial libraries a little inappropriate. Depending on how well you mimic the dancers, you may earn points for Super, Good and Perfect. Achieving a perfect rating will require a lot of practice, so come prepared to break a sweat.

With your Just Dance purchase, you’ll be able to access unlimited music content for 90 days, after which you have to pay for a premium subscription, which might not be a great idea considering some of these aren’t even new songs. Other modes include Dance Lab and Fitness for those looking to burn the extra calories.

Controls: 4.0

While motion capture technology has progressed in the few years, I’m still yet to see this game anything different from what was available years ago, with the exception of a smartphone app. Otherwise, your Xbox controller will suffice for skimming through the various menus. Also, keep in mind that the Kinect motion sensor has been discontinued by Xbox, which therefore begs the question of what might be next for dynamic movement games such as these.

Replay Value: 3.5

First of all, you won’t enjoy this game unless you are just curious, a child bubbling with rhythmic energy, or just really need to get into shape. Most folks are terrible dancers anyway. The song catalog is getting old on us, and even though they claim to have premium content, you still won’t feel like the cost of the package is worth it. On the flipside, they do have a great song collection if you don’t mind stepping back in time.

Conclusion

If you purchase this game every year, you must certainly be an enthusiast. The game hasn’t offered anything new of significance to gameplay in years apart from the kindly curated Kids Mode, and I don’t expect it to. The game’s creators are becoming uninventive, and it makes no sense for them to charge for unlimited content with songs that you may not even like. It would be better to let folks buy songs individually or through a collative playlist system similar to Spotify.