Review for Just Dance 2019. Game for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 25/10/2018
Just Dance is a bit like Ubisoft's FIFA, let's face it. Think about it, it is an unmissable autumn appointment, which also comes out on toasters and perfect to play in company. Of course, it is not a masterpiece and much less a killer application, but its audience has grown well over the years and the French company has also well thought of proposing the annual iterations at an affordable price of 39.90€ (€ 29.90 for old gen versions).
A strategy that apparently pays off since this is the ninth year of activity for the Just Dance brand. A brand that has been able to evolve and adapt to changes in the videogame and music market, almost becoming a point of reference for rhythm games.
Just Dance is by now a perfect exponent of the so-called “Games as a service”, ie products whose contents are constantly evolving despite a well-defined core anchored to the ground. Translated into simple terms, Just Dance offers every year a fairly wide selection of hits contained in the purchased version, while making old and new songs available through a practical subscription. A kind of Spotify dance, but with cuts ranging from annual to daily.
Daily?!?! Who is the fool who would spend some money on a day pass?!?! Well, the idea is anything but stupid and indeed, it is perfect if you think about which occasions Just Dance is played most. Let's say we are at a house party with friends and after dancing some of the hits of 2018 you are seized by an irrepressible desire to turn yourself into wild Little Monsters and dance like crazy the entire discography of Lady Gaga. The tragedy, however, is around the corner as Just Dance 2019 does not contain songs by Germanotta, how to do it? No sooner said than done: by spending about € 3, the Unlimited subscription gives you access to more than 150 songs including Applause, Bad Romance or Born This Way and if you really want to exaggerate, you can further vary by interpreting ABBA's Dancing Queen.
Just Dance Unlimited, this is the name of the subscription service, is not the only user friendly feature that Ubisoft has created. If you don't have enough Joycons or motion control devices, you can always use your mobile phone as a backup option by connecting it to the game. One of the biggest limitations of party games is the high cost to be incurred in peripherals to let everyone play, Ubisoft, however, has managed to come up with a solution that is affordable for anyone since everyone now owns a smartphone.
In terms of gameplay there are actually no big news: the game is based on the recognition of the movements made by the player's arms, practical indications of the next action to be performed are displayed as always and the points system is also shared online so as to create the classic race to climb the leaderboard. In this 2019 edition, we find, as always, the "Sweat" variant, designed to burn calories while dancing, as well as the "Kids" variant, once produced in its own right and now integrated into the main series.
In short, Just Dance 2019 is the usual colorful and fun bandwagon, which offers a pleasant selection of songs and options for all tastes. Do you always need to offer something new to shine? Maybe not, maybe just be user friendly and give the user the possibility to choose how and when to spend their money. Ubisoft is not always on the spot in this specific area, with Just Dance but yes and the lasting success of the series is the best proof of this.
► Just Dance 2019 is a Music type game developed and published by Ubisoft for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 25/10/2018
