If there’s one game I thought I’d never be playing in my lifetime, it’s Just Dance. It’s not that I had doubts about it being fun, but instead it’s because I thought it would be too embarrassing to play, even on my own. Was I super wrong about that. My daughter has been asking me to get a Just Dance game for the longest time so when the opportunity arose to review Just Dance 2020 on the Switch, I decided to give it a go. Just Dance 2020 is the latest version from Ubisoft in a more than 10 year long series that has been on every console since the Wii along with iOS and Android.
I’m not here to talk about the past however as Just Dance 2020 on the Nintendo Switch is the only version of the game I’m playing in the series and have no idea what any of the past games were like. I was basically coming into the series fresh and had no real idea of what to expect.
Before I start, Just Dance 2020 that you buy includes 40 songs you can dance to. If you want access to over 500 songs, you’ll need to subscribe to Just Dance Unlimited. A subscription can last 1 day, 20 days, 90 days, or 365 days. Prices will be $2.99, $3.99, $9.99, and $24.99 respectively. You do however get a free 30-day subscription with the purchase of Just Dance 2020 to try out the service and decide for yourself if it’s worth the extra money for 500+ extra songs.
Now with that out of the way, let’s get into the review. Just Dance 2020 is played mainly with the Joy-Cons – one for each player. If you want to play with more people, you’ll need extra Joy-Cons. If you don’t have extra Joy-Cons, you can get everyone with a smartphone to download the Just Dance Controller App on their phones and you can play like that. The only weird thing about this is that you can only play with all Joy-Cons or all smartphones. You can’t mix play with both.
Once you decide how you want to play, you’ll now have to decide what song you want to dance to. There’s a pretty good variety of songs in the included 40 and they range from easy to hard difficulty. What’s neat here is that easy songs can be played to unlock higher difficulty versions of those songs, and each has their own set of dances. that means while there’s only 40 songs, there are more than 40 dances you can play.
Not only that, the dances are pretty varied and really give your body a workout. It also gets your heart pumping after only a couple of songs.Just Dance 2020 scores your moves based on how accurate they are with what’s happening onscreen. It’s not too hard to follow along as you just do all the moves as if you’re looking in a mirror and the game will preview what’s about to happen at the bottom right corner. However, because Just Dance 2020 only registers your Joy-Con movements, you could technically just wave your arms around without even moving your whole body.
That however isn’t very fun and most likely, you’ll end up shaking your whole body anyways to the music. This is especially true if you’re playing with friends or family and it just makes the experience that more enjoyable. And I do say enjoyable because it really is. My daughter loves to dance and Just Dance 2020 is one of the few video games she wants to play everyday. Of course that means I have to play along with her and I don’t mind. Also what’s nuts is that my son, who doesn’t dance at all, has been play this game as well!
It’s not just the dancing either that has my kids playing. They’re also trying Super Star and Mega Star each of the songs so they can unlock the herder versions of them along with trying to gain coins so they can use the capsule machine to get new avatars, skins, and stickers. These are just little extras that keep you coming back for more.
Final Thoughts
Just Dance 2020 is seriously fun for the whole family whether you’re playing it because you love the songs, love to dance, or just want to get in shape. I’ve been playing it just so I can move around and get my heart rate going as I am normally just sitting in front of a computer all day. My kids are just in it for the fun. I’ll admit, I’m in it for the fun too, a little.
I never thought I would say this, but Just Dance 2020 is a fantastic and fun game for the entire family and great at parties. This isn’t a game I thought I would ever play and I am seriously enjoying my time with it and with my kids.
