Developer: Ubisoft
Available on: PlayStation, Switch, Xbox (Switch 2 November 10)
Played on: Switch
Just Dance is a decade-plus rhythm game series that doesn’t need much of an introduction: players follow on-screen coaches and dance to popular music, and the game tracks your movement via a free phone app (or the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers). Every game is mostly the same, but with different musical selections.
Decades of Hits actually has one of the series’ least amount of songs, at just 35, and that includes a few originals. But its exploration of five decades of music and styles makes for a fun (and sweaty!) dancing experience, and particularly well-suited for families.
Read on for our review of Just Dance: Decades of Hits!
Back to the Future
Like other Just Dance games, players can quickly jump into any song right from the beginning. Dancing is tracked by either the free Just Dance phone app, or on Switch, the Joy-Con controllers. We highly recommend the Switch platform: the Joy-Con are definitely the best way to play, especially for kids who may not have a phone!
Aside from playing through songs (or playlists), Decades of Hits also offers an Adventure Mode, and a Party Mode.
Adventure Mode is a new story-based mode starring Lyra, a music aficionado who has to travel through the past in order to save her eccentric father (Dr. Gigavolt from Party Mode) from his own time machine shenanigans.
And the only way forward is to dance!
Beginning with the 1970s, players can move around a little area, pick up shards (XP, basically) and select songs, trivia, or quizzes. There’s even some playful dialogue between Lyra and the various headliners that introduce each decade. Someone clearly had a lot of fun writing the slang and mannerisms of each era, much to my teenager’s cringey delight.
The trivia and quizzes are tied to each era, and offer a fun little break from the dancing. They’re generally easy and fun questions about pop culture, fashion, and products, like identifying the correct decades for VHS tapes, slap bracelets, and streaming.
Up to six players can join together in Adventure Mode, and the songs work just like normal, but require a certain accuracy percentage to complete. By completing enough songs, players can move on to the next decade. You don’t have to complete every song, but every song is included in Adventure Mode.
Play the Hits
I found the musical selections nicely varied, and a solid representation of each decade. “ABC” and “Mamma Mia” in the 70s, Run DMC and Madonna in the 80s, and an impressive five-coach choreography (a series first!) of “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls in the 90s.
We found the Spice Girls song to be a particularly big difficulty spike in dancing, but it’s also a really fun routine that features each of them moving and lip-syncing to their appropriate parts.
There’s really something for everyone here. My teenage daughter demanded we always dance to Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go,” which includes two different dance routine versions. My fellow elder-millennial wife loved everything 90s, including “Wannabe,” “Just a Girl,” and “No Scrubs” — and obviously the boy band hit, “Bye Bye Bye.”
I’m a bit more old school, and enjoyed dancing to “It’s Tricky,” by Run DMC and Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock,” which is impressively not a cover version (unlike the very much not Eddie Van Halen song).
And my youngest was just happy to be included!
The five-coach dance routine for “Wannabe” is impressive and fun
As a minor complaint, most of the songs from the 2000s are literally from 2000 or 2001.
Songs are accompanied by fun and sometimes trippy background visuals that reflect the dance routines and music, from “Manchild” and the giant claw machine, to a cute stroll in a winter park for Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me.” The two most impressive visuals are from outside studios, which feature really fun, fully animated claymation. They can be a little harder to follow, but that’s where the helpful stick figure movements in the lower right come in handy.
Party Mode is a fun way to play when you don’t want to go through an entire song. After selecting a difficulty level, and a length of time, Party Mode sends us through a sampler of about half a dozen songs for about a minute each song. Zany things pop up that purposefully distract players and make it tricky to follow along, such as pixelating the screen, or covering everything in slime bursts.
On the flip side, host Dr. Gigavolt will occasionally require players mimic a certain action, such as clapping, or stopping entirely, to gain a huge amount of points. Party Mode keeps things moving fast, and keeps the action fairly light and fun, especially on the easier difficulty. I just wish there were more rewards to unlock.
While completing songs and leveling up (including in Adventure Mode, which has its own progression), players will unlock new avatars, backgrounds, emotes, and more. It’s all pretty basic stuff, and none of it really matters as we barely see any of that content while actually dancing and playing the game. But hey, leveling up is always fun.
You can actually move around and explore in Adventure Mode
The Rating
Just Dance: Decades of Hits has been rated E for Everyone. See our Game Picker entry for details.
The Takeaway
While I enjoy music and rhythm games, I don’t keep up with the annual Just Dance series year after year. But Just Dance: Decades of Hits offers a nice variety in music across multiple eras and generations, and the Adventure Mode does a solid job taking you through each one. Definitely a winner for getting mom and dad up and off the couch just as much as the kids. But don’t forget your water bottle and sweatband!
Just Dance: Decades of Hits is available on PlayStation 5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. Switch 2 will arrive November 10
