Whether you possess coordination or not, “Just Dance” is an active, entertaining video game that caters to dancers of all levels.

Originating in Paris and rapidly spreading across the globe, the video game has encapsulated audiences since 2009. Just Dance debuted as a party game on the blocky Wii console and has since expanded, now consisting of 16 normal versions, along with a variety of themed special editions.

While the series has evolved since the 2000s, the games’ basic format has remained consistent. With the simple premise of following an on-screen dancer and trying to achieve the highest score, the game remains easy to understand. With new versions released on a yearly basis, 20-40 globally popular tracks are added to the Ubisoft catalog annually.

Like many of my peers, playing Just Dance was a high point of my childhood. Beginning my career with the disc of “Just Dance 2016” and a dated PlayStation, I quickly became addicted to the catchy pop songs, engaging dances, and flashy costumes of the game. While my dreams of becoming a professional dancer didn’t turn out to be feasible, the game remains one of my most beloved hobbies, even seven years later.

So, of course, that being said, after its mid-October release, “Just Dance 2025” joined my sparse video game collection.

While I’m an avid “Just Dance” player, the 2023 and 2024 editions of the game haven’t sparked my interest as much as the versions of my childhood did. Although perhaps due to bittersweet nostalgia attached to the originals, my indifference can be attributed to some of the changes that Ubisoft has made to the game.

Notably, because of the games’ confusingly shifting camera angles and less-followable dances, the past two years’ “Just Dance” volumes have fallen short of my expectations.

However, upon eagerly loading the 2025 edition onto my Nintendo Switch—minutes after unwrapping it as a birthday gift—my fears about the game’s quality evaporated. Outside of the fact that its hefty size nearly glitches out the system, “Just Dance 2025” is full of appealing features rather than annoying defects.

For starters, 2025 syncs with the prior two editions of “Just Dance.” This means that if purchases have been made for 2023 and 2024, the data from these versions continues over to the latest version of the game. While unfortunately not available for older releases, this continuation of progress is a beneficial feature for players consistently buying new editions of the game.

On the whole, the format of 2025 is the same as it has been since its 2023 layout revampment. Similarly, every song on the 2025 addition is available for play immediately upon purchase of the game, unlike earlier versions where certain editions of songs had to be unlocked.

Even though all songs on the 2025 expansion are promptly accessible, dances from past versions of the game remain locked behind subscription payments. While the 2019 – 2022 editions offered “Just Dance Unlimited” (a library of 700+ songs from older “Just Dance” volumes), 2023 – 2025 offer the inferior “Just Dance+.” Unlike its predecessor, “Just Dance+” includes only 300+ songs, a drastic catalog reduction. Annoyingly, users are either unable to play many earlier songs or have to purchase the old game editions, many of which are no longer sold in stores.

However, 2025 does offer prevailing, beneficial features, like post-dance score breakdowns and customizable profiles. Most valued by competitive players such as myself, the game continues to show dancers how their high scores compare with those of their online friends.

While 2023 and 2024 both heavily utilized fluctuating camera angles in dances, 2025 largely strays away from this trend. With this, Ubisoft made the correct decision, as the music-video-esque routines were convoluted and tough to follow.

As for the dances offered in the new edition, the tracklist retains a similar pattern from recent years. Consisting of many hits from the past year while simultaneously including danceable throwbacks, the game is pop-music-heavy.

The dances span from being easily replicated to difficult to comprehend, offering various options for virtually every skill level. For beginners, “Party In The U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus, “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens all offer simple—yet nonetheless fun—routines.

Additionally, the game includes a solid amount of more challenging songs—many of which are by female artists. Notably, “Pink Venom” by BLACKPINK, “Sweet Melody” by Little Mix, “exes” by Tate McRae and, “the boy is mine” by Ariana Grande all fit in this category of moderate difficulty. While confusing upon first play, after multiple attempts, their more complex portions become the most enjoyable.

While advertised for the whole family, an increasingly sizable portion of the game consists of dances for more mature players. While it could be argued that all Just Dance editions follow this pattern, the trend seems to grow more severe yearly.

Even though 2025 includes a variety of engaging dances, it’s not without its subpar routines. For example, “Play Date” by Melanie Martinez features a clay-animated character leading the dance (a bad sign from the start) and is objectively dull. Similarly, for Grande’s 2024 hit “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”, the dance is mundane, as would be expected with such a slow-paced song.

However, the most predominant issue of the 2025 edition is its oversaturation (ex: “LUNCH” by Billie Eilish). While the series has always been colorful, the past few years have brought an excess of vibrant hues and moving graphics. This overstimulation worsens the quality of the game, as the routines’ ridiculous animations make the dances challenging to focus on.

With most dances featuring elaborate, scenic details, audiences are left wondering why so much time was spent creating backgrounds when the entire focus of the game is supposed to be the dancers.

While the “Just Dance” series has room to grow for its 2026 release, the game has proven to be more promising than the editions from recent years. Maintaining a balance between modernization and its classic elements, 2025 is a worthy continuation of the series.

This story was originally published on The Central Trend on October 31, 2024.