Since Just Dance transitioned into a live-service video game series, we’ve had the pleasure of having all our favorite songs in one place, in addition to annual updates and enhancements in the series. From Just Dance 2023, Nintendo has been adding to the already flourishing list of songs in the franchise. And now, with Just Dance 2025, we have the biggest song selection yet for fans of fitness and dance rhythm games overall.
Sure, you could argue that a live service series seldom reinvents the wheel. However, the newest iteration in the franchise is proving that sticking to tried-and-tested mechanics is the right direction for Nintendo to follow. After all, most fans of Just Dance subscribe to the series to sweat it out. And the foundational gameplay already makes dancing to the rhythm of popular songs stress-free.
In any case, we’ve delved deeper into all the newest installment in the series has to offer and highlighted the good and the bad in our Just Dance 2025 review below.
Just Dance At a Glance
To be clear, Just Dance 2025 and Just Dance 2024 are nearly the same game. Seriously, place the two games side by side, and you’ll see the striking similarities between the two, from the same user interface to relatively the same gameplay flow. This isn’t surprising, as Nintendo has opted to make the series a live-service game from Just Dance 2023. This means that Nintendo only adds updates to the next iteration in the series, often in the form of new song selections. Other than that, the gameplay remains relatively the same.
And I’m not complaining, either. Honestly, Just Dance’s dance rhythm gameplay works. If anything it works fantastically well. You simply choose your favorite song from a whopping roster of popular music and greatest hits. Then, you hop into the different game modes on offer, including workout mode that tracks calories burnt and time spent dancing.
The dancing, on the other hand, isn’t at all difficult. They’re easy-to-learn dance moves with an instructor on the screen showing you different routines. The only ask is to follow what the instructor does as the controller or mobile phone you’re grasping to track your hand movement. Depending on how accurate your moves are, the game gives you a score, which you can accumulate to unlock costumes and new songs.
What’s New?
And that’s pretty much it, at least for the gameplay loop that has been adopted since Just Dance 2023. If you’ve been a loyal gamer to the series, then you’re probably wondering what’s new. Well, for starters, Just Dance 2025 introduces a bunch of new songs, some of which are the best hits from 2024.
Moreover, the ability to track your movement using your phone camera, which was introduced in Just Dance 2024’s content updates, makes headway in the new game, much to the pleasure of fans who want to move more freely.
Besides those, you can look forward to a new themed song pack by Ariana Grande, following Just Dance 2024’s Disney theme songs. It seems Nintendo plans to keep up the trend of themed songs, with definitely more exciting song packs to come.
If you’re assessing Just Dance 2025 with a keen eye, magnifying glasses, and all, you’ll probably notice the solid gameplay enhanced in the new game. Choreography is flawless, with the instructors moving as naturally as can be. You can track the instructor on screen. Or rely on the stick figures on the lower right side of the screen.
Meanwhile, each song has unique maps that run without a hitch. Often, there’d be lots of characters and animations in the background, all translating seamlessly throughout your dance routine. Plus, the detail is gorgeous, even with the burst of color and spice. It has become the signature look for the series.
Dopamine Rush
The graphics are simply outstanding. They have so many fun aesthetics and pops of color, raising your dopamine levels even before you start dancing. You’ll see bright colors of pink and purple splashed onto the screen and yet syncing with one another. It never seems too much, rather just the right amount of strokes and detail to capture your attention.
You can tell the developers really took the time to design the characters and maps, emphasizing charm and appeal. Plus, the overly vibrant maps marry perfectly with the often energetic song selections you’ll be dancing to.
Paint the Town Red
Up to 40 new songs make it to Just Dance 2025. That’s a lot of songs, especially when you consider all the other songs that you have access to from Just Dance 2023 and Just Dance 2024. You can transfer your progress from previous games into the new one. ThismeansJust Dance 2025is a new way to dance to all your songs in one place.
The song selections are varied, too, from big hits from as recent as 2024, like Lunch by Billie Eilish, to millennial hits like Poker Face by Lady Gaga. It seems there are quite a decent bunch of millennial hits, which is pretty nice for nostalgia. But you can also find songs appropriate for younger folk, like The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh) by The Tokens.
Still, if none of the new songs tickle your fancy, which would be nigh impossible, you can always play songs from previous games. Or, you can get Just Dance+, which gives you access to hundreds of songs.
This or That
A neat feature is the alternate maps for some songs. Like the accessibility options that give you three alternate maps you can dance to while seated. These are great, even if you have old knees. It’s a shame that there are only three song choices with accessibility options, including Poker Face, Basket Case, and Espresso. You can access a few more seated songs in Just Dance+. Hopefully, Nintendo will add more accessibility options in the future.
Meanwhile, you can choose between varied difficulty levels, including Easy, Medium, Hard, and Extreme. Ideally, the easiest level of difficulty offers the easiest dance moves to perform, while the hardest difficulty is trickier to pull off. Or you can tweak the difficulty some more when choosing which coach to train with, including easy, medium, and hard. So, you really have no excuse for sitting out on seemingly difficult songs.
Time Off
Another neat feature is the freedom to download new songs and dance to them offline. It saves you a lot of misery and helps you overcome lag issues when navigating menus and playing with online gamers. Some have reported instances of lagging in the menus and, at times, the dance routines buffering, which can snap you instantly out of a routine you’ve become invested in.
The menus, though, can be a headache to navigate. With newer additions of content, it becomes cumbersome to scroll through. You’ll be bombarded with lots of options that a more cohesive menu could have easily solved. Hopefully, the next iteration will streamline the menu to allow a smoother user experience.
Say Cheese
Perhaps one of the most exciting features for some gamers will be the phone camera setting. It was introduced in Just Dance 2024’s content updates and allows you to place your phone camera in front of you to track your movements. This means your hands will be free of holding your controller or phone.
However, you do need a brightly lit room for the phone camera to work effectively. Plus, you may need a lot of space in the room between you and the camera to capture your body frame fully. Otherwise, a thumbs up to Nintendo for enabling this feature; it sure smoothens the gaming experience.
Verdict
Put simply, Just Dance 2025is the 16th mainline entry in the series but the third annual song pack for the Just Dance live service. This means that you’ll be buying the new game for the sole reason of accessing new song choices. At present, you’ll gain access to an Ariana Grande song pack that has five songs: We Can't Be Friends (wait for Your Love), The Boy Is Mine, One Last Time, Break Up with Your Girlfriend, and I'm Bored.
Beyond Ariana’s music, you’ll gain access to many more song options, from Lunch by Billie Eilish to Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus and Yeah! By Usher. As you can imagine, Just Dance 2025 makes a pretty good case for buying it: if not for the new songs, then for the bragging rights of beating the new dance routines.
Indeed, Just Dance 2025 is very much a fitness game that can help you track calories burnt and time spent dancing. Plus, you can enjoy accessibility options that allow you to dance while seated—if your knees have started to grumble. The only gripe you might have with the new game is the cumbersome menu and sometimes lag issues when playing online. Otherwise, Just Dance 2025 is a flawless, family-friendly spree.
