You may ask why we bought 2018 when 2019's available. The simple answer is:
(Yes, Beep Beep I'm a Sheep. We enjoyed watching DanTDM play 2018 - watch at your peril - Beep Beep I'm a Sheep is unbelievably catchy...)
A while back we tried a few different options out for Just Dance. Seb's school had been showing the kids YouTube videos of Just Dance to get them moving in the mornings, and he seemed keen. So we bought some old copies for the Wii, but the Wii we had didn't work brilliantly since the controllers weren't charging properly any more. The PS4 version using the camera sounds like a good idea, but it doesn't work well with kids (they're too short to detect well). We did try the version with the phone app, and that did work, but I'm nervous about holding a smartphone and prancing around the room. The Switch version sounded like it might solve all our problems, and indeed it does. I suspect that the Switch has given us the best way to play this game.
When you buy Just Dance 2018 you also get a 3 month trial subscription to Just Dance Unlimited. This gives you access to hundreds of additional songs. This was good since Seb's a massive Sia fan and the service includes The Greatest, Cheap Thrills and Titanium. Hooray! They're only adding new content to Just Dance 2019 from now on, but it still gives you a lot of stuff to play with, and if you're having a party you can buy a one day pass for the service to get all your mates jumpin' (or looking stupid).
The game is easy to get into, though admittedly hard to do well. I'm not the most co-ordinated person in the world, and I don't dance in public, but this is ok. I can cope with this. And if I play it by myself I can say it's part of my keep fit regime. (It even has a 'sweat mode' with more physical moves and a calorie counter! It certainly got my heart pumping - I'm not convinced about the accuracy of the calorie counting but it must be doing me good. :-)
The game did make me feel old, since I didn't know most of the songs that came with the game, which means I was hopelessly out of touch with the 2018 'hit parade'. But hey. There are some classics too, like Queen and Boney M. And plenty more 'old songs' on Unlimited. To be honest, though, it doesn't really matter what the song is if it has a beat that makes you want to dance.
The Switch joycons are brilliant for dancing with, and vibrate with the beat. They're so small that they're super easy to keep hold of. They pick up your moves well. And there's even a dual mode where you can hold joycons in both hands and it will detect what both your arms are doing! No problems here playing with small people, unlike with the PS4 camera version.
Another plus for small people (or children as they're sometimes called) is 'kids mode'. This has some special kid friendly songs with kid friendly graphics. It's a safe space for your super-littlies to play.
The only thing I don't like is that for something that's called Just Dance it has a lot of ridiculous add-ons that are not just dancing. When you look at the menus there are loads of things on there. It's not a clear and simple interface. It has an odd story mode, and a silly prize machine thing where you win various stickers. I don't see why all games have to have things like that these days. Does it add anything to my enjoyment of the game? No. If anything it's the reverse. But maybe that's just me.
I'm a fan of this game, basically, despite never normally dancing in public. It's a polished game that has survived the ups and downs that have meant the end for music games such as Rock Band. It might make you feel like you can dance (a belief that will probably be shattered when some annoying person videos you playing!). But hey. It's a really, really fun family game. A big thumbs up from me and Seb!
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