{"id":103405,"date":"2019-11-09T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-09T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/just_dance_2020"},"modified":"2019-11-09T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-11-09T12:00:00","slug":"review-just-dance-2020-the-same-old-song-and-dance-perfected-over-10-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/11\/09\/review-just-dance-2020-the-same-old-song-and-dance-perfected-over-10-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Just Dance 2020 &#8211; The Same Old Song And Dance Perfected Over 10 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/just_dance_2020\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/just_dance_2020\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Just Dance 2020 Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/100888\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/100888\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Just Dance 2020 Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Just like Christmas or a hefty council tax bill, you can always rely on the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/fifa_20\">FIFA<\/a><\/strong> of dance to pop up with a new entry each year. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/just_dance_2020\"><strong>Just Dance 2020<\/strong><\/a> celebrates the tenth anniversary of Ubisoft\u2019s popular franchise \u2013 the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wii\/just_dance\">original Wii exclusive<\/a> launched in November 2009 \u2013 and if you\u2019ve played any of the numerous titles that have appeared on store shelves since then, you\u2019ll know <em>exactly<\/em> what to expect here.<\/p>\n<p>The standard Just Dance blueprint remains the same as it always has been \u2013 you\u2019ll grab a Joy-Con in one hand (or a smartphone, as control support for your mobile has made a welcome return this year) and dance along to a number of pop hits. You copy the moves of a professional dancer on-screen, ensuring that nobody can see you from the street outside as you struggle to touch your toes and accidentally fall onto the cat. It\u2019s a tried-and-trusted formula that can be immensely fun both alone and with friends.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Just Dance 2020 Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/100890\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/100890\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Just Dance 2020 Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>The similarities don\u2019t end with the basics, however; Just Dance 2020 is almost identical to last year\u2019s version in almost every possible way. The main section of the game, fittingly called \u2018Just Dance\u2019, has been directly lifted from 2019\u2019s entry, with a home screen full of tips and notices, a Playlists section that lists recommended songs and lets you build your own routines, and a portion that gives you access to your user profile to view stats and collectables. We went back to last year\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/just_dance_2019\"><strong>Just Dance 2019<\/strong><\/a> for comparison\u2019s sake, and for a second we thought we\u2019d accidentally loaded up 2020 again.<\/p>\n<p>It also has the same \u2018Kids\u2019 section, where a selection of child-friendly routines can be found for songs like <em>Baby Shark<\/em> (<em>do do, dodo do do<\/em>), and the same online mode, \u2018World Dance Floor\u2019. Just like before, World Dance Floor is an addictive little mode which has you challenging players from all around the world in real-time, with all active players voting on which song gets played next.<\/p>\n<p>There are a couple of differences, though. First up, is the addition of an \u2018All Stars\u2019 mode, which is essentially a cute little celebration of the series\u2019 10th anniversary. It kicks off with a cutscene featuring the Just Dance panda mascot, before sending you on a bus journey that sees you playing one song from each of the past main series games. Reaching the end of the journey unlocks an exclusive song, and while the mode\u2019s not enough to justify a purchase on its own, we enjoyed feeling a sense of progression and purpose as we played through it.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Just Dance 2020 Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/100887\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/100887\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Just Dance 2020 Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Secondly, is the song list, which is arguably the main (and only) reason to upgrade year on year. Some of our personal highlights this year include Billie Eilish\u2019s &#8216;bad guy&#8217; and &#8216;I Don\u2019t Care&#8217; by Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber, but feel free to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/11\/just_dance_2020_launches_today_on_switch_and_wii_heres_the_full_song_list\">check out the full set of 40 new tracks<\/a>. As always, it\u2019s mostly full of current hits that us old fogies have never heard before, but are sure to go down a treat with those that are a little more hip and happening \u2013 <em>see what we mean?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So, now that all of that\u2019s out of the way, there\u2019s one more thing we need to discuss before you rush off to your local game store, and that\u2019s Just Dance Unlimited. If you\u2019re unaware, Just Dance Unlimited is a subscription-based service which now grants you access to an additional 500 songs. As you can no doubt guess, it <em>dramatically<\/em> improves the game by giving you a wonderfully generous supply of tracks to dance along to, but essentially comes as an additional cost on top of the one you just paid for the base game. You actually get one month free with any purchase on Switch, but once that month\u2019s over you\u2019ll either have to pay to keep it going or lose all of that extra content.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Just Dance 2020 Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/100886\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/100886\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Just Dance 2020 Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>At the time of writing, you can get a year\u2019s subscription for \u00a319.99 \/ $24.99 (with one-day, 30-day, and 90-day bundles also available for less). If you\u2019re going to be playing the game every day, the subscription\u2019s no issue and will be worth the money, but for anyone who\u2019s not entirely devoted to the franchise, the whole thing becomes a harder sell. It also means that, if you already own one of the recent Just Dance games like 2019 or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/just_dance_2018\"><strong>2018<\/strong><\/a>, you could just get a subscription for the game you already own \u2013 all you\u2019d lose out on is this year\u2019s new set of 40 songs.<\/p>\n<p>This subscription model puts us in the same predicament every time we review a Just Dance game. To put things simply, Just Dance 2020 is a really nicely polished title that has been slowly but surely perfected over the years. It\u2019s great fun and we\u2019re happy to report that the game has kept last year\u2019s modern feel and sleek menus, but the bulk of its actual content will forever be locked behind the Unlimited subscription. If you don\u2019t mind paying the extra charge or haven\u2019t owned a game from the series in a while, you should absolutely pick this up, but if you already own a recent title, it becomes much harder to justify an upgrade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Just Dance 2020 is a celebration of the series\u2019 tenth anniversary in more ways than one, with years\u2019 worth of releases all leading up to a formula that has truly been perfected and a decent new song list to boot. You\u2019ll want to be subscribed to Just Dance Unlimited to get the most out of your purchase, however, and a combination of your needs, budget and access to previous titles makes the decision much more difficult than it should be. Newcomers to the series won\u2019t find a better experience out there, but seasoned players might want to think about saving some cash and sticking with their current setup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just like Christmas or a hefty council tax bill, you can always rely on the FIFA of dance to pop up with a new entry each year. Just Dance 2020 celebrates the tenth anniversary of Ubisoft\u2019s popular franchise \u2013 the original Wii exclusive launched in November 2009 \u2013 and if you\u2019ve played any of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}