Like clockwork, Just Dance 2025 Edition has arrived, marking the 15th anniversary of Ubisoft’s ever-reliable rhythm dance franchise.
This new release isn’t so much a full game, but a collection of 40 songs to add to the ongoing Just Dance platform, making it tough to prepare a traditional game review. Instead, based on the type of person you are, I’ve written my advice as to whether or not you might want to grab a copy of Just Dance 2025 Edition.
Choose the response that best fits you below, or check out the whole article!
‘I’ve never played Just Dance before!’
If it seems like something you’d be into, then you’re in for a treat!
Just Dance 2025 forces you off the couch and gets you following along with choreographed dance routines.
Your movements are tracked with a motion control input. This usually involves holding a phone in your hand which is running Just Dance’s controller app, but you can also use your Joy-Cons if playing on the Nintendo Switch. Recently, the Just Dance games have added the ability to track your movements using your phone camera, which I’ll get into later.
The Just Dance games have always catered to a broad casual gaming audience, goofy fun being a priority over high scores and tight controls. If you’re the type that likes to mindlessly get down at a party, you’ll likely enjoy this. But if you tend to start all-out dance contests with everyone around you, perhaps you’ll need something more intense… Or maybe just some self-reflection about your behaviour.
‘I already bought Just Dance 2024 Edition, do I need this one too?‘
Beginning with Just Dance 2023 Edition, the series became an ongoing live service platform, with each years retail release adding a collection of around 40 additional songs.
You can expand your song library by buying other annual Just Dance releases, purchasing song packs from the in-game store, or by signing up for the Just Dance+ subscription service — which provides you with hundreds of extra songs as long as your subscription is active.
Any new features that are added to Just Dance are also made available in the 2024 Edition, so your only reason to buy Just Dance 2025 is if you like the track-list and feel a compulsion to dance to ‘Whenever, Wherever’ by Shakira (and hey, I understand the feeling).
In terms of the songs available, I’m very glad to see smash hits like Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Espresso’, ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga and the Triple J Hottest 100 winner Doja Cat’s ‘Paint the Town Red’ have made the cut. As part of a larger collaboration, Ariana Grande has a whopping five tracks on the list, so your mileage may vary depending on how much you enjoy her music.
Then there’s the sorts of strange choices like ‘Basket Case’ by Green Day which, awkward censoring aside, makes for a really fun and straightforward jumpy rock-out jam.
I do have to note that the music licensing team pulled off an amazing coup by getting the iconic Titanic theme ‘My Heart Will Go On?’ on to the track list, then paired it with the most dorky karaoke-themed dance they could muster. I went in to expecting to hate it, but gosh darn it, it might be my favourite dance in the whole game. So bonus points for showing Celine Dion the respect she deserves.
‘I’m obsessed with Just Dance and buy it every year!‘
I’m not sure what you’re looking for from this article then? After all, it’s literally the same game you’ve been playing all this time.
But there is something to be said for having access to every single song on the platform if you’re a mega-fan of the Just Dance series, so don’t let me stand in the way of your purchase.
‘I’m having déjà vu, haven’t you written this article before?‘
Yeah, kinda! Not to mention my hyper-embarrassing video, charting my favourite dances from Just Dance 2024.
Look, some online research suggests the current distribution method for Just Dance still causes confusion, so this refreshed article is intended to make clear exactly what you’re getting when you purchase the game.
‘I’d like to know what you thought of Just Dance 2024 Edition, twelve months after release.‘
During the initial release rush, and first season of Just Dance 2024 Edition, I was putting in quite a bit of time with the game, but I have to admit that I fell off somewhat after that.
I played through all the new songs I wanted to check out and had my fill. Unfortunately, the lack of novelty in these annual releases failed to hold my attention.
That said, it still serves its purpose of being a great game to pull out during parties or after a few quiet drinks on the weekend. As the 2025 edition’s release was approaching, my excitement built, and I’ve been slowly lacing up my dance shoes in preparation.
‘I want to make my friends play this at parties!‘
I think this is where this series shines, as long as none of your friends are the ultra-competitive type. With a few drinks up your sleeve and a receptive audience cheering you on, Just Dance will make you feel like a superstar.
A month of the Just Dance+ subscription service is probably a wise investment for this sort of setting, where you can offer up hundreds of dance routines to your party guests at the reasonable price of AU$5.95/month. The game itself also comes with a month trial of Just Dance+, with more expensive editions providing up to a year’s access.
‘I think dancing while holding a controller in my hand sounds awkward.‘
The camera controller could be exactly what you were hoping for.
A new feature, that has been slowly rolled out over the past year, allows dancers to track their movements using their mobile phone camera. It ends up creating an experience reminiscent of Dance Central on the Kinect.
I found the setup to be a bit cumbersome, trying to find the right position for my phone and awkwardly standing within a silhouette to make sure I was properly captured. Once it was up and running, I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed this method. It’s just a bit more freeing, not having to always clutch a teeny tiny controller or a chunky phone in my hand. That being said, it only tracks one dancer, so it can’t be used in a group setting.
This feature isn’t available on every song in the back catalogue, but can be used on all new tracks in Just Dance 2025 Edition.
‘I’ll only play this as a single-player experience.’
I wouldn’t call this the ideal way to engage with Just Dance, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had.
Every song has online leaderboards, so you can see how you stack up against the rest of the world. You can also use the ‘Workout Mode’ to track your calorie loss while dancing and turn your gaming into an ongoing exercise routine.
‘I’ve heard about some lousy-sounding features that have me worried.‘
I need to get this off my chest — I despise the menus in this game. They are often sluggish and difficult to navigate and, as the song library expands further, the problem only becomes more and more apparent.
The way the game handles separate user profiles and hooks them to your Ubisoft account feels overly complex compared to earlier games in the series. It also makes it more difficult to track scores for different people using one system.
Dances are streamed online into the game much like a YouTube video, unless you choose to download the dance ahead of time. While this works surprisingly well with a half-decent internet connection, the rare pauses and moments of buffering tend to be detrimental, given that this is a music rhythm game with an emphasis on timing.
Players are also limited to 40 downloaded dances at a time, so if you’re building a large library over multiple years of releases, you might have to get a bit choosy.
‘I want to use this to improve my dancing skills!‘
You might get there with a lot of persistence, but I wouldn’t turn to Just Dance 2025 Edition if you’re looking to sharpen your skills. There’s not much to teach you the fundamentals of dancing, and trying to memorise a three minute dance from front to back can become repetitive.
It would be nice to see the integration of a training mode or a feature where you can separate and slow down sections of songs that you’re having trouble with. But I think you’ll likely have a better time if you don’t stress about being a good dancer and just have a mindlessly fun time.
‘Will my kids like Just Dance 2025 Edition?‘
Look, you know your kids better than I do, so don’t ask me. But I suspect they’ll have a blast with Just Dance 2025 Edition.
There’s a large selection of songs aimed at younger children and the series has had a long-standing relationship with Disney, meaning a Just Dance+ subscription can grant you access to classics like ‘A Whole New World‘, ‘How Far I’ll Go‘, and…. yes, of course, ‘Let It Go‘.
A lot of the modern songs in the game use clean versions to censor out some of the more questionable language to attain a family-friendly rating. Still, there are some head-scratchers in there. From what I can tell, Billie Eilish’s ‘Lunch’ has made its way into the game completely unedited; the lyrics in that song are so far from subtle, that I’d hesitate to even call it innuendo.
‘I’m not sure which platform to buy Just Dance 2025 Edition on.‘
While I feel that the Joy-Con motion controls make this game best suited to the Nintendo Switch, and that’s the version I’ve playing, Just Dance 2025 Edition is also available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles. It retails from $69 AUD.
There is also a demo available across platforms featuring two songs. Why not try it out on the consoles you own and see what works best?
‘I think I suck at dancing, but I really want to try this out.‘
You’re in good company.
Go ahead and dance like nobody is watching.
Quest Daily was provided early access to Just Dance 2025 Edition for the purpose of this article.
