Five Decades Of Music And Dancing
Just Dance: Decades of Hits does exactly what the title suggests, taking players on a dancefloor journey through five decades of music from the 1970s right up to the 2020s.
Previous Just Dance games have offered songs from different decades but have always skewed the selection towards the more recent hits. As a result, this latest iteration of the game will appeal more to players of many different vintages, not just the youngsters.
It’s not just the songs that come from different decades though – the dance moves and visuals also match, which helps to immerse you in each era and really feel like a time traveller.
Just Dance: Decades of Hits features 35 new songs, all accessible through the new Adventure Mode, which can be played solo or in co-op with other players. This takes centre stage on the home screen, and is obviously the place to start when you load up the game.
Adventure Mode Takes You Through Time
On selection you are whisked into a narrative where you play as Lyra, Dr Gigavolt’s daughter, who sets off on a journey through time to rescue her father. The story doesn’t really matter here but you can follow along to the inane interactions between the pair if you really want, or skip through them as we did to get to the important part – the dancing.
On entering Adventure Mode, you step straight into a glittering 1970s world of disco, big hair, and shoes that are even bigger – all other decades are locked at this point. Each decade has a themed world, which you can explore using either your controller or through the Just Dance Controller App on your phone. Worlds are packed with activities, including songs, quizzes and collecting collectibles. Some collectibles are tucked away along secret paths, which you can uncover by breaking through walls. Songs are accessed via their own stations dotted around the world, giving you a reason to explore rather than simply selecting tracks from a list.
On selecting a song you hit the dancefloor and this is where Just Dance: Decades of Hits doesn’t deviate. If you have ever played a previous version of the game you already know the drill – copy the moves of your hypercoloured dance coach and slowly rack up your score.
In Adventure Mode you have to reach a certain percentage to complete each song, and when you do it will be ticked off and you can have a go at another activity.
Quizzes, Collectibles And Boss Songs
The quizzes provide a welcome opportunity to take a breather between songs and give your cardiovascular system a chance to recover. They are all very light-hearted and not too taxing, plus give an opportunity for a bit of interaction with your fellow players if you are playing in co-op mode. There are two different types but in both you are asked if certain items are a feature of the decade. For example matching walkmans to the 80s and USB sticks to the 2000s. Depending on your age, you might find decades at either end of the timeline more, or less, challenging.
On completion of activities, you earn XP, which unlocks more songs and also collectibles that you can use in the ‘Locker Room’ to customise your dancer card. You also get to follow along with a chat between Lyra and her Dad as you are either congratulated for doing a good job or berated as a terrible dancer.
In every decade there are some dud songs such as novelty ones, which we didn’t fancy playing but the good news is that you don’t need to complete all the activities to unlock the next decade. To progress, you need to complete the ‘boss song’, an emblematic song from the decade, which gets unlocked after you earn enough XP. For example, in the 2000s this is the anthem ‘Stronger’, where your Coach Brandy Starzz, aka Britney Spears, dances a typical high energy routine on the stage of a talent show. When the last ‘boss song’ of the last decade is completed, the adventure mode is considered finished. But you can keep exploring the themed worlds and complete all the activities you missed first time round.
The Dancing Evolves With The Decades
The journey through the decades also brings a welcome sense of progression to the gameplay, whether intentional or not. Either way, it is a detail we particularly appreciated.
Starting off in the 1970s with disco music, you find a lot of simple movements that anyone can easily reproduce – think John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. It’s less about precision, and more about style and groove (and lots of pointing).
By the 1980s, things begin to get more challenging as hip-hop and pop bring higher energy levels, sharper movements and more distinctive choreography. From there, styles became increasingly diverse, with influences blending together to bring in house, K-pop, dancehall and afrobeats. The dancing gets faster and more technically demanding – and our scores kept getting lower.
We welcomed the addition of Adventure Mode to Decades of Hits, which brings a fresh dimension to the gameplay and creates more opportunities for interaction between players. It is encouraging to see Ubisoft continuing to evolve the Just Dance series, introducing new ways to play rather than simply relying on an updated song list to keep the experience fresh.
Controller Options And Group Dancing
If you have played another recent Just Dance game, you will be familiar with the Just Dance Controller app. This allows groups of players to join the same game and join in with the dancing. On selecting a song you have the choice of holding your phone in your hand to detect your movement, or using the camera on your phone to detect you.
There are pros and cons with each method. We found that the camera controller mode allowed us to rack up higher scores, which is surprising as you would think that in order to do well in this mode you would have to hit the moves exactly. You also don’t need a very bright light to use it – having to turn on the big light would really have killed the party vibe.
The issue with camera controller mode is that you need to make sure you have a suitable spot to rest your phone on and a big enough space so you can dance while still being picked up. Also, it is only available when playing alone, as group playing requires everyone to use the hand controller. There is also the issue that not all phones are compatible with camera controller mode; you will need an Android smartphone with Android 9 or higher or an iOS smartphone with iOS 14.4 or higher.
Talking about dancing as a group, Just Dance: Decades of Hits contains the franchise’s first five coach routine with the iconic 90s hit, Wannabe by the Spice Girls. Ever wanted to dance as Sporty, Baby, Scary, Posh or Ginger, or indeed form your own Spice Girls tribute band in your own living room? Now you have the chance.
There are, as ever, a selection of songs that are solo, paired, or group. Other bands you can join include Abba, *NSYNC and Run DMC. There are also five songs with alternative dancing options including extreme and chair dance versions of songs.
Stop-Motion Songs And Your Existing Just Dance Library
Just Dance – Decades of Hits also has two songs developed in collaboration with external studios, which offer a stop-motion animation style rather than the traditional human coaches.
In Crocodile Rock you get to dance as a Grandma on a crazy musical journey around England and the character Lizzy (also known as Lizzy Frankenstein), the puppet coach featured in Just Dance 2026 Edition returns. You can follow her through an 80s inspired universe while dancing along to a version of Kool & The Gang’s Celebration.
One thing we really appreciated with Just Dance: Decades of Hits is that if you own any of the Just Dance 2023-2026 editions, you will be able to access all your songs from the homescreen. This also includes songs from purchased Music Packs and songs available through an active Just Dance+ subscription.
Just Dance: Decades Of Hits Gets Everyone Moving
Just Dance: Decades of Hits just goes to prove that Ubisoft are nowhere near finished with their yearly updates of the game – and are able to keep coming up with the goods and injecting new ideas into this franchise, which itself is now well into its second decade. Whether you prefer hitting the slick, fast-paced choreography of a K-pop hit or are more comfortable on a 70s disco dancefloor, there’s plenty here to get everyone on their feet.
Important Links
Just Dance: Decades Of Hits Wants Every Generation On The Dancefloor – https://www.thexboxhub.com/just-dance-decades-of-hits-wants-every-generation-on-the-dancefloor/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/just-dance-decades-of-hits/9n3mf3s99fnf
