If you’re planning on hosting a bit of karaoke at home or with friends, then Ravenscourt has you covered with another entry in their Let’s Sing franchise. Let’s Sing 2023 is out for all major console platforms, and we’re reviewing it on a PlayStation 4.
For some reason, karaoke nights are a bit of a staple during the holidays here, and while Singstar was the go-to platform for ages that’s been replaced by Let’s Sing in recent years. In addition to their annual releases, there have also been artist-specific ones, like the new ABBA release, but the yearly editions provide a lot more diversity in their tracklists. Let’s Sing 2023 is no different.
But while the tracklist is new, the same can’t be said for the game’s modes – which are identical to the 2022 edition we reviewed last year. Super comfortable for longtime players to slip into of course, but it also points to the fact that, as a game franchise, Let’s Sing has now matured to the point of being more like a platform than a game series where annual editions keep iterating on themselves with new improvements.
From traditional modes like Classic and Jukebox to Mixtapes, you can play solo or take turns, but if you’re looking to sing together or compete you also have the duet and online modes/leaderboards returning – though for local multiplayer purposes you might want to try out Let’s Party instead. If you played the previous edition, you probably already know how you want to play – and luckily Let’s Sing 2023 still provides the excellent support for mic varieties, from wired to wireless mics and even a smartphone app that turns your phone into a mic.
Once you’re set up, there’s a 30 song tracklist to explore, and it’s one of the most diverse ones we’ve seen from the franchise yet. It definitely leans more towards newer tracks though, and true classics are underrepresented. Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” is a highlight, but we feel like we’ve seen Queen’s “I Want To Break Free” on several other singing games already. And although those are both great songs from a time gone by, we’re not sure that Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” and O-Zone’s “Dragostea Din Tei” qualify as the same – even though there’s a fun factor to them and you can finally see what they were singing besides “numa numa”.
Carl Douglas’s “Kung Fu Fighting” is another oldie, but then the tracklist fast forwards a bit to Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” and Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” before moving on towards a selection of tracks that’s mostly from the last five years or so, including ones by Rita Ora, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Clean Bandit, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish – as well as one of the songs from Disney’s Encanto. It’s a quality selection, but if you’re looking for timeless classics rather than new and popular tracks you might find the tracklist a little lacking.
Another issue with the fact that Let’s Sing is feeling more like a platform (when it’s not) is that tracks from previous editions are stuck there. It would be fantastic if you could select from tracks you’ve bought as part of other editions over the years, especially if you bought them digitally. The same’s true for any DLC you bought. We’ve seen some DLC tracks carry over to different years/edition in the past, but in the 2023 edition we weren’t able to do this.
Let’s Sing 2023 is another solid entry that’ll certainly provide lots of karaoke fun – especially with crowds who are into the latest popular tracks. The biggest area of improvement lies in the evolution of the franchise as a platform that can give players more content and convenience, and the game more lasting appeal. Fingers crossed for 2024.
Score: 7.6/10
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