Ubisoft’s Just Dance series has spent years bringing people together through familiar songs, colorful performances and choreography that encourages players to get off the couch. With Just Dance: Decades of Hits, the publisher takes a different approach to its annual release, trading a primary focus on recent music for a collection spanning six decades, from classic disco and eighties pop to contemporary chart hits. The result is one of the more appealing musical selections the franchise has offered in recent years, although the new Adventure Mode and some welcome quality-of-life improvements do not completely disguise how familiar the underlying experience has become.
The main attraction is undoubtedly the soundtrack. With 35 songs and five alternative choreography versions, the selection features artists ranging from ABBA, Elton John and Run-DMC to the Spice Girls, Gorillaz, Britney Spears and Sabrina Carpenter. This variety gives the collection a broader appeal than one dominated by current chart music, making it easier for friends and family with different musical tastes to find something they recognise. Songs such as Mamma Mia, Wannabe, Bye Bye Bye and Feel Good Inc. provide plenty of opportunities for nostalgic singalongs, while newer tracks help the collection feel relevant to younger players. There is a noticeable trade-off in the relatively modest number of songs, however. For a game built around six decades of music, 35 tracks can feel restrictive, particularly for returning players who may already own a substantial library from previous editions. The selection is generally strong enough to make the most of its limited space, but the concept could easily have supported a more generous tracklist – especially when you consider the fact that a few of the tracks are just covers.
The new Adventure Mode gives the collection a little more structure than simply selecting songs from a menu. Players follow Lyra Gigavolt as she travels through different musical eras in an attempt to rescue her father after an experiment involving time travel goes wrong. Each decade introduces a themed setting, with dances forming the backbone of the journey and occasional quizzes and small activities providing some variety. It is a straightforward premise that offers a convenient excuse to explore the soundtrack in a particular order, rather than repeatedly choosing familiar favorites. The story is light-hearted and occasionally awkward in its attempts at contemporary humor, though that is hardly a major problem for a game whose primary purpose is to get people dancing. The bigger limitation is that the adventure rarely develops beyond its basic premise. The activities outside the choreography are relatively repetitive, and the different eras could have been distinguished more clearly through their challenges and interactions. Adventure Mode adds welcome context, but it is more of an entertaining framework for the music than a compelling story-driven experience in its own right.
Fortunately, the dancing itself remains effective at bringing people together. The familiar format asks players to follow the animated performers on screen, matching their movements as closely as possible to earn points. Simple visual cues indicate the upcoming moves, making it relatively easy for newcomers to join in, even if they have never played a Just Dance game before. The more approachable routines are particularly suitable for family gatherings, while alternative versions of selected songs introduce additional difficulty for those who want to improve their scores. The Extreme Version of Wannabe is one example of how a familiar track can become a more demanding challenge. Nevertheless, the difficulty curve is not consistently satisfying. Some routines are relatively straightforward, and the scoring system can sometimes reward broad arm movements without requiring players to reproduce the choreography particularly accurately. That makes the game accessible, but it can also undermine the incentive to learn more complicated routines properly.
Control options remain an important consideration, especially on PS5, where the experience relies on a compatible smartphone-based control method rather than the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con motion controls. The phone-camera feature offers an alternative to holding a device while dancing, and this approach can provide a more demanding way to follow the routines. However, it requires careful positioning so that the camera can track the player reliably. Moving outside its field of view can interfere with recognition, turning an otherwise energetic performance into a frustrating attempt to get back into frame. Another significant restriction is that the camera-control option is limited to solo play, reducing its usefulness for the multiplayer gatherings that are among the franchise’s biggest selling points. The basic mechanics are easy to understand; achieving a dependable and satisfying tracking setup is less effortless.
There is still plenty of appeal in playing with others. Local multiplayer supports up to six players, while Party Mode offers another way to turn a gathering into a more chaotic competition. The option to create multiple Dancer Cards is particularly welcome, allowing members of the same household or regular playing group to maintain their own identities instead of relying on a single main profile and guest accounts. Workout Mode also gives the game a practical purpose beyond casual entertainment, allowing players to use their favorite tracks as a way to stay active. These features reinforce the idea that Just Dance works best as a shared experience rather than a game to be judged solely on its progression systems. Party Mode’s changing rules and visual interruptions can add some welcome unpredictability, although the central activity remains the same: follow the dancers, keep moving and try to outperform everyone else. Those looking for substantial mechanical changes or a deeper competitive system will find little here.
Visually, Just Dance: Decades of Hits continues to understand that its performances need to be as entertaining to watch as they are to follow. The animated dancers, distinctive costumes and imaginative settings give individual songs their own character, while the broad musical theme provides plenty of opportunities to contrast the aesthetics of different eras. Some of the standout performances use more elaborate animation techniques, helping tracks such as Crocodile Rock and Celebration leave a stronger impression than a conventional dance stage might. The visuals also contribute to the game’s accessibility: the performers provide a clear focal point, and their exaggerated movements help communicate the choreography. The presentation is less impressive outside the songs themselves, however. Adventure Mode’s simpler menus and mini-game screens lack much of the color and personality found in the musical performances. This makes the transition between dancing and exploration feel somewhat underwhelming, particularly when the game has already demonstrated how much character it can create through its stage design.
The soundtrack naturally does much of the work on the audio front. Familiar songs give the game immediate energy, and the variety of genres and generations helps prevent the playlist from feeling too narrowly targeted. It is easy to imagine one player choosing a contemporary pop track before another switches to a nineties hit, with the changing musical styles keeping a group engaged over an extended session. The selection is not guaranteed to satisfy everyone, of course, and the limited number of tracks means that personal favorites will inevitably be missing. Still, the curation is more important than simply filling the playlist with famous names: the songs need to be enjoyable to dance to, and the choreography needs to complement their rhythm and character. Although not every routine stands out equally, the collection offers enough variety to encourage players to try songs outside their usual listening habits. Adventure Mode supports this by guiding players through the different eras, potentially turning unfamiliar tracks into new favorites.
Ultimately, Just Dance: Decades of Hits feels like a solid refinement of an established formula rather than a major reinvention. Its cross-generational soundtrack is the strongest argument in its favor, while Adventure Mode provides a useful route through the songs and the return of multiple Dancer Cards makes group play more accommodating. The colorful performances remain a highlight, and the additional control option is worth exploring for players who want a different way to dance. At the same time, the relatively small tracklist, repetitive side activities and limitations of motion tracking prevent the package from reaching its full potential. The game is also difficult to recommend as an essential upgrade for anyone already satisfied with a recent Just Dance release and its existing song library. For newcomers, families and players who want a fresh collection of classics alongside contemporary hits, however, this is an inviting entry point. Ubisoft has found a promising theme for the series; the next step should be to expand on that idea with more substantial variety and a clearer sense of progression.
Score: 7.5/10