While its release always feels a little bit poorly timed for Southern Hemisphere audiences, given its adjacency to the hot-sweaty months, Just Dance 2026 is the seventeenth release in Ubisoft’s long-running rhythm game franchise – with new choreography, the usual assortment of new, classic, and meme tracks to dance to, and a few revisions here and there over its previous instalment. With us now well and truly into the school holiday period, when kids are full of energy and on the prowl for new activities, does this latest instalment offer enough bang for your buck? Read on in my review of Just Dance 2026, now available on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch (and Nintendo Switch 2 via backwards compatibility).
Just like the entries that came before it, Just Dance 2026 is built on an immediately familiar rhythm that has defined the franchise. You pick a song, a stylised music video kicks off, and your job is to mirror the on-screen dance coach closely enough to keep the points flowing and push your star rating higher and higher. It is still designed as a party-first experience where enthusiasm counts for almost as much as accuracy, which is precisely why it has stayed a household staple for so long. Whether you are chasing a Megastar rating, trying to keep up with the kids, or just looking for a light workout that doesn’t feel like one, the core loop remains as welcoming as ever.
Where the moment-to-moment feel differs most is not in what you do, but in how you do it. On Nintendo Switch, the single Joy-Con approach remains the most frictionless way to play. Primarily, giving younger gamers Joycons rather than their phone to play with is arguably a peace of mind in itself. On PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, the Controller app on your phone remains the default option, which is functional but can feel awkward once routines ask for wider arm swings and faster transitions.
The headline improvement this year is the camera-based scoring option, which lets you prop your phone up and dance hands-free while it tracks your full-body movement. When it works, it genuinely feels liberating and makes it far easier to focus on choreography rather than worry about launching a pricey device across the room. The catch is that it takes up a bit more space, requires a bit more setup, and it is typically limited to solo play, and is a little less accurate – so it ends up being the best option for personal practice sessions and quick workouts rather than the main choice for chaotic family nights.
That brings us neatly to the real reason most people show up each year, the track list. Just Dance 2026 leans hard into variety, stacking recent radio hits alongside evergreen party staples and the occasional left-field pick for better or worse. Even if you do not recognise every artist at a glance, the setlist is curated with playability in mind, with routines that are easy to jump into and hard not to grin through once the chorus hits. Two routines in particular feel designed to be talked about. Born to Be Alive (Reborn Version) is the kind of showpiece map that reminds you this series can still surprise, pairing a confident disco pulse with a strong visual hook that makes it memorable even after the song ends. On the other end of the spectrum, the Bluey Medley is a celebration of Ludo Studio’s flagship work, pitched perfectly for younger players without feeling like an afterthought for everyone else in the room – combining the opening theme with the song Dance Mode from the show. It will be one of life’s greatest mysteries how the show’s theme song, simple in nature, can be so nostalgic and memorable…
Presentation is where the series continues to do a lot of heavy lifting, and Just Dance 2026 largely looks the part. The music videos are bright, colourful, and busy in a way that feels celebratory rather than cluttered, with plenty of small details and dynamic backgrounds that reward you when you stop flailing long enough to notice them. Importantly, the on-screen readability remains strong. The coaches pop, the timing cues are easy to follow, and the whole thing is designed so that even newcomers can keep up through sheer momentum. Choreography is mostly the dependable mix of approachable moves with a few more demanding sequences sprinkled throughout, from my perspective, perhaps a bit more accessible this year, and when a routine really clicks, it sells the fantasy of being in a full-blown music video. There are still moments when simplicity can undercut a song’s energy, especially on easier difficulties, but at its best, Just Dance 2026 strikes that sweet spot where it feels inclusive, looks gorgeous, and keeps everyone moving.
Each new instalment in the Just Dance series isn’t just new music and choreography; it usually adds a few new features as well. For Just Dance 2026, that is Party Mode. It is built around quick, stitched-together snippets of songs, asking players to maintain high accuracy across a timed run rather than settling into a single full-length routine. It is a smart idea for living room play. In practice, it is at its strongest as a solution to indecision, throwing you into a rotation of tracks and keeping the energy up without long pauses between selections. The mode does layer in little disruptors as you go, sometimes obscuring the screen or asking you to do something other than follow the coach, and whether those land will depend entirely on your group. Some will love the added chaos, others will find it breaks the flow. Honestly… I am still not certain which camp I fall into.
The bigger shift, though, is not Party Mode; it is the way Just Dance now presents itself as a platform. Booting the game can feel like stepping into a sprawling hub, with playlists, older content, and subscription tracks all competing for your attention at once. If you have been buying the recent editions, that can be convenient, since your library starts to feel like one big dance cabinet. If you are new, returning after a few years away, or simply buying one version for the holidays, it can be surprisingly messy to navigate. The interface is not without improvements, but it still has a habit of pushing everything forward at once, including songs you might not actually own, which makes discovery feel less like browsing and more like sorting.
That design push ties directly into Just Dance+, the subscription service that sits front and centre inside the hub. On paper, it is an easy sell, provided you don’t mind paying extra. A broad backcatalogue adds considerable value for families that burn through favourites and want more variety than the base setlist can offer. In practice, the game rarely lets you forget it exists, with prompts and placement that can feel overly aggressive if you just want to jump straight into this year’s songs.
So, even if it lands right as the Southern Hemisphere starts turning up the heat, Just Dance 2026 still earns its spot as a school holiday crowd-pleaser, with an inviting core loop and plenty of colour and personality in its presentation. The track list does a lot of the heavy lifting, anchored by modern hits and a few flagship tracks. Party Mode adds a handy burst-style option for groups, even if its disruptors will divide opinion, and the broader platform approach continues to be held back by cluttered menus, reliance on streaming, and the constant nudge towards Just Dance+. If you can live with those modern frustrations, there is still plenty of bang for your buck here, especially for families who just want an easy excuse to get up, laugh, and dance it out.
Final Score for Just Dance 2026
This review was conducted on a digital PlayStation 5 copy of Just Dance 2026, with a review code provided by Ubisoft Australia to facilitate this review.
Just Dance 2026 is now available to purchase on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch, the latter with backwards compatibility with the Nintendo Switch 2.
