For more on Just Dance 2018, check out our full Just Dance 2018 review. Or, for more of the best Playstation 4 games for a 5 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
What is Just Dance 2018?
A continuation of the best-selling Just Dance series, Just Dance 2018 lets you bop to Beyonce, shake to Shakira and boogie to Bruno Mars, letting up to four players (or six if you download the Just Dance Controller App for smart phones) join in with the fun. With 40 songs included on disc - plus an extra 300+ if you subscribe to the Just Dance Unlimited service (£3.99 a month, or £24.99 a year), there's plenty to keep you dancing, especially when you consider every copy of the game comes with a free three month trial of the Just Dance Unlimited service, letting you try out all the extra songs at no extra cost!
How do you play Just Dance 2018?
Playing Just Dance 2018 is as simple as the title suggests - you pick your song, grab your controller (or position yourself in front of the camera) and just dance, following the little stick figure prompts as they scroll along the bottom of the screen. The better you mirror their moves, and the more in time you are, the better you'll score, and as old Brucie once said, points mean prizes! For every song you complete, you'll earn Just Dance's in-game currency, Mojo, which can be exchanged for goes on the capsule machine, where you can unlock new profile pictures, alternate choreographies and new songs to play.
What you'll need to get going depends on the platform you're playing on. On Wii, you can play along with just the Wii Remote, on Wii U you have a choice of Wii Remote or the Just Dance smartphone app, while the Switch lets you play with either the Joy-Con controller, or the Just Dance app. On PS3, you'll need a Playstation Move and Playstation Eye camera, while on the PS4, you have a choice between the Playstation Camera, Playstation Move, or the Just Dance app. Over on the Xbox side of things, players on the 360 will require a Kinect sensor, while those on the Xbox One can choose between Kinect, or the Just Dance app. Finally, players on PC can get in on the fun using the Just Dance app.
How easy is Just Dance 2018 to pick up and play?
Generally speaking, Just Dance 2018 has a pretty low barrier to entry - there's no complicated battles to contend with, no reams of text to wade through and no complex controls; just simple, pick-up-and-play dancing. Depending on the song you're playing, some of the instructions can be a little unclear, and some choreographies are more challenging than others, but there's no way to fail or get a game over, and the game doesn't punish you for missing moves. For younger players, there's even a special 'Kids' area, which features a dozen songs with much easier choreographies, some cherry-picked from the main song list and some exclusive to the mode, featuring pirates, chicks and robots dance along with.
With no bloody violence, bad language or sexual content, Just Dance 2018 is pretty much as family friendly as it's possible to be. While the lyrics to the songs in real life may touch on innuendos or feature a few f-bombs, the versions included in the game are the neutered radio edits, so anything too untoward has been cut out - although lines such as "I'm feelin' kind of n-a-s-t-y, I just might take you home with me… I know you want my body", "I could take you home, we could keep it on the low" and "If you wanna menage, I got a tricycle" do remain. For a full list of songs on the game, be sure to check out our full Just Dance 2018 song list.
Just Dance 2018 does add a special Just Dance Kids area on the main menu, which bundles a few of the most kid-friendly songs along with a selection of exclusive child-specific songs, featuring pirates, robots and fairies. However, this does mean it is a much more limited set of songs compared to the main game - about a dozen in total.
Online Safety
As far as online games go, Just Dance 2018 is about as tame as they come. The 'World Dance Floor' mode is a looping 'channel' that lets you dance against other real-life Just Dance players in real time - although there's no way to interact with anyone, nor do you even see what they're doing. It essentially works via a huge, several hundred players-strong leaderboard, that updates as players dance along, showing your current position in the rankings at the side of the screen.
Just Dance 2018 also gives you the ability to upload and watch people's 'Autodance' videos, which can be recorded via various console's cameras. By stringing together a few short clips of you dancing in your living room, you get a somewhat silly stop-motion-esque video that shows you - and anyone else who happens to be in the room at the time - bopping along to the song in question. All Autodance videos are subject to a moderator's approval, which means that nothing untoward should get through the filters, so it's really just a bit of harmless fun.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Playstation 4
