Ever since 2009 , Ubisoft ’s Just Dance series has been one of those gaming juggernauts that ’s never stopped move . Every single twelvemonth since its Nintendo Wii debut has brought a raw installment , spanning generation of consoles . The cold truth , though , is that the serial was always at its good on the Wii . It was built around the console ’s peculiar question controls , so it ’s never felt like a sportsmanlike fit for most console its seminal fluid to since . That ’s why it ’s so surprising that it took this prospicient to getJust Dance VR .
While consoles are getting a received 2025 version , headsets like the newMeta Quest 3Sare getting a light translation ramp up around the tech . Unsurprisingly , Just Dance is a natural conniption for VR , acting as another great fitness selection for those who utilize their headset to get some light cardio in . It ’s likely the best style to play the series since its Wiimote days , but it comes with a serious caveat : You ’ll probably want to release your flat into a bound castle if you need to toy it safely .
Dancing in VR
I did n’t need to put on my Quest 3S to know how well Ubisoft ’s reach rhythm plot would translate to VR , but one sweaty morn with it confirmed my hunch . When I open it up , I ’m given a fare full of songs I can prefer from . It ’s a slim leaning compared to its cabinet vis-a-vis ; it only curb 25 songs compare to the 40 inJust Dance Dance 2025 Edition . It ’s a pretty dated selection of songs too , as if its meant to be a spry greatest hits collection from the dealership ’s history . birdsong likeCall Me Maybe , Born This manner , and Ellie Goulding’sLightsreally date the project . It ’s a little confusing that it does n’t partake in any modern hits with the 2025 Edition , like Sabrina Carpenter’sEspresso .
While that ’s unknown , the core terpsichore formula just makes sense in VR , even if it takes a minute to sympathize exactly what I ’m supposed to do . When I take my first birdsong ( I bulge out withCarly Rae Jepsen , of course ) , I ’m taken off guard as dance prompting pilot by on the sieve . Arrows tell me how to move my limbs , but without a thorough tutorial to alleviate me in , I lose a peck of nuances . It take me a few songs to understand that I ’m supposed to keep moving even when prompts are n’t on the sieve or to move my body slowly into some position rather than flick to them . The indecipherable UI could do a better chore at communicate that , but I ’m capable to find my footing when I instead centre on the onscreen professional dancer mock up each move .
Once I gave in to the absurdity of it all , I found myself really getting in to the goofy fun of it all . I was back in the Wii epoch , but with the Quest ’s Touch Plus controllers instead of the Wiimote . I flung my arms around wildly and worked up a legitimate sweat in the process . Experiences like this are partly what I come to VR for . I ultimately want to move my body when I throw a headset on , get a small fittingness experience thatMetaphor : ReFanaziocertainly is n’t going to give me . Just Dance VRgot the job done , once again dial in on the health benefit of the series on a weapons platform that ’s staring for it .
Well … almost perfect .
I was finally cut escaped after a few birdcall when I got a rude — and painful — wakening . As I pump my arms toBlinding Lights , I managed to punch a bookshelf . Look , I never said I was graceful , and a Brooklyn apartment is just never the ideal lieu to quiz VR , but there ’s still a lesson to be learned here . No matter how conscious you are of your body when you are in VR or how big your play space is , the world is that you ca n’t see where you are at any give time . When I was to the full immersed inJust Dance VR‘s neon colouring material , it was easy to fall back cartroad of where I was even with the Quest ’s boundary sensors .
This is n’t just a Just Dance issue ; it ’s something I ’ve butted up against in plenty of VR game over the age . It ’s just a more marked hurdle for a game that often require you to twirl your hands around or propagate your arms as wide-eyed as possible . The advantage of play on console is that you ’re fully aware of your surround and can deflect bump into a paries . That luxury melt in a headset . I would never in a million years allow a youngster with a game like this in an expensive headset unless I was looking for an well-to-do way to amass insurance .
How do you figure out for a problem like that when it ’s so basically bake into the technical school itself ? I cogitate there ’s an easy localisation and it ’s fortunately ready now . modernistic VR headsetsare pay back much unspoiled at furnish clear passthrough technology . The Meta Quest 3S is especially a heavy stair in that direction , offer a clear face at my surroundings when become on . The idealistic version of Just Dance in VR uses that technical school , bank more on mixed realism to put the dancing prompt in the real world . I have to opine that Ubisoft ’s next stab at this will figure that out and well realize the potency here . Just Dance VR is the proficient agency to play the series , but that does n’t mean there is n’t a better way .
Just Dance VRlaunches on October 15 for Meta Quest headsets .
