14 Best Dance Games, Ranked (2024)

It's okay to admit that Fortnite started an interest in flossing! Video games and dancing are intertwined and there's no denying it. It's thanks to dancing games that the Nintendo Wii still saw a new release in 2020 because even gamers want to bust a move with their friends every now and again.

RELATED: Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do In Fortnite

As well as playing the games themselves, players have also been taking on non-dancing titles using a dance pad as a challenge for years. Thankfully, this isn't the world of Footloose, so fans of dancing games have many terrific choices available to them. However, what are the best dancing games ever?

Updated on September 19, 2023: This article has been updated with each dancing game's specifications.

14 Now That's What I Call Music: Dance & Sing

Karaoke and dancing are a match made in heaven, and Now That's What I Call Music: Dance & Sing makes that entirely possible. Featuring over 30 of the best music tracks from over the decades from hip-hop to contemporary pop, this Wii game is sure to take players on a trip down memory lane with professionally choreographed dance routines.

With a visual format similar to the iconic Just Dance games, players can use a plug-in USB microphone to sing along to their favorite songs! They can either sing solo in the campaign mode or compete in an epic dance-off against 2-3 other players for some disco-fever fun!

13 Beat Saber

The world of virtual reality has brought gaming to new heights with added immersion, as players get to feel as though they are tearing up the dance floor in real life. Beat Saber is a popular VR-specific rhythm game by Beat Gamers, where players get to slash through incoming blocks in time to the music in a mysterious sci-fi backdrop.

RELATED: Fitness Games With Surprisingly Deep Lore

Although players don't specifically have to dance while playing Beat Saber, it would be rude not to bust a groove while tearing up blocks to the beat of the music. Beat Saber features a catalog of original music but if players don't fancy that, they can sync up their own tunes and disco to their heart's content!

12 ABBA: You Can Dance

Developed by the same team behind the hugely successful Just Dance series, ABBA: You Can Dance is a little reminiscent of The Beatles: Rock Band. Of course, rather than jamming, players were expected to boogie on down to some of the best and most iconic pop songs of the seventies and eighties.

The game features 25 ABBA tracks in total, including hits like Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, and Waterloo. Not only can four people play the game at once, but the title also features a two-player karaoke mode, making it one of the more unique and feature-rich dance games of all time.

11 Michael Jackson: The Experience

Though the core Just Dance series typically offers a decent variety of songs and dance styles, they're not great for those looking to specialize. That's where the Experience series comes into play, with Michael Jackson: The Experience being the first of three solid spin-offs.

Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, and Thriller can all be found in the game's expansive soundtrack, which includes just about every notable song from the Prince of Pop's repertoire. Its success would pave the way for more specialized releases, including the aforementioned ABBA: You Can Dance as well as a couple of Disney-themed dance games too.

10 Space Channel 5

This one might be cheating a little but it's just too good not to include! Published by Sega for the Sega Dreamcast in 1999, Space Channel 5 is an incredibly unique rhythm game in which players control a space-faring reporter named Ulala.

RELATED: Dreamcast Games That Deserve To Be Remade

Throughout the game, they must help Ulala imitate the movements and singing of her opponents, which results in some killer dance sequences. It's a game that is often forgotten but is so good that it really shouldn't be.

9 Unison: Rebels Of Rhythm & Dance

Though Unison: Rebels of Rhythm & Dance is technically a rhythm game, the gameplay is far more dance-like than something like Space Channel 5. Players essentially dance with their thumbs, using the joystick to move and wiggle to match arm movements on screen.

Unison: Rebels of Rhythm & Dance takes heavy inspiration from things like J-pop, anime, and musical girl groups; both in terms of its art style and its themes. This all combines for a flavor unlike any other and a story that will keep players engaged as they're boogieing down.

8 Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix

Nintendo games are renowned for their amazing soundtracks, so the opportunity to dance to their tunes is arguably too good to pass up! Players can choose to play as Mario or Luigi to go through the game while dancing to amazing music from the Mario series.

This game is such a fan favorite that players have even figured out speedrun strategies for it. Plus, the game is one of very few to feature Waluigi as its main antagonist, making it a great one for fans of the purple-clad plumber. If only he could bust out those sweet dance moves in Smash...

7 Pump It Up Exceed SE

The Pump It Up series of games originate in Korea and have one major difference when compared to other games with a dance pad: a fifth button. The added button in the middle of the mat gives the game added charm, though can make it difficult to play as it requires that unique controller.

RELATED: Fitness Games That Will Give You An Intense Workout

Unfortunately, Pump It Up Exceed SE was the only major release for the series in the United States but is absolutely worth trying for any fans of dance games with the opportunity. For those who enjoy it, other Pump it Up games can be imported, though tracking them down can be challenging these days.

6 Dance Central

The Dance Central series is among some of the very best when it comes to using the Kinect for gameplay. The very first title in the series holds a Metacritic score of 82 and the soundtrack list contains some serious belters.

Poker Face by Lady Gaga, Crank That by Soulja Boy, and even Funky Town by Lipps Inc. are all available to shake it to. It's nice having a fun dance game where a controller doesn't have to be held or stomped on, but more so having several. While the original release is very good, the sequels are arguably superior, although the series is overall consistent.

5 Step Mania

Imagine a dancing game where anyone can add and customize any song, where Despacito and Kirin J. Callinan's Big Enough can be found side-by-side. This dancing fever dream is Step Mania, a dancing game released under the MIT License, so anyone can play it for free.

The only real downside to the game is how hard using a gamepad with it can be. Still, very few games can match Step Mania when it comes to variety, and it doesn't take all that long to familiarize oneself with the game's gamepad control scheme.

4 Just Dance

It would be criminal not to mention the Just Dance series here. Most of the games in the series have been fairly well-received, and that extends to the most recent version, Just Dance 2023. Rhythm projects are generally accessible since they are often designed for party environments, and Just Dance is arguably the best example of a franchise that caters to both casual players and people who want a more challenging experience. The entries also have killer soundtracks, provided someone generally enjoys contemporary music.

RELATED: Just Dance 2022: The Most Fun Songs To Dance To

There can be no denying the Just Dance series currently defines the genre and is the most recognizable dancing license out there. What's more, Ubisoft's Just Dance Unlimited endeavor has extended the new releases' longevity, joining them together into one big monster that can expand for years. Personal preference aside, Just Dance is the best dancing game franchise of the modern age.

3 DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution 1+2

It's too hard to separate these two games as both are equally fantastic Dance Dance Revolution titles. These games rocked the PlayStation 2 as well as arcades and back in 2002 were the pinnacle of what dancing games had to offer.

Newer dance games just can't bring on the beats like these old DDR classics, nor are they in the same league when it comes to soundtracks. Some of the turn-of-the-century tunes found in the titles are dripping with nostalgia and will likely appeal to those who grew up around that time.

2 Metronomicon: Slay The Dance Floor

This dance game not only brings on the gameplay dancing gamers are used to but also adds elements of story and strategy. Slay The Dance Floor adds even more content to the original release while keeping the whimsy and RPG elements the original was known for.

With new characters, passive abilities, and cooperative options for all modes of the game, this dance game has so much to offer to those who play it. It's also an incredibly beautiful-looking game, with the 2D sprite work and creative enemy design up there with some of the very best.

1 Dance Dance Revolution

The original Dance Dance Revolution for the PlayStation One is undeniably one of the best games on the console. The game was originally known as Dancing Stage in Europe and absolutely pioneered the dancing game genre in numerous territories across the globe.

Every game that came after takes inspiration from the original. Even to this day, it still holds up as an entertaining title. Any dancing game fans that can still pop in the disk with the dance mat, or try this one out in the arcade should be sure to do so because they really don't come much better than this.

MORE: Gaming World Records Unlikely To Ever Be Broken