Zumba Burn It Up! Review
Zumba Burn It Up!
Publisher: 505 Games
Developer: Kuju Entertainment
Genre:
PEGI: E
Comments:
What do you get when you mix Just Dance and a fitness game? Zumba, that’s what, and while this video game didn’t create the dancing working out craze, it definitely has taken it to a wider audience.
Over the past decade or so, Zumba has become increasingly more popular at fitness studios around the world, and has even had a few successes on console. While few and far between, the games have slowly gotten better over the years. So does Zumba: Burn it Up on Nintendo Switch set a new high bar? Let’s dive in!
I’ve always been a big sucker for games that make me sweat, which is why I’ve played loads of Wii Fit, Ring Fit Adventure, and more recently, BOX VR. But Zumba almost scratches a different itch for me. I’m not good at dancing, but when no one is in the room to watch, I enjoy learning a few steps, working up a good sweat, and generally having an enjoyable time burning some calories.
And for me, these games are not necessarily about the number of songs or the number of different dance moves, but whether or not I enjoy what I’m doing. Ultimately, if I enjoy the game for what it is, and burn calories in the process, it beats heading to the gym any day of the week!
Players hold one Joy Con in their hands, and attempt to follow the dance actions on the screen. Successful moves will reward you points, and obviously, the more points you accrue the better you will do on each given song, which will be displayed using a 5 star system.
Picking up Zumba and playing was actually much easier than I anticipated, and while it took a few attempts at particular songs to learn the dance moves, everything seemed to work really well, including the gyro controls and technology built into the Joy Con. It felt pretty accurate, and to that, I was pretty surprised.
There is a great variety of songs in Zumba: Burn It Up, about 31 in total. Some are fast and steppy, while others are a bit slower. Because 31 songs is pretty limited, it really sucks when there are a few songs you don’t really enjoy. By the time I had witted down the list to my favorites, I only had 12-14 songs I really wanted to do on a consistent basis, which put a bit of a damper on my fitness goals for this game.
Thankfully, Zumba works as a decent party game however, where up to 3 friends can join the main dancer on any specific song. My wife and I took this mode for a spin during a family party, and everyone seemed to have a really good time. Lots of laughs were had – as I helplessly fell all over the room – but more importantly, there was little in terms of complaints on how the game functioned.
It’s not the flashiest of games in any means. Your Zumba instructors will be on the screen performing the dance moves, while quick animations will pop up in the top corner to indicate that a new step was coming up, and to give you a quick preview of what that step should look like. It’s a well built package eases you into the various dancing routines.
Zumba: Burn It Up won’t be for everyone, but there will still be lots to enjoy. We highly recommend this, whether you are looking to hit a few fitness goals, or just want to dance and have fun!
Our only warning…you might not know any of the songs!
Trailer
Article By Adam Roffel
Adam Roffel has only been writing about video games for a short time, but has honed his skills completing a Master's Degree. He loves Nintendo, and almost anything they have released...even Tomodachi Life.
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