This article is about the series. For other uses, see Dance Central (disambiguation).
Dance Central is a music rhythm game series developed by Harmonix.
Contents
- 1 Gameplay
- 2 Games
- 2.1 Dance Central (2010)
- 2.2 Dance Central 2
- 2.3 Dance Central 3
- 2.4 Dance Central Spotlight
- 2.5 Dance Central (VR)
Gameplay[]
The core gameplay has remained unchanged throughout the series. The objective is to mimic the dancers on-screen to earn Stars by meeting certain score thresholds. If the player gets a high enough score, they can earn Gold Stars. There are multiple routines for each song, typically with changes primarily made to difficulty. Each game has its own roster of characters, who typically have unlockable outfits. Content can be unlocked with gameplay, often when playing as a particular character. The games feature a song list that can be expanded with downloadable content (DLC), which usually requires a purchase. Over the course of its releases, Dance Central has had features added, changed, and removed.
Games[]
Dance Central (2010)[]
- Main article: Dance Central
Dance Central was released as a launch title for the Xbox 360 Kinect in October 2010. It features 64 total songs (32 on-disc and 32 as DLC), 10 playable characters with two outfits each, and six venues. Alternate outfits and venues can be unlocked through gameplay.
Dance Central 2[]
- Main article: Dance Central 2
Dance Central 2 was released for the Xbox 360 Kinect in October 2011. It features 75 new songs in total (44 included with the game and 31 as DLC), 18 playable characters split into crews of two, and six venues. Each character has two new outfits, with most returning characters from Dance Central having their appearance in the previous game as a third outfit. Alternate outfits can be unlocked through gameplay and cheats. The game features several revamped features, including a graphical overhaul and changes to the scoring system. The game also introduced the ability for two players to play at the same time, the ability to import songs from Dance Central, and Crew Challenge, a story campaign centered around the game's crews. In this campaign, the character meets five different crews and becomes a representative of each one before confronting Dr. Tan, who aims to take over the world of dance.
Dance Central 3[]
- Main article: Dance Central 3
Dance Central 3 was released for the Xbox 360 Kinect in October 2012. It features 62 new songs in total (45 included with the game and 17 as DLC), 22 playable characters split into crews of two, and six venues. Notably, Dare, MacCoy, and Oblio return from Dance Central after being absent in Dance Central 2. In addition to all the outfits featured in Dance Central 2, characters also have new unlockable outfits related to their appearances in the game's story campaign. In this story, Dance Central Intelligence has sent four crews to previous decades to learn the dance crazes of their era to use against Dr. Tan, who has a new plan to take over the world of dance again. The game also introduced the ability to import songs from Dance Central 2, a Beginner difficulty level, and a Party mode where songs could be cued using the Xbox 360 SmartGlass app.
Dance Central Spotlight[]
- Main article: Dance Central Spotlight
Dance Central Spotlight was released for the Xbox One Kinect in September 2014. Unlike previous installments, it is distributed digitally through the Xbox Games Store. It features 58 new songs (10 included with the game and 48 as DLC) as well as every routine from previous games as DLC. In addition to four difficulty milestones, each song features four alternate routines with their own theming. Notably, all new routines for this game use moves previously featured in past Dance Central games. There are six playable characters, each with an alternate version that can be unlocked through gameplay. The main goal of Dance Central Spotlight was to quickly develop routines for new songs while they were still in the music charts, with DLC being released on a near-monthly basis during the game's lifetime.
Dance Central (VR)[]
- Main article: Dance Central (VR)
Dance Central, sometimes referred to as Dance Central VR, was the first Dance Central game to be released on a platform unrelated to Xbox. It was released for the Oculus Rift, Quest and Rift S in April 2019, being a launch title for the Quest and Rift S. The game tracks the player's movements using the headset and Oculus Touch controllers. It features 41 songs in total (36 included with the game and 5 as DLC), with songs returning from previous installments receiving new routines. Unlike previous Dance Central games, some DLC was offered for free. Dance Central (VR) game features five characters, who each have a favorite routine and a venue where they can be found. Each character's friendship level can be increased by dancing with them and interacting through in-game text messages. Reaching the highest level unlocks an alternate outfit. Player avatars and online multiplayer were also introduced. The game takes place in a club that is about to close, with the player learning more about the characters and the club as its closing day draws near. The plot is advanced primarily through text interactions and dancing with particular characters.
