Zumba Burn It Up!
In the midst of lockdowns and quarantines, it can be easy to lose track of your workout routine. Perhaps you’d rather not risk it outside, so you don’t bike, walk or run anymore. Maybe you’re not used to working out without all the equipment and convenience that comes with a gym. If any of this is hitting close to home, 505 Games’ Zumba Burn it Up! might just be the kick in the butt you need right now.
Zumba Burn it Up! is an exercise game. Think of Ubisoft’s Just Dance series - the goal is to get you moving and dancing to catchy tunes while breaking a sweat. You select a couple of songs to dance to, and use the Joy Con controllers to mimic the in-game dancers so the game knows exactly how well you’re doing. All things considered, those Joy Cons are surprisingly accurate. On higher difficulties, it can be hard to keep up with all the commands given on screen, and the controllers record your movements well enough for the game to score you accurately.
You have a couple of options in how you want your daily work-out to go. Full Class lets you choose between song playlists of 15 minute, 30 minute or one hour sessions filled with different songs and movements. These are very well curated, switching between low-intensity songs to faster and harder ones, allowing your body to warm up before it gets thrown into the fire that is Zumba.
Single Song is also a pretty great option if you want to just tackle each song one by one, or only have a limited amount of time to exercise. There are over 30 different songs featuring a combination of different genres to choose from. These songs also come in different intensity ratings, allowing you to pace yourself if you just want to get warmed up.
If you have a couple friends willing to dance off-kilter with you, good news! Zumba: Burn it Up has a few multiplayer modes, so you can have a sweaty shoulder to lean on during work-outs. Full Session and Single Song can both be played in multiplayer, as long as you’ve got enough Joy Cons lying around. Players earn their own scores for each song, encouraging you to outdo one another.
Another mode called Fitness Party will have you and other players cooperate to get ‘stars’. You earn stars by co-ordinating and hitting your mark perfectly, but if one of you doesn’t get a star, neither of you do. While it’s nice that the game offers a multiplayer-focused mode like this one, it can pressure players to keep up with each other, which might not be possible at first (Zumba is hard for newbies, okay?!). I somehow managed to rope my brother in for a couple of these songs, and while he didn’t last very long - it was still good for a laugh. I personally prefer working out alone, but I can see these multiplayer modes being a great option for groups of friends.
I’ve actually taken to playing this game fairly often recently, and I’m quite satisfied with it so far. Single Songs are a great way to warm up, or for a laugh with friends. Full Class workouts— even at medium intensity—really get you sweating to the beat. Playlists are composed of songs from different genres, which means you’ll constantly be switching up dance styles too. That really helps to keep things fresh, because you’d be pretty sick of these movements if you had to keep doing them for long periods of time.
This brings me to one of my biggest disappointments in Zumba Burn it Up! - its selection of songs. Where games like Just Dance pride themselves on having a robust playlist of popular songs by hit artists, most of the songs here were really generic and unrecognisable to me. They were certainly catchy enough to dance to, but I really wish this soundtrack was populated by a couple more familiar - if not entirely better songs.
The game also comes with a few neat quality of-life features. You can track your progress by looking at in-game statistics, which display your high scores from each in-game track and playlist, along with time played and energy burned. You also level up after scoring enough points during a match, and earn achievements in the form of badges during gameplay. That loop of positive feedback is a great motivator to keep playing.
AT A GLANCE
Kuju
505 Games
Dance, Fitness
Nintendo Switch
A Full Class can last up to 60 minutes just like a proper Zumba class at the gym.
Fitness Party encourages you to earn stars by performing ‘combo’ moves with your partner.
PICTURES 505 GAMES, NI NTENDO
