Karaoke games were once incredibly loved and present at almost every house party. Then they slowly seemed to wane in popularity. After the death of SingStar, it appeared that communal singing via console was on the cusp of extinction. Which may or may not have something to do with TikTok and similar apps rising in popularity.
Luckily, there is still one big contender left on the market: Let’s Sing 2021!
How to be a star
Let’s Sing 2020 has some pretty straightforward gameplay. You simply plug in a USB microphone or download the app on your phone and you (and your companions) can start singing your heart out immediately. When you select a song, the lyrics will pop up at the bottom. These will be highlighted and accompanied by bubble bars in the center of the screen showing you what pitch to hit for how long. The better you do, the higher your score. That’s basically it!
There are the old game modes Classic, Feat., Mixtape, Jukebox, and Let’s Party with the new additions of Legend and World Contest. Legend is a sort of career mode where you are pitted against AI-singers to rise through the ranks to ultimate vocal glory. And if you’re brave enough, you can challenge online opponents in World Contest. Both of these new modes add a great solo experience and more depth to an otherwise run-of-the-mill karaoke game.
There’s also a small addition to Let’s Party called Pop Chicken. During the battle, you’ll receive mystery boxes that will give you a leg up on the other team.
Tracklist
A game like this is only fun when the songs are good. Which they more or less are. The tracklist consists of an okay mix of current music with a few fun “oldies” mixed in. Although it hurts me deep in my 30-year-old soul that songs from before 2010 are lumped in with these oldies. Yikes.
Some notable mentions are Billie Eilish’ Bad Guy, Justin Bieber’s Yummy, Panic! at the Disco’s High Hopes and I Just Can’t Wait to be King from the Lion King. It’s great that these songs are chosen to give a wide range of singing styles and offer different levels of skill to execute well.
Perfect timing, not a perfect game
Since we’re living in the Crisis That Shall Not Be Named, this game is perfect to play online or with your close family. However, there are some slight annoyances I have with it. First off, when playing alone and with your phone as a microphone, I found it annoying to handle both the controller and my phone. Second, and this is purely personal: the tracklist doesn’t do it for me and feels very limited.
That’s it. It’s a solid karaoke game with interesting solo play but slightly lacking in the track department.
