Published by Plaion and developed by Voxler, Let’s Sing 2024 is the latest entry in the Let’s Sing series, carrying the same formula of interactive karaoke left behind by the now-defunct SingStar series. Let’s Sing 2024 is packed with over 30 tracks by legendary artists such as Queen, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, P!nk, and Linking Park, as well as the K-pop group, BTS. It even features a song from Disney’s Pocahontas. Let’s Sing 2024 is now available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4|5, and Nintendo Switch.

Being a singing game, you would expect to need a microphone plugged into the console to be able to sing along, but Let’s Sing 2024 actually allows players to not only use microphones but also gaming headsets and even their smartphones. This is made possible by downloading the Let’s Sing Companion App, free on any Android or iOS device, and connecting it wirelessly to the console, as long as they’re using the same network.

It also replaces the old Let’s Sing Mic app used for the older games. By following the simple instructions, using a smartphone as a microphone is incredibly easy to set up and sing your heart out. Amazingly, any of the devices feel very responsive to your voice, feeling like there is no delay at all, but there is also an option to adjust the response timing to best suit the TV being played on.

The gameplay mechanics are very much like the SingStar series, which isn’t really a bad thing given it follows a formula that definitely works. By singing into the microphone, players will need to keep their dot on the screen in line with the vocal levels, and being more in tune equals a higher score.

Also much like the SingStar series, simply humming into the microphone will also get through the song and achieve high scores. This is particularly useful if players simply want to complete every song and earn their Achievements or Trophies with minimal effort. Of course, the real fun is when you actually try to belt out those tunes.

The presentation overall in the menu screens is very straightforward, but the bright and colourful look gives it personality. This time, there are 5 game modes to choose from, which include Career, Classic, Feat, Local Stage, and Main Stage. There are fewer modes than in previous games this time, but there’s still a nice variety to keep you entertained.

Career is a fun mode to sing your way to superstardom, Classic is a straight-up karaoke game where you can sing any of the songs to get a high score, Feat. is a teamwork game that can be played with a friend to get a compatibility score, and Local Stage and Main Stage both take the singing online, letting you compete against anyone in the world as you attempt to climb the online leaderboard.

The base game has 20 songs available, much less than previous games, but there are an additional 15 songs included as part of the ANZ-specific release. There is also a 1-month VIP subscription included, however, players will need to continue the subscription, priced at AUD 5.95, to access the backlog of tracks. Even though it’s a low price and even more songs will be included via DLC, it’s highly unlikely that anyone will be invested enough in this game to want to keep paying that monthly fee. 

There really is no extra benefit to the VIP membership other than extra songs, and Let’s Sing just isn’t one of those franchises where casual or hardcore players can justify spending extra money every month. Players are more likely to buy the extra songs as a one-time purchase, but will be immediately put off by a monthly subscription and would be more likely to find alternative ways to sing their favourite songs for free.

The previous games had four different avatars to choose from, but this time, players can create their own avatars to perform on-screen during the songs. They can be customised, but there isn’t a lot you can do when they’re just floating heads and hands. In previous games, they appeared on the side of the screen during the songs, but now they’re in the centre of the screen, and a pixelated music video plays behind them, making them more of a distraction than anything. The old avatars from the previous games didn’t add much to the gameplay, but now they’re just annoying.

It’s nice to see the game try something new, rather than repeating the same formula, but the new ideas just aren’t hitting. The latest entry in the Let’s Sing franchise is still mainly the same game, just with different songs.

The new tracks by the various artists definitely give the game plenty of variety, but it would be more convenient if the new songs came as a DLC pack rather than in their own game, and even worse, it’s trying to urge people into paying a monthly subscription for extra songs. While it is disappointing that people will most likely miss out on some extra songs if they choose not to subscribe, Let’s Sing 2024 is still a fun and enjoyable karaoke game that lets you sing your heart out, either solo or with friends and family.

Written by: Sammy Hanson