Let's Sing 2024 review: Hitting all the right notes

With the holiday season coming up, games can be a perfect way to spread some festive cheer within the family, from charades to Christmas karaoke sessions.

Let's Sing 2024 is a great encore for the long-running franchise, adding a whole host of new songs that walk the line between being challenging and easy to pick up and play, while also maintaining the co-op fun the series is known for. Career mode occasionally hits a bum note, but for multiplayer action, there are few better ways to spend an evening.

A singing career

Let’s Sing 2024’s Career mode makes learning songs pivotal to the experience, and has you jumping between snippets of various tracks. It'll keep you on your toes, but it's definitely a little jarring when Queen's 'Another One Bites The Dust' jumps into something with a completely different tempo.

While I was lucky to be presented with songs that I knew, a more personalised song selection at the start would have been a neat feature to have, as my partner wasn’t quite as lucky when it came to progressing the storyline via songs he’d never heard of before - and the setlist is more eclectic than ever.

From current artists like BTS and Lady Gaga, to noughties hits like Kelly Clarkson's Stronger, classics from Bowie and Queen, and even a surprise appearance from Ed and Elton's 'Merry Christmas', there's plenty to keep music fans satisfied - with more to come, as is tradition.

Guiding you through the process is the entertaining duo of ‘Miss Youngs’, singing tutor twin sisters whose witty banter makes the gameplay more interactive and humorous. They make learning the nuances of the game enjoyable, with an emphasis on pitch accuracy that is challenging yet not overwhelmingly so.

I found the initial ‘Academy training’ stage to be a great way of introducing a tutorial element to show me the ropes, although I was disappointed I couldn't skip stages if I was struggling to obtain the minimum level stars, or even change difficulty/song during tutorials - more on that gripe in a bit, though.

The storyline woven into Let’s Sing 2024’s career mode adds a layer of engaging gameplay rather than just your standard ‘karaoke-style game’. As you progress, building a fanbase and personalising your journey through text messages makes for a more immersive experience that younger fans will likely love.

When it comes to the singing exams, you're allowed a choice from five songs, and I highly recommend choosing one you know all the words to already, as the game doesn’t inform you that you’ll be singing the full track and not the previous 30-second clips.

I chose Miley Cyrus’ challenging but iconic Wrecking Ball, and despite my usual "screeching cat" singing, hitting those notes and achieving good scores gave me a serotonin boost I never knew I needed.

As you rise in fame and levels, you'll unlock different styles and career growth opportunities, including earnings and fans.

The game starts at the academy, serving as a tutorial, and sees you take on various competitions and challenges to schmooze industry executives, and record EPs by choosing from the up-to-date and aforementioned song list. Our review code came with the VIP song pass, too, adding bangers like 'Kids In America', 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me', and Hoobastank classic, 'The Reason'.

Let's Sing 2024 isn't without its frustrating moments, either. I was close to going full "popstar diva mode" when stuck on the ‘Sustained Singing’ combo-hitting tutorial - having to match the lead singer from Imagine Dragon’s ridiculously technical ‘Bones’ delivery to a near-perfect score to progress.

In the end, it took a total of 21 attempts between both myself, and my partner, and honestly, there was a time where I felt I was going to retire from the limelight altogether.

Out of tune

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If you’re just looking to sing some songs, either by yourself or co-op with up to three of your loved ones, there’s the Karaoke Zone and Classic Karaoke mode. As you sing on these, you continue to increase your level and unlock the additional styles, accessories and in-game add-ons, meaning there's always a reason to come back - something other titles that divorce multiplayer from in-game progression could learn from.

It’s a great option if you’re looking for a quick sing-a-long, or if you want a full gameplay story experience. While the Let's Sing microphone is available as a purchase, you can use the mobile app, too - making it easy for the whole family to jump in.

With regular updates and rewards, there's a lot to keep players coming back to Let's Sing 2024 even outside of family karaoke night - as long as you're prepared to learn anywhere between 30 seconds of a track and the full thing.

The Verdict

Let's Sing 2024 is a must-have for musical families. Its eclectic song selection surprises, delights, and occasionally frustrates, but if you're looking to live your singing superstar fantasy from the comfort of your own home, there's no better way.

If your festive season includes getting merry, belting songs to your heart’s content and forcing your loved ones around you to join in regardless of God-given singing ability, Let’s Sing 2024 is a must-have for your collection.

4/5

Reviewed on Xbox Series S. Review code provided by the publisher.