Mamma Mia, here I go again. Let's Sing, the iconic saga of karaoke games developed by Ravens Court, returns with a new title entirely dedicated to ABBA, one of the most famous musical groups ever. The work released on 30 October for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox S / X and Xbox One is a real gem for fans - but not only -, and will ensure evenings of guaranteed fun with friends.
Thrown into the 70s
Let's Sing: ABBA was developed to celebrate the return of the iconic Swedish group after forty years of silence and, just like the other titles in the series, it features various ways in which to test your vocal cords, solo or with friends. We immediately give you some good news: regardless of the platform on which you will play, you will not need special tools to record voice, given that you can easily use any microphone that can be connected to your console (therefore also that of the headphones); alternatively, especially if you play in company, you can also use your mobile phone through the Let's Sing Microphone application, available for both Android and iOS.
Although the app is comfortable, we have to admit that it doesn't work very well: the interface is badly organized and has layout problems, the connection with the device is lost even if you lower the notification curtain and the voice detector is not very accurate. In short, being able to use your mobile phone to play is convenient if you are in a group, but if you are alone and have the accessibility, we advise you to use a microphone.
Seven modes, endless fun
Once you have decided on the device with which to sing, you can finally start playing Let's Sing ABBA, which in the colorful menu presents well seven different game modes, which follow the trend of the other titles in the series. We therefore have the Legend, or the campaign in which you will have to face each other with the members of the group four times each, until the final test in which all five will be gathered against you; the Classic which, as can be guessed from the name, is the classic mode where you can choose which song to sing alone or in company; the World Contest, where you can challenge players online; the Let's Party, in which two teams compete in various mini-games; the Feat, where you will have to duet with a partner to find out its compatibility and the Mixtape 2.0, which presents five excerpts in a row of thirty seconds each. Finally, there's the Jukebox, where you can simply play your favorite tunes, which you'll unlock after you sing them the first time.
What we liked is that while Let's Sing ABBA is clearly meant to be played with friends, in any mode you can take advantage of the AI, so that even solo players can enjoy the title. This feature is particularly interesting during Feats, since it is possible to duet with an ABBA member, which will inspire you to give your best and try to live up to it — even if, as in our case, you will probably fail miserably —. Of course, there are modes like Let's Party that were created to have fun with friends and therefore won't have the same effect on the computer; therefore, if you have someone to sing with, the gaming experience will certainly be better, but even alone you will not get bored, on the contrary.
The statistics section is also very useful, in which you can keep track of game progress for each mode, including the songs in which you have earned the highest score and the partners with whom you have the most compatibility; the information present is very detailed and will come in handy especially if you play competitively and want to monitor your improvements.
As far as customization is concerned, the Ravens Court team could have done more, since it is only possible to adjust the player's voice that is heard during gameplay and calibrate the microphone roughly. Then there are the tabs for each user, where you can simply choose an avatar among ABBA members in various costumes, unlockable throughout Legend Mode and as you level up.
Proficient singers or
The gameplay of Let's Sing ABBA follows exactly that of the other titles in the saga, so if you are familiar with the structure of the songs you will not find any surprises. During each song you will have the official video in the background, with the colored bars indicating the rhythm and the lateral scrolling notes, and the text written in full in the karaoke version in the bass. It is an easy and intuitive mechanic even if you are not loyal to the genre and you are not a professional singer, but the hardest part will be just hitting the right notes.
In fact, even if the game is aimed at families (so much so that it is labeled as "family friendly" on the official Ravens Court page), it is not easy at all. Not being skilled singers, on the contrary, having a somewhat off-key voice, it was difficult to be able to follow ABBA's rhythm, since many songs are fast and with rather high notes. In particular, obtaining discrete scores in Legend mode proved to be very difficult, and we had to settle for the bare minimum in order to progress through the levels.
In short, if you are not good at singing you may have difficulty playing against the AI and challenging the members of the group, but if it comes to games with friends you will have no problems, and indeed it will probably be even more fun to go out of tune or go completely out of rhythm .
Finally, a slightly hidden feature that we found interesting is the Mixtape (not to be confused with Mixtape 2.0, present in the main scroll menu); here you can in fact choose five songs from the 31 in the game, and sing them in a choice of mode between Classic, Mixtape 2.0, Feat Artist (with a friend) and Feat Friend (with the AI, which impersonates a member of ABBA) . This way you can create up to five playlists that you can easily access, perhaps choosing the songs that at that moment you want to memorize in order to pass a level in the Legend, or simply your favorite songs that you will never get tired of singing.
