Just Dance 2 was released to positive reviews, with critics praising the game for its noticeable quality improvements in comparison to the original Just Dance, its new features and modes, and its continued positioning as a multiplayer "party game" experience accessible to a casual audience.

The gameplay of Just Dance 2 remains similar to the original; while holding a Wii Remote in their right hand, players must mimic the routine of an on-screen dancer to a chosen song.

[11][6] Just Dance 2 was commended for being a great social experience with friends, which was frequently attributed to its choreography described as "goofy,"[8] "absolutely ridiculous,"[11] "silly,"[1] "ludicrous,"[1] and filled with "playful touches,"[9] "comical spins, jumps, and crossovers.

"[1] Explained Keza MacDonald of IGN, "The measure of any social video game is the memorable moments they create – the evenings (or wee small drunken hours) spent floundering in the face of doing the robot to Satisfaction, watching a friend topple head-over-arse attempting Ra-Ra-Rasputin's cossack dancing, the mildly awkward moment in the middle of The Shoop Shoop Song where you accidentally meet your duet partner's eyes.

"[6] A common highlight was the ballet dance segment in "A-Punk"'s choreography;[9][1] Wrote Martin Gaston of Video Gamer, "there is simply no way for two fat men to look cool when trying to pirouette around each other in Vampire Weekend's A-Punk, for instance, but seeing as it's so outlandish you don't have to worry about looking like a pleb.

Opined Martin Gaston of Video Gamer, Backgrounds are more detailed than the tacky last-minute Photoshop gradients of the original, and the on-screen displays have siphoned off a bit of Strictly Come Dancing's excess pizzazz.

[11][8] Sales of Just Dance 2 surpassed those of the original; with over 5 million copies as of January 2011, it was the best-selling third-party title for the Wii.

[12] Laurent Detoc, CEO of Ubisoft's North American operations, stated that this achievement "[solidified] the Just Dance brand as a pop culture phenomenon.

[14] A Best Buy Edition (titled Just Dance 2: Special Edition in-game) was released in North America which included three exclusive songs which are The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go", Lipps Inc.'s "Funkytown" (covered by Sweat Invaders in-game) and A. R. Rahman and The Pussycat Dolls' "Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)" featuring Nicole Scherzinger.