Dance Fest is a rhythm game that uses the standard 'bemani' formula, where arrows appear on screen in time with the music and the player must hit the corresponding button to score points. The game has bonus multipliers for making certain "combos" – short routines within a song that are deemed difficult or long.
The game is designed for one or two players, with three difficulty settings: easy, hard, and medium. Players select their difficulty level and track, then try to score points by hitting the correct buttons in sequence. The game features an animated disco dancer on stage, illuminated with colored lights, during each song.
Players can enter their name after completing a high-score track, and the game holds eight scores for each of the three difficulty levels. However, no scores are recorded for certain modes, such as Workout and Recorder.
The workout mode calculates the number of calories burned instead of points, with arrows appearing quickly and without a difficulty setting. In this mode, players first enter their weight in kilograms before selecting a track.
Players can also create and save their own dance routines using the Recorder option, although only one routine can be saved.
Songs included in Dance Fest are:* Merry Christmas Everyone: Shakin' Stevens
Atlantic Ocean: Waterfall
Killin' Time: Tina Cousins
Push the Button: Sugarbabes
Dancin: Aaron Smith feat. Luvli
Flowers: Sweet Female Attitude
Pink is the Colour: K&M feat. Joy
Last Goodbye: Attic feat. Julie Thompson
Merry Christmas Everybody: Steps