Review – Nintendo Switch Sports Resort

Maybe it’s all the RPGs I’ve been playing lately, but there’s something to be said for some easygoing waggle games. As accessible as they are enjoyable, I’ve known this truth since 2006 thanks to the root of all controller flailing, Wii Sports. The success of that pack-in is all you need to justify the return of that ethos in 2022’s Nintendo Switch Sports. It was another round of familiar favorites with a fresh coat of paint. 

Now that we’re on Switch 2, it was high time we had another chance to pass around some Joy-Con and make the most of motion controls. What better way to follow up a Wii Sports send-up than one based on its sequel, Wii Sports Resort? It really is as simple as that, and I wouldn’t have it any other way after an extended stay with Nintendo Switch Sports Resort.   

The best parts about Switch Sports Resort, to me, aren’t even the sports at all. Coming back to Wuhu Island, adjusted slightly and looking better than ever, is a real treat. More on that later, but also back in the mix are Sportsmates. How much you care for these avatars will come down to the gear you gather, and Resort has an impressive selection of styles that it drip feeds to you via weekly shop rotations. I was lucky enough to get a customization option that changed mine into a jellyfish person, and I haven’t looked back since.

 

 

Also included for all your sporty needs are Miis. Unfortunately they aren’t at their best, lacking the depth of their excellent Tomodachi Life versions. They still have that simplistic charm they’ve always had, but their novelty wears off here thanks to their inability to be dressed and adjusted as much as Sportsmates. Still, they’re iconic for a reason, just like some of the returning sports you’ll be flailing your Joy-Con to. 

Some of the games in Switch Sports Resort have been around for decades in this form now, and yet they remain entertaining and well realized. Bowling is an all-timer, and even with it not offering anything “new” here it was still one of the first I dove into. The same goes for Boxing, which makes its grand return after skipping Nintendo Switch Sports. Flailing my way to victory formed some of my first Wii-era memories, and though it’s much more precise it still carries that same, simplistic joy. 

Archery is one of the bigger surprises for me. After previewing the game at San Diego Comic-Con, I felt aiming was a bit imprecise. Thankfully that seems to have been a quirk of the live demo, because landing bullseyes is becoming second nature. There’s an inherent tension to the increasing distance and awareness of the wind that makes success (and inevitable failure) feel more palpable here. 

 

 

It’s similar for Golf, another of the most recurring sports across these games. The motion element and course designs here remain enjoyable. Landing a nice, perfect drive isn’t too tricky thanks to the way indicators work as you make your way from tee to fairway. For some reason though, putting removes one of these cues despite being otherwise identical mechanically. It’s a steeper learning curve by comparison, and I guess that’s accurate to the all-too-common plight of needing to work on one’s short game, but it’s always been an odd choice to me.

Thumb Wrestling is worth singling out for its own handful of reasons, pun intended. The big, stupid hands never fail to make me smile before a match. The mind game potential here is huge, giving it a different edge than other sports, though I wish there was more to it. It lacks any additional twists or variants beyond the risk-reward of keeping your thumb down to power up, leaving this one simple (yet effective) in execution. 

 

 

The remaining four competitive sports all have two things in common: they involve nets and they aren’t nearly as enjoyable as the others. Tennis is another classic from the Wii Sports days, and yet I always found it to be pretty slow and unengaging. This one gets more enjoyable with a group playing together and is one of the most accessible in the package but I want more out of a tennis match. 

Table Tennis takes all of that and applies it on a smaller scale. I do appreciate the finesse that comes with understanding how timing dictates where you’ll hit the ball, but all too often matches feel exactly the same from game to game. Volleyball, our next net game, remedies the faults of the previous a bit thanks to introducing three sequential timing elements that rely on your teammate as much as your opponents. It, too, falls into the back-and-forth rhythm of the others but it at least gives you more control and more to do. 

That leaves Basketball. My opinion on this one keeps fluctuating. It’s much more dynamic thanks to the layers that come from passing, stealing, and shooting. But it and the other three net games are also where I saw some finicky control moments (mostly from my Joy-Con not picking up a more subtle motion; much better to go wide and deliberate) and those impacted Basketball more than the others — I swear I wasn’t traveling, and I was definitely supposed to make that three pointer. 

 

 

Remember when I said Wuhu Island was the best part of Switch Sports Resort? That isn’t just nostalgia talking. Alongside the already touched on sports, there are three gamified ways to explore Wuhu by land, sea, and air. These “Leisure Sports” all share a Sightseeing mode, where you have a few minutes to traverse the island in search of photo spots that tell you about landmarks and offer up that sweet Wuhu lore. 

These are easily the best parts of the package, if only for being relaxing but motivated virtual strolls that still use the Joy-Con in novel ways. Skateboarding has you using mouse controls to simulate kicking off the ground, even letting you lift up briefly to do tricks. The others, Prop Plane and Power Cruiser, are more typical motion controls but still have that same appeal of seeing this surprisingly realized location from different vantage points.   

Speaking of appealing parts of the game, Switch Sports Resort directly builds upward from its predecessor in ways beyond just adding more of everything. There’s less of an emphasis on online as the “main attraction” of this go-around, letting you grind out points for buying outfits while playing solo or with friends at home. Each sport even has its own ladder style campaign in Island Crown mode, where you face off with a gauntlet of opponents in pursuit of the Island Champions. Paired with all the achievements and extra modes for each sport, you have a robust experience that lets you play how you want to play.

 

 

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is as polished and appealing as it gets when it comes to sports minigames. Not every piece is equal, but by recognizing the strength of Wuhu Island as a setting, expanding on the Sportsmates, and refocusing away from online it’s an improvement in every way over its predecessor. 

The only complaints you can throw at it are that this kind of package isn’t exactly novel these days, and that Resort is missing some games from past entries. I’d love to see Nintendo bring back Disc Golf, Baseball, and Swordplay in particular, but any post-launch content would draw me back in for sure. Until then, I’m content to check back every couple of days, check out the shop rotation, and hop in a plane to 8take in the island sunset. 

 

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