Nintendo's New Switch Sports Is the Best of Wii Sports, Wave Race, and More
New Switch 2 exclusive introduces skateboarding and thumb wrestling to the franchise
With the original Wii Sports in 2006, Nintendo brought motion-controlled gaming to the masses with one of the most newcomer-friendly video games of all time — largely thanks to the game's simple but effective take on bowling. After selling 82 million copies, Nintendo naturally sought to recapture lightning in a bottle with a series of Wii Sports sequels for Wii, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch. The latest entry in the series, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, is the most comprehensive collection of motion-controlled, sports-based games yet, and it blends casual pick-up-and-play design with nods to Nintendo's classic games catalog.
Bowling naturally returns in Switch Sports Resort, a Switch 2 exclusive and follow-up to 2022's Nintendo Switch Sports, as do activities like golf and tennis. But the latest Nintendo Sports game also includes something for fans of games like Wave Race, Pilotwings, and Punch-Out!! — and maybe even Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, thanks to a solid skateboarding game.
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort plays like a greatest hits collection
Polygon recently went hands-on with Switch Sports Resort for roughly an hour, and it feels like a collection of games that will appeal to Nintendo fans of every stripe. There's competitive and cooperative play, plus a chance to chill out and go "sightseeing" on the game's resort-style getaway, Wuhu Island. Updated versions of games like bowling and table tennis feel much like they always have. One hundred-pin bowling returns here, and split-screen table tennis offers a frantic alternative to traditional tennis. But these games feel better than ever, thanks to the increased fidelity of Joy-Con 2 motion controls.
Nintendo also shows off the strength of its improved motion controls with activities such as skateboarding. I played Nintendo Switch Sports Resort's skateboarding game in a low-stakes, cooperative sightseeing mode, which allowed me to cruise across Wuhu Island, collecting tokens and discovering photo-op spots with a timer that didn't feel oppressive. Switch Sports Resort's skateboarding game can be controlled in mouse mode; with the right Joy-Con 2 turned on its side, I pulled the controller back to accelerate, tilted it left and right to turn, and quickly lifted it up to jump and pull off tricks. The mode is a solid test case for a version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater on Switch 2, thanks to the power of Nintendo's motion controllers.
Equally fun (and low pressure) were the game's Power Cruising and Prop Plane modes, which offer a Wave Race- and Pilotwings-like fix on Switch 2. Power Cruising put me on the back of a personal watercraft which I controlled by holding both Joy-Con 2 controllers in front of me like handlebars. I tilted the controllers left and right to steer, and gave them a quick twist to jump over ramps as I collected tokens across the waters surrounding Wuhu Island. Prop Plane was a chill glider-like experience; I held a single Joy-Con 2 in my hand as if I were about to throw a paper airplane, tilting the controller to turn, ascend, and descend. Prop Plane offers an incredibly fun sense of discovery as you fly over the game's island, shooting down balloons and flying through rings.
Less captivating was Thumb Wrestling, a one-on-one competition in which both players have obscenely large thumbs and try to pin each other's digits in a show of dominance. Of all the activities I played in Switch Sports Resort, Thumb Wrestling felt the least essential, though it will certainly be a quick crowd-pleaser.
The activity that drew me back for extended hands-on time with Switch Sports Resort was Archery. I played competitively in a group of four — two human players, two CPU-controlled players — as we shot arrows at a shared target. Each player had to target their quadrant of the target, and any shots that landed in an opponent's quadrant would grant them extra points. Archery is easy to understand and hard to master, both in real life and in a video game, and I imagine the mode will offer the greatest longevity of the competitive modes.
I spent a little time boxing against a CPU-controlled opponent in boxing, a new version of the Wii Sports classic. Like the other games in Switch Sports Resort, it benefits from the accurate motion controls of the Switch 2 system. It's not quite on par with the thrills of Nintendo's Punch-Out!! games, but for a quick competitive one-on-one bout against a friend or family member, it's an undeniable classic.
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort will be released on Nintendo Switch 2 on Oct. 22.