Even if the video game doesn’t rhyme with exercise, Nintendo has still found fertile ground since the days of the Wii. Given the very positive response to games like Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit and more recently Ring Fit Adventure, the Japanese company saw an opportunity to use its gadgets and give players the ability to move. The same principle applies to Nintendo Switch Sportsspiritual continuation of Wii Sports, which will further relax the members with the condition to play there with several.
- Available on: Nintendo Switch
- Price: $49.99 + txs (digital edition), $64.99 + txs (physical edition)
A logical sequence
Don’t think if you lay your hands on you’ll get a revolution Nintendo Switch Sports. Like its predecessors, this game aims to be a compilation of simplified sports whose aim is to have instant fun while manipulating your Joy-Con.
In total, Nintendo Switch Sports features six sports, some of which come from previous iterations of Nintendo sports games. So you’ll find tennis and bowling from Wii Sports, and sword fighting from Wii Sports Resort, presented here in the form of Chambara. Soccer, volleyball and badminton make a notable entry into Nintendo’s large family of sports games.
A decent introductory offer
Six sports might not seem like a lot, but the starting bid is right. While you’ll inevitably return to certain sports rather than others, expect to enjoy browsing the launch offering almost instantly Nintendo Switch Sports. The controls mimic real manipulation and are as simple as they are precise. Certain sports like volleyball are surprising as long as you have to reproduce the same movements as in real playgrounds. The very colorful atmosphere will catch everyone’s eye who walks past a TV, whether they’re a video game fan or not.
In addition, Nintendo is already planning to add more sports, and for free. As she announced, golf is coming next fall and it is certain that other disciplines will come to fill the total offer Nintendo Switch Sports. We can already anticipate the return of boxing and it wouldn’t be surprising if baseball or even hockey showed up in 2023.
The motion detection technology built into the Joy-Con allows Nintendo to reproduce movements much more realistically than in the days of the Wii. It is up to the company to use these adequately in the inclusion of future sports!
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Sports that stand out from the rest
As I mentioned earlier, you risk returning to certain sports rather than others. Certainly any of the sports of Nintendo Switch Sports is fun but uneven across the six disciplines on offer.
Not surprisingly, bowling is still the most entertaining sport. This time, not only can you try to knock over pins in traditional games, but you can also play a more imaginative mode where the track contains obstacles. You must therefore be careful of the ramps and other objects when throwing your ball, adding an extra dose of challenge and even more family laughs!
Then there’s tennis and badminton. The relevance of tennis games within the video game is beyond proof and you will find an even higher level of enjoyment from it Nintendo Switch Sports as your movements are more faithfully reproduced. It’s therefore much more comfortable to use arm movements to perform different shots than in Wii Sports where you just had to move your arm while sitting in your chair. Badminton requires more rhythm than speed of execution and proves to be a good complement to tennis without being able to compete with the latter.
Volleyball, on the other hand, is surprising in that you actually have to mimic positions to hit the ball. Therefore, you cannot be satisfied with performing simple movements with your Joy-Con because you will lose valuable points. Mimicking positions to execute receptions, serves and smashes, this is probably the most moving game of the set. And even if you don’t have to jump to perform a smash, I highly recommend playing standing up and not sitting down or you risk hitting your knees and the ground!
Soccer is the sport most likely to be played in the long term. The reason is simple: the version of Nintendo Switch Sports strongly reminiscent of Rocket League. The latter, thanks to 2v2 matches in closed gyms, are short and allow you to easily score goals. In addition, you don’t have to worry about the rules and the ball will never leave the field lines as it will bounce off the surrounding walls. The only downside of these frenzied games: the famous Joy-Con drift. When your controllers have this problem, it becomes annoying to miss a target just because the target or our character is going in the opposite direction of what we want.
Football also includes a Ring Fit Adventure belt mini-game. If you own it or buy the physical edition of Nintendo Switch Sports You can use the strap to hang it on your thigh and insert a Joy-Con to perform shots on goal. It’s definitely entertaining, but short term. The simplicity and repetitive nature of this mini-game means we’ll get tired of just scoring goals against a goalie who blocks very little. To be considered between two sessions of a sport, but not as a central option for Nintendo Switch Sports.
Then finally comes the Chambara. Of all sports, it has influenced me the least. Although the sword fighting is addictive, I felt more like the boxing game from Wii Sports or even some mini-games from 1, 2 Switch. Hit placement and strategy don’t matter much and playing with invisible swords just ends up weird. At the end, just like Wii Sports’ boxing, you’ll throw your arms in all directions hoping to destabilize your opponent. Too bad we didn’t refine this sport and include it at the expense of other disciplines that would have been potentially much more interesting.
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A mainly multiplayer game
As you might have guessed Nintendo Switch Sports is a game to be enjoyed by several and not alone. Alone, despite the presence of six sports that can be played online, you quickly get bored.
The reason is quite simple: Nintendo Switch Sports lacks content when played alone. Also, there are very few unlockables, including very limited cosmetic options. The personalization of our character is affected as well as our interest in wanting to continue to practice the various sports alone. Even as we accumulate points online, the fact that we can only unlock rather useless player titles doesn’t help us last long.
In other words, Nintendo Switch Sports is an extremely entertaining game when played with others. On your own, you risk setting it aside pretty quickly and coming back to it sporadically, wondering if you shouldn’t have waited for updates that improve the whole thing.
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should you play it
If you enjoy playing with family or friends, whether locally or online, Nintendo Switch Sports is an essential multiplayer game. Thanks to its colorful atmosphere, precise controls in almost all sports, and ease of use, it’s the kind of game you’ll often rely on when playing with others. On the other hand, the possibilities remain limited, especially in solo.
Nintendo Switch Sports is worth considering, but you might want to wait for possible additions for a more complete and potentially even more enjoyable product.