Nintendo Switch Sports Review

Nintendo Switch Sports

Release: April 29, 2022
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Action, Co-op, Family, Genres, Nintendo Switch Categories, Other, Party, Sport, Switch Reviews
PEGI: E
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Once upon a time, everyone was playing and talking about Wii Sports. Casual gaming was popular and Nintendo was the leader in the genre. Time passed and while casual gaming has stuck around, it has never reached the heights that Wii Sports achieved. Now Nintendo Switch Sports hopes to get the casual audience to check it out too. Is Nintendo Switch Sports worth a look? Here is our review of Nintendo Switch Sports!

Nintendo Switch Sports is basically Wii Sports HD. If you played those casual games on the Wii, then you know what you’re in for with Switch Sports. The motion controls are very similar and work well. Nintendo Switch Sports isn’t a game you’ll want to play on a Switch Lite or in portable mode, as both come with restrictions that make it not worth it. This is ultimately a game meant for the TV. Its meant for standing up and throwing your arms around. It works just like you remember too.

Bowling remains the most fun of all of the games. Chambara (sword fighting) is neat and gets a bit harder when you try charge mode and twin swords mode. Tennis and badminton are fine and easy to play. Volleyball is alright. The real question mark game in this collection is, and will always be, soccer.

Soccer isn’t going to be for everyone. It’s a bit hard to control your character and do the motion controls. No wonder Nintendo made a Joy Con strap for your leg for this game. That would be the ideal way to play Soccer. But since we had no strap for the leg, the basic way to play Soccer was a bit cumbersome. Most of the sports work well though. And the online multiplayer is a pretty smooth experience!

During our time with the online, we only had one connection error and no dropouts in the middle of playing. Nintendo Switch Sports works well online. And it presents you with a reason to keep playing online via the game’s unlock system. The various rewards will be changing every so often too. If you aren’t playing online, AND you don’t have friends to enjoy this with, it’s probably not going to be for you. If you primarily decide to play offline, expect unlockables to be a slow grind.

If you prefer to play off-line, you’ll find that you can play locally with one to four players. We didn’t get to test local multiplayer, but the local single player works fine. The single player is hidden a bit under local multiplayer and it would’ve been nice if it had its own option. The single player works more like a practice mode for the online multiplayer though. There are no rewards for playing Nintendo Switch Sports by yourself. You can play against CPU bots in everything expect for bowling where you are on your own. The challenge mode is kind of neat though.

Editor’s Note – Over the weekend and into this week, I was able to play this game a lot with my wife and kids. The local multiplayer is where this game really shines, especially for those without access to Nintendo Switch Online. If you have a good crop of people to play with – either immediate family members in the home, or a good group of friends that visit often – there is a LOT to love with this release. Like Daniel has said, it is Wii Sports but in HD. And it works so well!

Nintendo Switch Sports is a nice casual package but other than the online multiplayer and more character customization, it really doesn’t add too much new. It does, however, look a little bit better visually than Wii Sports.

Nintendo Switch Sports isn’t the best looking game on the Switch. Its not meant to be. Switch Sports is a very casual game with a bit of generic look. It certainly looks better than Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort, but it isn’t on the level of say, Splatoon or any of Nintendo’s iconic franchises. Though, it’s doubtful anyone was expecting a graphical powerhouse experience here. It’s a good looking game for what it is – it works.

As for its music and sound effects, they do a good job without being annoying. Nothing stands out but it doesn’t get in the way of a fun casual experience either. Some might wish for a better soundtrack, but I think it gets the job done.

And that’s what Nintendo Switch Sports is: fun and casual. It’s a game that’s good for kids and older adults, getting them up and active. It is a good game overall but is it Wii Sports good?

Nintendo Switch Sports is a good game, but at its core, it’s still a lot like Wii Sports. Its basically the same game with a new coat of paint and online multiplayer. So yes, its Wii Sports good. It isn’t an improvement though. Perhaps, if this franchise continues, we’ll see improvements that’ll make it even better. For now, if you’ll looking for a bit of casual fun, you could do far worse than Nintendo Switch Sports!

Thanks to Nintendo Canada for providing a digital code for this review. Nintendo Switch Sports is available via retail and on the Nintendo Switch eshop!

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