Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is out now on Switch 2 — the 12-sport Wuhu Island collection we previewed earlier this month launched worldwide on October 22, and the reviews are in.
Eurogamer calls it “more knockabout family fun that’s better than ever” — “Nintendo’s knockabout sports series returns for its most refined outing yet; charming, wonderfully considered, and it doesn’t require a room full of friends to be fun.” The Guardian agrees: “Wii Sports lives on in this effortlessly appealing collection of games,” one that is “exactly what you want from a family video game — and as a bonus, it gets everyone off the sofa.”
What’s in the Box: 12 Activities on One Island
The lineup blends four Wii Sports classics — Tennis, Golf, Bowling, and Boxing — with five returnees from 2009’s Wii Sports Resort (Archery, Basketball, Table Tennis, Power Cruising, and Prop Plane), plus three new events: Thumb Wrestling, Volleyball, and Skateboarding. All are adapted for Switch 2’s responsive motion controls, with one pair of Joy-Cons generally covering two players.
The Guardian singles out the “leisure” events that showcase Wuhu Island’s open-world design: touring the resort by jetski or prop plane is “reminiscent of Wave Race and Pilotwings, two long-dormant Nintendo series,” and you can follow pink dolphins through the waves or watch tiny people mill around the island’s stadiums and beaches below.
The Standouts: Skateboarding’s Mouse Mode and Solo Play
Eurogamer’s favorite is Skateboarding, played with the Joy-Con 2 flat on a surface in mouse mode — pull back to gather speed, flick to jump, tilt to steer. “I LOVE it. It’s wonderfully responsive and surprisingly invigorating as you careen around Wuhu Island, the haptic rumble of wheels-on-tarmac perfectly completing the illusion.”
Solo players get real structure too: Island Crown mode pits you against 20 increasingly challenging opponents in each sport without going online, online lobbies support up to eight friends (two players per console) with ranked and casual matchmaking, and a points economy unlocks cosmetics from avatar clothing to stickers — generously doled out, with no real-world money involved.
Launch Day Already Has a Viral Easter Egg
Within hours of release, a player discovered that Switch Sports Resort’s archery courses have hidden objects, just like Wii Sports Resort did — a clip of an arrow sailing past the target and planting itself in an apple on a distant rock has already drawn nearly a million views, and it turns out there are hidden targets in every archery course.
One launch-day quirk: thanks to Nintendo’s $10 premium on physical Switch 2 games, the boxed version costs $60 — but Walmart is currently selling it for $59.88 with a full $20 off if you add a banana to your cart and enter the right code at checkout.
Sources
- Eurogamer — Nintendo Switch Sports Resort review: more knockabout family fun that’s better than ever
- The Guardian — Nintendo Switch Sports Resort review — Wii Sports lives on in this effortlessly appealing collection of games
- TheGamer — Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Archery Has Hidden Targets
- TheGamer — Save $20 On Switch Sports Resort If You Buy It With A Banana