Image: Nintendo
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort takes us back to Wuhu Island on Thursday, but as is customary, reviews have gone live prior to launch, and the critical reaction seems pretty warm.
Sitting on a Metascore of 79 from 46 reviews at the time of writing, this return for Nintendo’s ‘Sports’ following 2022’s Nintendo Switch Sports has hit the spot for most reviewers, if not blown their doors off.
Our own Jim Norman was thoroughly impressed with the games old and new in this collection, awarding it a 9/10 and saying, “it’s nice to see the series back on track” following “the stumbling start of its predecessor”:
While some of the 12 different sports might feel a little too safe, most of the classics feel better than they’ve ever been, and the newbies surprise and delight with some classic Nintendo intuition. Revamped customisation options and a surprising amount of single-player content both feel like open goals, but they also provide a great excuse to keep playing, even once the party is over. This just might be the Nintendo Sports series at its best.
While some of the 12 different sports might feel a little too safe, most of the classics feel better than they’ve ever been, and the newbies surprise and delight with some classic Nintendo intuition. Revamped customisation options and a surprising amount of single-player content both feel like open goals, but they also provide a great excuse to keep playing, even once the party is over. This just might be the Nintendo Sports series at its best.
Let’s take a look at some of the other critical reactions that went live earlier today.
We’ll start with Jesse Vitelli over at IGN, who said the game “shines as the party game it’s meant to be, perfect to bring to your friend’s place or get the backyard barbeque bumping”, giving it a 7/10:
“Its single-player options widen the package with a light campaign and an amusing free exploration mode, but it’s not a big surprise that neither do quite enough to take the spotlight away from the highs of its multiplayer.”
“Its single-player options widen the package with a light campaign and an amusing free exploration mode, but it’s not a big surprise that neither do quite enough to take the spotlight away from the highs of its multiplayer.”
Yer man Chris Scullion over at Video Games Chronicle gave it four out of five stars, praising the variety and comprehensiveness of the single-player:
“Nintendo Switch Sports Resort delivers a brilliant sports compilation that may not overtake the 82 million sales of the original Wii Sports, but certainly offers a significantly more well-rounded experience.”
“Nintendo Switch Sports Resort delivers a brilliant sports compilation that may not overtake the 82 million sales of the original Wii Sports, but certainly offers a significantly more well-rounded experience.”
Gamespot’s Kurt Indovina felt similarly to our Jimothy, calling it “the best entry in the series” and awarding it 9/10:
“Whether you’re a jaded 36-year-old man with no children (like me), a parent, a grandparent, or a kid, it’s hard to imagine even the most calloused-hearted person not having fun with the game.”
“Whether you’re a jaded 36-year-old man with no children (like me), a parent, a grandparent, or a kid, it’s hard to imagine even the most calloused-hearted person not having fun with the game.”
Brian Shea at Game Informer gave it an 8, highlighting the skateboarding as “particularly innovative, as it uses Switch 2’s Joy-Con’s mouse mode to emulate the kick-push of a skater”:
“Though I certainly have my destination sports, there’s not a loser in the bunch. Island Crown mode does a great job expanding the single-player options, but this package’s legs are in its multiplayer experience. And since Switch Sports Resort is chock-full of easily approachable minigames, I can see it becoming a cherished inclusion in the rotation of party mainstays.”
“Though I certainly have my destination sports, there’s not a loser in the bunch. Island Crown mode does a great job expanding the single-player options, but this package’s legs are in its multiplayer experience. And since Switch Sports Resort is chock-full of easily approachable minigames, I can see it becoming a cherished inclusion in the rotation of party mainstays.”
Eurogamer’s Matt Wales cracked out four out of five stars, mentioning the Prop Plane free-play mode as a personal favourite:
“It’s all so extra; a big, characterful backdrop full of lovely little flourishes that bleed into the games themselves. […] It’s just very Nintendo; packed with endlessly delightful incidental touches that help massively elevate what is, in essence, a relatively straightforward and largely familiar collection of sports-themed mini-games. And fundamentally Switch Sports Resort really is more of the same; albeit a further evolution of the hugely influential Wii Sports formula that here, fourth time around, is perhaps at its most refined.
“It’s all so extra; a big, characterful backdrop full of lovely little flourishes that bleed into the games themselves. […] It’s just very Nintendo; packed with endlessly delightful incidental touches that help massively elevate what is, in essence, a relatively straightforward and largely familiar collection of sports-themed mini-games. And fundamentally Switch Sports Resort really is more of the same; albeit a further evolution of the hugely influential Wii Sports formula that here, fourth time around, is perhaps at its most refined.
And finally, Alister Kennedy over at Gfinity called it “a triumphant return to Wuhu Island” in his 8/10 review:
“While it cannot quite recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle magic or iconic hardware feel of the original Wii Sports, its expanded modes, free-roaming exploration, and solid game roster make it an easy recommendation for couch multiplayer.”
“While it cannot quite recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle magic or iconic hardware feel of the original Wii Sports, its expanded modes, free-roaming exploration, and solid game roster make it an easy recommendation for couch multiplayer.”
Sounds like wherever you fall on the praise spectrum, nothing about the game is downright offensive, and you may just love it if you’re jonesing for some old-fashioned Wii Sports spirit. Or, you know, if you get a bit misty-eyed remembering Christmas ’06 and how your non-game-playing grandad absolutely destroyed everyone in the Bowling.
Will you be diving into Switch Sports Resort this weekend? Let us know below.
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