Are you ready to feel old? Wii Sports came out more than 15 years ago! But to me the strangest thing about that is that even though it was one of the most memorable WII games of all time, Nintendo never made a proper follow-up that is until now. I got a chance to check out Nintendo Switch Sports ahead of its official release on April 29th and I'm so glad it's back.
Just like the original, Nintendo Switch Sports is a collection of virtual Sports games that rely largely on motion controls. In other words it's a game best played standing up ideally with a bunch of friends or family members. Returning from the original game are Tennis and Bowling which are as fun as ever and like all, the included Sports supports both online and local play and for kids who might not have been around for the first WII Sports craze. They're a great way to introduce motion controls but for me the real stars are the four new additions, Soccer, Volleyball, Badminton and Chambara.
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In Volleyball, there are different gestures for things like bumping, setting and blocking and the ability to play full 2V2 matches locally is a surefire formula for instant fun. The gestures felt surprisingly natural once I got the hang of the timing to the point where I was having flashbacks about Gym class in high school. Just don't forget to use your joy-con's wrist wraps because no one wants to see a controller shape crack on their Big Screen TV.
After an unfortunate spike, Soccer takes a slightly different approach because at least for now it relies on controller inputs rather than wildly flailing around which means it plays more like Rocket League than actual Soccer. There's even a jumping headbutt command that can be difficult to land but is extremely satisfying when you do that. In Shootout mode you can attach a Joycon to your leg using Nintendo's leg strap accessory which comes included in the $50 physical version of the game but is also available separately for 10 dollars if you opt for the $40 digital edition. It's also the same strap that comes with ring fit adventure, so if you already have one of those you don't need to buy another.
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I found nailing the timing and Shootout mode to be the hardest out of all the games but even when I lift bad, I still had a blast. In sometime later this summer, Nintendo is going to release a free update that will add motion kicking controls to the main Soccer mode. Meanwhile Chambara lets you live out all your Sword fighting dreams. It's frantic while rewarding fast reactions on defense. You can hold your joy-con vertically, horizontally or diagonally to block incoming strikes and if you're successful you can get in a free Riposte while your opponent is dazed or you can just do what I did and pretend you're tasked with Looney Tunes and try to overwhelm your opponent with a flurry of swings which, pro tip doesn't work all that great. There's even Charge and Twin Sword modes that up the difficulty, but I didn't get to try those out which is probably a good thing because the standard mode is hectic enough.
Finally there's my absolute favorite of the Bunch Badminton. It feels twice as fast as Tennis and even though I only played one match, it might have been the most fun workout I've had in weeks. There's even a command for doing a drop shot which adds a nice bit of strategy for those thinking about becoming Switch Sports pros. There's even an online competitive mode that lets you rank up as you develop your skills and in the fall Nintendo's going to push out a second free update that brings Golf, back to the mix as well.
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Honestly Switch Sports is so engaging that I really wonder why Nintendo never made something like this back at the Switch's launch in 2017. Look one two Switch was fine but it was more of a tech demo and it didn't really have the replayability or the pick up and play appeal that Wii Sports had all those years ago but no matter, we're finally getting a proper follow-up and from what I've played so far this one's going to be even better than the original. Do let us know your thoughts on this in the comments section down below.
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