Nintendo Switch Sports hands-on review: Wii Sports for a new generation

The year is 2006. Manchester United are still good, James Blunt is a British sensation, and Nintendo is launching a new games console that will go on to – at least temporarily – revolutionise the industry. 

With its big play for the casual crowd as well as Nintendo devotees, the Wii was a massive success, selling over 100 million units. And its appeal wasn’t complicated. Thanks to the innovative and (even more importantly) intuitive motion controls, traditional gamepads and their intimidating assortment of buttons were no longer a barrier, and suddenly people who had never played a video game in their lives were able to pick up and play. 

But the Wii needed a launch game to prove this, and Wii Sports was as important to its success as the hardware itself. Smartly bundled with the console so everyone who bought one already had their first game, Wii Sports had everyone from your tiny cousin to your grandma playing tennis in the living room. The console would eventually be home to many brilliant games, several among the best ever made, but it’s not controversial to say that Wii Sports (and to a lesser extent its Wii MotionPlus-touting follow-up Wii Sports Resort) was the definitive Wii title. 

So why are we talking about a console and game from 15 years ago today? Because Nintendo is finally bringing the Sports series to its latest money-spinning machine, and about time too. 

Motion controls aren’t as important to the Switch as they were the Wii, but the tech in those Joy-Con controllers is an upgrade on the Wii Remote’s, and Nintendo Switch Sports loses none of the original’s famous pick-up-and-playability. 

We were invited to Nintendo’s UK HQ to play all six of the games included at launch and struggle to see the full package being anything other than another party game hit for Nintendo. 

Play the hits

Nintendo Switch Sports’ eclectic tournament of athleticism (or thereabouts) takes place in a colourful fictional plaza called Spocco Square, which would surely dominate a city if it actually existed. We briefly tried every sport you’ll be able to play in the game on day one (golf will arrive later in 2022), which are a mix of old and new. Each game uses either one or both of the detachable Joy-Con controllers, so if you have a Switch Lite this unfortunately isn’t a game for you.

If you played Wii Sports back in 2006 then tennis and bowling will feel very familiar. The latter lets you adjust your starting position and angle using the Joy-Con stick and D-pad (or equivalent), and you simply bowl underarm as you would in real bowling to launch the ball down the lane. Spin can be applied by rotating your wrist as your characters automatically releases the ball. 

The game is very forgiving; we were clearing all 10 pins on most turns, but it feels as good as it always did. Things could be made more challenging if you were able to remove the on-screen aiming lines that show you where the ball is going to go, but we were told there’s no way of doing this.

Tennis is also pretty much as you remember it. Movement is handled automatically so all you have to think about is whacking that ball back, holding the Joy-Con as if it was a tennis racket. The controller’s sensors register forehand and backhand shots, as well as lobs if you swing upwards. Subtly adjusting your swing can add topspin or slice to your shots, and you can add power by swinging more quickly.

While it’s a lot more fun if you channel Federer and really get into it, you can seemingly still convince the game you’ve played a Wimbledon-worthy smash simply by flicking your wrist. And we definitely won a point or two in our doubles match with a breathtaking cross-court dive we weren’t aware we’d triggered. This is only really a problem if you’re coming to Nintendo Switch Sports expecting a hardcore tennis simulation, which it definitely isn’t offering. As a party game, though, it remains hard to beat. 

New tricks

The other four sports are new for the Switch game, and we’re going to need more time with all of them before making any conclusions. Volleyball was both the sport we were most looking forward to trying, and the one that made the worst first impression. Playing alongside another member of the press against the computer, we alternated between returning shots, setting up our teammate for a spike, and vice versa. As you pass to and receive the ball from your teammate your power gauge will fill up ready for the big spike. You can also block shots at the net by throwing your arm up at the right moment. It’s entertaining enough but felt quite simplistic and lacking in drama. That will hopefully change when playing against less predictable human opposition. 

Badminton, while naturally feeling quite similar to tennis, is plenty of fun, but it’s the final two sports we want to talk about. Chambara is a combat sport in which you and your opponent wield either one or two swords, with an optional charged finishing move. A blocking mechanic makes the game as much about defense and reading your opponent’s moves as it is lunging at them, and you’ll have to breach their own block by alternating the direction of your attack.

Chambara is more involved than some of the other sports, and as we slightly arrogantly went straight in with a Twin Swords battle (each Joy-Con becomes a weapon), we hadn’t quite got to grips with it before we were moved on to the next game, but it’s a good replacement for boxing, which hasn’t made the jump from Wii Sports. 

The build of the game we played seemed to be having some trouble with precisely tracking our arm movements, but we know from playing the Zelda: Skyward Sword remake that the Joy-Cons make for good swords. Providing the motion detection is up to it in the final game, it’s easy to imagine it leading to some tense fights. 

The final game is football, played with your hands, obviously. In either one-on-one or four-on-four matches, you move your players around a pitch, flicking your wrists forward, left or right to leather an oversized football. You can’t tackle but you can – hilariously – leap into the air for a diving header at any moment. You can call for the ball at any time too, but we don’t imagine that’ll make much difference if you’re playing with greedy friends. 

The game has definite Rocket League vibes, but it’s a slower and far less complex arcade spin on the beautiful game. Scoring from range crucially feels great and while we didn’t quite manage a headed goal, we can tell they’ll look even better. There’s also a penalty shootout mode that uses a leg strap (if you own Ring Fit Adventure you already have one), and has you actually kicking a virtual ball being fed to you towards a goal that gets smaller each time you score. It didn’t feel massively accurate when we tried it, but maybe we just weren’t very good. The option to play using a leg strap in team games will be added in a future update. 

Look the part

As well as testing out with varying degrees of success the six sports included in Nintendo Switch Sports, we also messed about a bit with character customisation. While you are able to import your Mii and keep things very Wii Sports, Nintendo appears to be pushing you to instead create a character from scratch. 

We were able to choose from a selection of preset avatars and could then edit their facial features, hairstyle and clothes. You’ll apparently be able to unlock new cosmetic items as you play, but we were pretty happy with our multi-talented sportsman’s blue tracksuit. 

Our preview was limited to local multiplayer, so come back for the full review in a week or two to see how the game plays online. Ranked modes will be available from day one, and we’re looking forward to shaping up the competition on the court. 

Nintendo Switch Sports initial verdict

Our time with Nintendo Switch Sports was pretty brief, especially as we had to squeeze all six sports into just over an hour’s play. But if you have fond memories of playing Wii Sports with the whole family, you can be pretty confident that the Switch sequel will live up to the name. The versatile Joy-Cons are better controllers than the Wii Remote and Nunchuk were, but are crucially just as easy to pick up and use. 

We like the mix of sports, too. Tennis and bowling tick the nostalgia boxes, Chambara will appeal to players looking for a bit more depth, and football looks like it will bring the laughs. It’s a shame we have to wait until autumn for golf, another Wii Sports classic, to arrive, but there’s enough in there at launch to keep you going through the summer. 

The big test will come when he hit the servers for some online play. Stay tuned for a full review soon.