It’s pretty hard to keep secrets in the game industry, making the occasional surprise that much more pleasant. That pleasant surprise is now Jump Rope Challenge, a tiny, little, free game released all of a sudden on the Nintendo Switch eShop. According to Nintendo, Jump Rope Challenge was created by a group of developers working from home as Japan enacted lockdown protocols to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s all very simple. Hold the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers like the handles of a jump rope and jump away. The game features a pair of cute bunny characters that jump in time with you and measures your progress from day to day. Two-player mode is available as well, allowing an exercise partner to skip alongside with one of the Joy-Cons.
And that’s it, really. The game is completely free, there are only basic menus, and few bells and whistles. Jump Rope Challenge has all the hallmarks of a mini-project done by a team that’s getting used to working from home for the first time. It won’t be replacing Ring Fit Adventure anytime soon, if you happen to have it.
But it’s hard to argue with free, so you can pick up Jump Rope Challenge anytime between now and September 2020 on the Nintendo Switch eShop.
