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Ever since the Wii was bundled with Wii Sports, we’ve seen Nintendo offer some sort of sports minigame collection alongside the launch of a new console to ensure folks have access to motion control minigames like bowling, boxing, and tennis. Each entry builds on the last with new games. Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is the logical next step, jumping to 12 minigames from the original five from Wii Sports, and does the usual admirable job of offering an array of activities. (Not to mention guaranteeing we’ll likely see an array of plastic peripherals to clip onto Joy-Con 2 controllers over the next few months and years.)
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort builds on Nintendo Switch Sports by taking us to the Spocco Resort, following the original’s Spocco Square sports facility. It’s a series of islands with 12 different types of activities at different spots. Some of these are traditional, while others are a little more unconventional and feel geared toward opportunities to explore the area. The ones we’d “expect” to see are Archery, Basketball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf, Table Tennis, Tennis, Thumb Wrestling, and Volleyball. Basically, Power Cruising on a jet ski, Prop Plane flights, and Skateboarding runs feel like excuses to go around the area while completing other types of objectives.
It’s a pretty solid selection! Some from past games are absent, like Badminton, Baseball, Chambara. (Table Tennis is basically a Badminton replacement.) However, we also see the return of some Wii Sports Resort options, so I wasn’t too bothered. I was sort of hoping we’d see Disc Golf again, but what is here feels designed to cover a wide selection. Playing on a daily basis rewards us with 1,000 Spocco Points once per day that can be spent in the Item Center on pulls for random cosmetics for our avatars like customization items, costumes, and equipment, in addition to the points earned for the performance in that match. (One “pull” is 1,000 points and nets a random item, but you can’t get duplicates.)
Each of these sports feature different ways to go through them. If you’re alone, you can select a specific sport and go from there for casual single games or by tackling an Island Crown ranking that puts you into matches against NPCs that increase in difficulty for greater challenges and cosmetics. Multiplayer options offer local Friend Lobbies or Casual Online Play. (Ranked online matches are also available from each sport’s menu.) The Friend Lobbies allow eight people in at once, and you can split up into Huddles so multiple sports can be played in the group.
Some only offer a single Match option, like Archery, Boxing, Golf, and Thumb Wrestling. However, some of the more traditional sports offer a few more options or got a little more varied when you played in groups, which I really liked! 100-Pin Game is back for Bowling, and is still quite fun. Playing it in a Friend Lobby match also let me test out runs that involved blockades and elements in lanes to make it more interesting. Tennis has a standard match and slower Laid-Back Match that I think might be nice for a senior center or younger kids. Volleyball has a Bump to the Beat mode that is more about precision and timing that’s a nice change of pace. (I prefer it to the standard match, since I otherwise find it one of the more boring sports.) Table Tennis’ Return Challenge feels like it prepares you for more complicated matches by aiming for cans and returning hits. Basketball has Three-Point Challenge, Three-Point Contest, and Five-Streak Battle for more involved contests.
As for the exploration-based sports in Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, each one of those feels like a means to explore. The base Sightseeing Tour options in each is about seeing as much as you can in a set amount of time (five minutes) to collect Spocco Photos of points of interest around the whole resort. Each one also gets a Free Play that is basically a chance to explore, maybe finding routes, with no time restrictions. Finally, each one has a challenge that involves getting balls in Prop Plane, going on races and passing through rings in Power. Cruising, and racing on courses with Skateboarding. They’re fun enough diversions and offer a change of pace. I do think Power Cruising felt a bit weaker due to its motion controls at times, since it could make turns a bit difficult. But it’s geat to see Skateboarding embrace the Joy-Con 2 mouse control mode and Prop Plane is fun in every mode.
As for the controls, playing Nintendo Switch Sports Resort feels intuitive and easy. With the exception of a few obvious sports, like Archery or Boxing, there are a number that only use one Joy-Con 2. This makes it easy for single-system multiplayer. Controls aren’t too complex, either. The movements make sense, and it is easy to review. I did find the Golf motions to be a bit sensitive and easy to overshoot when putting, but that is likely my own skill issue.
I did find some of the sports a bit more entertaining than others. Archery, Basketball, Bowling, Boxing, Tennis, and the Bump to the Beat version of Volleyball were my favorites. All of them work great, make sense, and can be a lot of fun with people of all skill levels. Golf is promising, but I found it does take time to get accustomed to proper power output. Table Tennis isn’t bad! I did prefer standard Tennis more, however. And basic Volleyball almost felt a bit monotonous, as it’s very controlled in that you need to follow a specific pattern each turn. Thumb Wrestling bored me a bit as well, since it didn’t feel as involved as some other options.
Meanwhile, I liked the leisure sports options for Prop Plane, Power Cruising, and Skateboarding quite a bit! Both the Sightseeing Tour and Free Play modes for each one are really relaxing and low-stress ways to explore the space and be rewarded with insights into the imaginary island by finding photo spots. The course options for each are entertaining too, with the Power Cruising and Skateboarding challenges being a lot of fun.
While not terribly exciting, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is the sort of solid staple that could be pulled out at gatherings of people of all ages. The 12 sports included offer a great sense of variety. The motion controls are intuitive, easy to use, and in many cases feel like they could be performed while sitting for accessibility purposes. The online elements also offer an incentive for people who do want more of an excuse to keep playing. That, combined with it being one of the “budget” first-party releases at $49.99, makes it feel like it will fill the same hole left by games like Wii Sports and Nintendo Switch Sports.
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort will come to the Switch 2 on October 22, 2026.
