Nintendo Switch Sports impressions: Wii Sports sequel has depth, familiarity

Nintendo’s Wii Sports was a masterpiece of gaming simplicity. The 2006 Wii game taught millions of players both new and experienced how to use Nintendo’s revolutionary and intuitive motion controller, giving a new generation its first gaming experience. The Wii Bowling Tournament scene is still thriving . sixteen years after its inception.

Nintendo Switch Sports, a sequel due later this month, brings back the spirit of the original Wii Sports, but aims for a slightly different audience. The simplicity and familiarity of the original Wii Sports is still present in the Switch sequel, thanks to simple, motion-controlled games like bowling, tennis, and, in a future update, golf. For Switch users who desire it, there is a new layer of complexity and depth. This will allow Nintendo Switch Sports to be distinguished from its Wii Sports inspiration.

New additions like badminton and soccer can offer more heated one-on-one or team-based battles, and even bowling gets some upgrades: Players can enjoy a fast-paced pickup game or play on weird alleys with wild obstacles.

Image: Nintendo

During a hands-on presentation with Nintendo Switch Sports in New York last week, I got to sample the breadth and depth of Nintendo’s new sports collection. Although I thought I had seen enough of boxing and baseball as a Mii over a decade, the fun of this new game collection surprised me.

Let’s start with the presentation. Nintendo Switch Sports is a stylish update to the Wii Sports games, letting players create and customize more realistic avatars. Player characters, called Sportsmates, look more like the cool kids of Splatoon than the toylike Miis of the Wii and Nintendo 3DS era. However, Mii fans can choose to keep their Mii look, which is part of the rich customization but doesn’t fit in with the other visual enhancements. )

Now, the games. Soccer was my first Nintendo Switch Sports adventure. There are four different versions of the game, but I tried only two. One was a goal shootout between two players, where I had a Joy-Con attached to my kick leg. The other was a co-op against computer-controlled opponents. Shootout, with the exception of whipping out and affixing the leg straps, is perhaps the most pick-up-and-play game here. Players take turns trying to kick a ball into a very large goal, and it’s all about timing. The arc and speed of the ball appears randomized, and I wound up kicking far to the left more than once. What makes shootout mode both interesting and balanced is when one player starts to dominate — if you have a streak going, the goal size shrinks, making precise timing even more critical.

Image: Nintendo

In my session, I had my own leg strap, as did my Nintendo representative opponent, so we rotated single turns on the pitch. But for households that only have one strap on hand, one person can play a full set (of five kicks), pass the strap and Joy-Con, and let the other player enjoy their set. This was an example Nintendo Switch Sports of the more complex ways that Switch owners can play the game.

Our second match of soccer was a bit more traditional. It was a four-on-four match played with both left and right Joy-Cons in hand. My left Joy-Con controlled the movement of my player, using the analog stick to run freely in all di, while the right used motion control to kick upward, downward, left, or right. I could also perform a dramatic, stamina-draining diving header for a powerful strike. Rocket League Nintendo Switch Sports has an extra-large ball with rounded corners. This makes it easy to track and keeps the ball in play. It’s soccer without any downtime, and it may offer the most replayability of any Nintendo Switch Sports activity.

Or perhaps it will be bowling. It offers all the simple pleasures and inclusive enjoyments of its Wii Sports cousin (and may mistakenly lead you to believe you are a great bowler). My version of bowling was traditional, with one exception. All four people in the room were rolling at once. Nintendo Switch Sports bowling is speedy; our four-player game took just over six minutes to bowl through, all-but eliminating the usual downtime of playing a full set. My Switch makes it easy to bowl at home. But, I am intrigued by some of the obstacles I missed, such as bumpers and lanes with varying heights.

Image: Nintendo

The three net sports — tennis, badminton, and volleyball — offered different levels of intensity. While tennis is the most relaxed, it can be frantic at times, particularly when you play doubles. Your player character runs to the ball automatically, so tennis is mostly a game of timing and angles. Badminton, on the other hand, feels far more strategic. Players can lob the shuttlecock and smash it, and the goal here is keeping your opponent on their heels, hoping to exhaust their stamina. Badminton seems to be the sport where Nintendo Switch Sports‘ most hardcore devotees will spend their time. Finally, volleyball is a game of timing. Players must bump, set, and spike the ball — and block it, if on defense — with perfect timing. You can visualize when the ball is going to be struck by a visual indicator placed above your character.

Finally, there’s chambara, a renamed version of the swordplay game included in Wii Sports Resort‘s suite of activities. Head games are equally important, as is guarding your opponent and striking from the correct angle (vertically or horizontally). Faking out your opponent in this split-screen game is strategically important, so fighting game enthusiasts will likely take a shine to chambara in Nintendo Switch Sports. It also has many variations. Players can battle with one sword or two, and there’s an optional charge move that, while I didn’t get to try it, appears to add new strategies to both attacking and defending.

Golf will be available as an update for Nintendo Switch Sports this summer. Like the other games, it can be played online or locally against your friends, or with random matchmaking among Switch owners. Random matchmaking is a key element of long-term enjoyment for the game. This will allow players to unlock cosmetic items. That includes outfits and accessories for your Sportsmate avatar, as well as new equipment. It seems that there is a bowling ball which looks almost like a watermelon. This makes it extremely useful.

Nintendo Switch Sports will be released on April 29.