Should you pack your bags for Wuhu Island?

Get up and move in 12 motion-control sports! Gently swing your racket, pull back and aim like an archer, and more in 12 sports with intuitive motion controls. Move together in sports like Bowling and Basketball, duke it out in Boxing, and even battle with one thumb in Thumb Wrestling—there are lots of ways to compete and have fun together! Explore the island getaway using Joy-Con™ 2 mouse controls in Skateboarding, steer across the waves in Power Cruising, and tilt the controller to fly around freely in Prop Plane. Create and customize your Sportsmate or Mii™ characters, and jump into the fun online or offline in Nintendo Switch™ Sports Resort!

I reviewed the original Nintendo Switch Sports here which was a nice throwback to the fun of Wii Sports. I did wonder if Nintendo would take it further as they did with Wii Sports Resort and do the same for Switch Sports, which they have now ended up doing. Wii Sports upped the ante by adding the MotionPlus support along with many other games so what can the Joy-Con 2 provide?

Familiar games like Bowling, Golf and Tennis return while old Wii Sports/Resort classics like Boxing and Archery join the lineup. There’s also the island of Wuhu to explore either by air or by sea which has tons and I mean tons of collectibles to be found, I’ve lost track how many hours I’ve spent searching for balloons to burst or photo locations in the 5-minute bursts they give you to explore. I did a lot of this with my partner in split-screen to exploring sections together, but even then, they are asking for day, evening and night photos as well as hidden collectible flowers and missions like following dolphins or bursting every white balloon in an area. Trust me, it will consume you if you let it.

My major gripe with those modes is that there’s no minimap that you can reference, so you have to almost plan ahead before you begin. Focus on what direction you’re going to go in and then try and stay on track, not get distracted…which isn’t the easiest to do when the island is brimming with lovely details, tourists relaxing on the beach, cruise ships, planes and plenty of other things.

Other sports include skateboarding and…thumb wrestling? Yes, you read that right. It’s a bit strange but it works quite well and can be very competitive. The mouse controls for skateboarding are decent as well. All in all, the new sports are a welcome addition, and the older ones are just as fun as they have always been.

The visuals are simple but smooth, slightly improved from the Switch Sports original. Framerate is consistent throughout and load times are very short. The music is decent as well.

The Verdict

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort ups the ante from the last game, adds a few new sports and gives us a big island to explore. Definitely a must-have for Switch 2 owners.

Score: 9.0