Everybody and their moms have heard of or even played the legendary game Wii sports. A game where you play sports on your TV with motion controls. Truly remarkable at its time. Can Nintendo Switch Sports become as big as Wii sports, probably not, but is it just as good or even better?
A great legacy
Wii sports is the 4th most sold game of all time. If you rule out multiplatform games, it’s number 1. Nintendo has dipped its toes in the continuation of the franchise with Wii Sports Resort (which is actually in the top 20 most sold) & the less successful Wii Sports Club. Nintendo is up for a new match with the release of Nintendo Switch Sports.
Swing, kick, spike, and bowl your way to victory in a sports collection that will get the whole family moving. Get moving in 6 different sports, Soccer, Volleyball, Bowling, Tennis, Badminton & Chambara (Swordplay) using the Joy-Con™ controllers! A 7th sport, Golf is planned to be added via a free update this fall. Like with the original Wii game all the games are based on motion controls. This makes the controls very intuitive. Just move your arms and you are hitting back the tennis ball or throwing the bowling ball.
Many sorts of Sports to play on courts. Here are my reports
I will go over every sport individually. What is the game like, what modes and with how many players can you play and how do they control? I will of course give you my experience with how fun I think they are. At the end of the review, I will give my overall rating and tell you my favorite and least favorite sports out of the six.
Tennis
Hold your Joy-Con like a racket and time your swings at the right time to hit the ball back to your opponent. You will automatically walk, just like in Wii Tennis. Add some flair to your shots by adding topspin or backspin to your hits or lob your shots. These actions are performed depending on how you swing the Joy-Con.
Locally this sport is played with 1-4 players. The tennis matches are always played in doubles. If you are only with 2 players, either CPU will be your opponent, and you will team up with the other player or a clone copying your moves will be your partner. Online if you play with 1 person locally you will have a clone helping you, as does your opponent. When playing 2 people locally you will face others like this too. Tennis requires pretty basic motions as well as timing in order to win.
Tennis is pretty okay. It feels like an updated version of Wii Sports Tennis. There is enough that you can do to outplay your opponent. I however also have played Mario Tennis Aces before and must say coming from that to this it definitely feels like it is missing something. Then again, it is just tennis in its purest form, who can complain about that.
Badminton
Like tennis, you hold the Joy-Con like a racket. Swing left and right to keep the shuttlecock in the air. Use tricky drop shots to gain the upper hand. Like tennis, timing is essential but even more here. Hitting the shuttle too late will give your opponent the chance to perform a powerful smash shot that is hard to hit back. You will automatically walk, just like in tennis. Locally and online this sport is played with 1-2 players. I liked the back and forward of the gameplay but I feel like there were not enough things you can do to mix things up for your opponent. Then again I’m not an expert.
Bowling
Bowling is played by swinging your Joy-Con to roll the ball. It’s as easy as that. You can add a little curve or hook by twisting your wrist. There are 2 different lane types to play on, standard and special. Standard is your classic bowling while special has lanes with obstacles, such as moving obstacles or narrow ledges, that keep changing. Besides this, you have the option to take turns bowling or to play simultaneously, which lowers the time you are waiting.
Locally this sport is played with 1-4players. Online 16 players play at once in elimination. You play 4 rounds. Every round consists of 3 turns. Half of the players with the lowest scores are eliminated. The player with the highest score wins. Bowling like this is really fun. I think I would become bored of the standard one pretty quickly but elimination will keep me entertained and special bowling will spice things up. It’s hard to be able to hit all the pins when some angles are blocked off. I however had the same lanes in only 2x playing, which is a shame because once you know how to tackle them there is no challenge anymore.
Chambara (Swordplay)
The goal in Chambara is to hit your rival off the edge of the platform and down into the water below. Swing your Joy-Con to attack, or block your opponent’s strikes with ZL/ZR to create an opening to counter. The blocking system works a bit like rock paper scissors. A horizontal strike is blocked by a vertical block and a vertical strike is blocked by a horizontal block. You can also block/strike diagonally. The rule here is that you strike the same angle as the block.
There are 3 weapons to choose each with a different playstyle. Sword is the most basic sword. It has no special ability but is the most powerful. The Charge Sword builds up energy by guarding then strikes with strong Charge Strikes by pressing L. The Twin Swords give you 2 swords, you however can only strike/block with one sword at once. This weapon also lets you perform a Spinning Strike when the power meter is filled up. I really enjoyed this mode, it has a lot of depth and keeps you on your toes. This is definitely a mode you can take competitively and become really good at it. Locally and online this sport is played with 1-2 players.
Volleyball
Use a Joy-Con controller to serve, bump, set, and spike the ball. These are all automatically done depending on who’s turn it is to hit the ball. Spiking works a little differently, first, swing the controller upwards and then downward to spike the ball. Throwing your arms up at the right time will block incoming shots. The better you time everything the more powerful the shot will be.
Like tennis matches are always played in doubles. If you are only with 2 players, either CPU will be your opponent and you will team up with the other player or a CPU will be your partner. Locally and online this sport is played with 1-4 players. Overall it’s fun to play but I feel like my movements don’t really have to match what I’m doing. This is not the sport that has me coming back for more.
Football (Soccer)
Move around the field and get into position to score. Swing the right Joy-Con to kick and send the giant ball flying into the goal. Swinging the Joy-Con upwards will hit the ball up, down downwards, and so on. Swing both Joy-Cons at once to do a diving header. Dash, jump, and pass to reach the ball first and score the most goals within the time limit or 4 more goals than your opponent. A golden ball also appears which will count as double points.
Play in a couple of different modes: one-on-one matches, four-on-four matches, free practice or use the Leg Strap to unleash impressive volleys in Shoot-Out mode. Locally this sport is played with 1-2 players. Play with or against each other with the CPU filling up the rest of your team. Football plays pretty similar to Rocket League, which is a lot of fun. This sport has quickly become one of my favorites and has me hyped for the new Mario Strikers releasing in the near future. Locally this sport can be played by up to 4 players and online up to 8 players.
What to choose? Physical or Digital virtual Sports
The physical version of the Nintendo Switch Sports game includes the Leg Strap accessory. This strap is not necessary to play any sports. The leg strap is currently only required in Soccer Shootout mode to be able to kick the ball. After an update this summer however it will be able to be used in regular Soccer matches as well. The physical version costs €50. You can opt to buy the digital version at €40. In case you already own a leg strap or have no need for it. The strap can always be bought separately in the future if needed.
Local and Online Multiplayer
There are a couple of ways to play. Play with family and friends in local multiplayer (on the same system). An important note here is that local multiplayer doesn’t work on the Switch Lite system or with the regular Switch in tabletop mode.
The most fun way to play is by competing online (to play online a Nintendo Online subscription is required). Play with family & friends across the world or face random opponents near and far to earn in-game rewards. Redeem points you earn for in-game rewards like outfits, accessories, gear and more. This selection will rotate each week, so you need to regularly check in to see what’s available. You can also aim for a shot in the Pro League in every sport. Compete and defeat players all over the world to increase your Pro League rank. Along the way, you will get motivated by achievements to cheer you on on the way to the top. The online mode worked really well and I had no problems with connection, which is a big win in my books.
Conclusion
Overall I would highly recommend Nintendo Switch Sports. The sports are fun to play, both locally and online. The game however unlike its Wii predecessor shines more when played Online. This is the big focus of this game since new outfits etc can only be unlocked by playing online. Some sports, however, are better than others, I liked Bowling, Football, and Chambara the most, with Football being my favorite. All sports play without any problems and have good, intuitive controls. If you don’t really care about physical games or the ability to kick the ball I would suggest picking up the digital release which costs €10 less
