Review Roundup: Nintendo Switch Sports – it’s good, but lacks variety

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When Wii Sports came out more than 15 years ago, it showcased the best of what the Wii console had to offer in terms of motion controls. Now, Nintendo is back on the sports kick with the upcoming release of Nintendo Switch Sports.

Nintendo Switch Sports is an upcoming Nintendo Switch game set to release on April 29 for $39.99 ($49.99 for a physical copy). Like its predecessor, the game features several different sports that can be played with friends and family using the Switch’s motion controls.

Tons of critics and reviewers already got their hands on a copy of the game to give their opinions. The game has a Metacritic score of 75 with a little over 30 reviews so far. So many are enjoying what the game has to offer. Let’s see what people are saying.

Familiar yet upgraded gameplay

If you played Wii Sports at all, you can probably tell from the trailer above that Nintendo Switch Sports builds heavily off of the mechanics of its predecessor. The various sports use a combination of motion and button controls to offer an immersive, yet cartoony, sports feeling.

READ MORE: People are destroying their TVs with Nintendo Switch Sports

Nintendo Switch Sports launches with access to six different sports. Those sports are bowling, badminton, volleyball, soccer, chambara (a kind of sword fighting where the goal is to knock opponents off a stand into the water), and tennis. And Nintendo will add golf to the game in a free update in the fall.

The sports are varied, but it looks like they are all equally thought out. Dexerto’s Lloyd Coombes said, “it was tricky at the end of an hour-long play session to pick a favorite.”

That’s already an improvement over Wii Sports where the tennis and bowling games clearly stood out from the rest.

However, some critics have enjoyed certain games much more than others. In fact, IGN’s Colin Stevens wasn’t a huge fan of the soccer game in Nintendo Switch Sports, calling it a “slower, less flashy version of Rocket League.”

Needs more sports

But the key aspect of Nintendo Switch Sports is its variety. There are six sports included at launch, so it’s not the end of the world if one of them is not for you.

However, early critics feel that there isn’t quite enough variety quite yet in Nintendo Switch Sports. The six total sports at launch is comparable to the original Wii Sports from 2006. But it’s quite a few less than the 12 different options found in the second iteration, Wii Sports Resort.

“Without baseball, boxing, and basketball (not to mention all of Wii Sports Resort’s wackier tropical activities) Nintendo Switch Sports currently feels a little lacking,” said PCMag’s Jordan Minor.

There is a free golf expansion coming in the fall to bring the number of sports up to seven. But there are still a few key sports missing.

Nintendo Switch Sports is more fun multiplayer

Although you can have plenty of fun when playing against the computer in Nintendo Switch Sports, the game really seems to shine in multiplayer.

The game builds on what Wii Sports did so well years ago. It brings family and friends together to play and compete in a fun, lighthearted sports contest.

While single-player can be fun itself, Giovanni Colantonio of DigitalTrends claims that “addictive activities like bowling and badminton make it one of the Switch’s best multiplayer party games.” That’s some good praise for a console with tons of iconic party games.

The game will also feature online multiplayer at launch with its own progression and ranking systems. That wasn’t available for the purpose of early reviews. But it should add to the fun and complexity of the game for users interested in online play.

Nintendo Switch Sports has good bones but needs to grow

At the end of the day, Nintendo Switch Sports seems like what we expected. It builds upon the iconic gameplay from Wii Sports, with improved graphics and mechanics that better fit the latest generation of Nintendo consoles.

However, even with six different sports to choose from, it would be nice if the game offered a little more in terms of variety. New sports will likely come in the future, with golf definitely being added for free in the fall. But it would’ve been nice to see a few more at launch.

Cody Gravelle of Screen Rant sums it up quite nicely:

“There’s some valid criticisms to be made over the shallow game roster and even shallower character customization, but at its core, Nintendo Switch Sports is an absolute blast and is simple enough for anyone who wants to give it a try.”

At just $39.99, Nintendo Switch Sports does fall at a relatively appealing price. It’s much cheaper than the average $60 price tag of games these days.

Hopefully, Nintendo continues to add content to the game over time. It will be interesting to see how much of that content will be free to those who buy the game.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

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• How to group Nintendo Switch games into folders
• A new Nvidia leak could point to the Nintendo Switch Pro
• Nintendo plans to focus on real virtual worlds, not the metaverse

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.