15 years ago, Wii Sports took the world by storm. The casual classic made motion control suitable for the masses and brought a number of non-gamers to the screens. After Wii Sports Resort (2009), Nintendo’s collection of minigames went quiet – until now. Switch Sports promises to bring back the virtual sports break. Find out here whether there is a new party hit behind the revival. Especially now that virtual sports and casino games have become a huge industry worth more than 40 billion dollars annually. Besides offering a huge range of chances to win and win, the fun is definitely a thing. A large selection of payment methods in online casinos are accepted and you can also choose between a wide range of games and entertainment options.
Wii Sports was one of the biggest system sellers of all time. Quite a few times the Wii went over the counter for the sports collection, even if players didn’t like Zelda or Mario. It also made you sweat a lot. 15 years after the original, there is now a revival with Switch Sports. The extremely successful switch does not need a system seller. Nevertheless, Switch Sports wants to appeal to nostalgics who want to revive the old Wii Sports hype. But how hype-worthy is a minigame collection in 2022? Here are our impressions.
What Does Switch Sports Offer?
Switch Sports comes with six mini-games: tennis, badminton, bowling, chambara (sword fighting), volleyball and soccer. Sounds a bit skinny? It is. The original Wii Sports only had five sports, but Wii Sports Resort had a whopping 12. Also, the predecessors were tech demos rather than classic full-price releases. What is possibly the most comprehensive sport – golf – will not be delivered until autumn. Tennis and badminton feel like the same discipline gameplay, just at different paces. Switch Sports doesn’t offer anything for single players, and you’ll look in vain for achievements or campaigns. Also the local multiplayer, the focus of that time Wii Sports, this time contains fewer options than the online mode (soccer can only be played offline in pairs, online the full team can be filled).
Everything Wasn’t Better in the Past!
But in the end, it’s the fun that counts. Switch Sport has certainly evolved here. Without the rose-coloured nostalgia glasses, the original Wii Sports looks dusty. Only with a lot of imagination did the Wii controls replicate correct movements. Instead, it quickly came to waving. The tennis racquets and plastic swords in Switch Sports are now more precisely controlled – cheating by wild waving is no longer possible. Of course, the graphics are nicer too. We like the new cartoon characters better than the old Miis, although the latter are still selectable.
Still, Switch Sports is a bit sobering. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Wii Sports, Kinect Sports or the age-old Playstation Eyetoy – such mini-games live from new hardware gimmicks, not from complex gameplay. Switch Sports lacks a unique selling point. Despite improvements, old disciplines like tennis feel like they did fifteen years ago. Only the motion control does not provide the same amazement today.
Is Switch Sports Good for a Party Cracker?
The core business of the Wii Sports series is multiplayer fun and the new part is actually still good for a tired afternoon. We liked bowling the most as it has at least a bit more content than the rest thanks to obstacle courses. Badminton is good thanks to the brisk pace, even if it makes tennis unnecessary. Volleyball is fun because it requires rudiments of teamwork and has the most complex match flow.
The freshest is soccer, which is sort of a carbon copy of Rocket League. We enjoyed 1 vs. 1 matches there, but with larger teams, the pace was too sluggish compared to the model. For the first time, there is an online mode that even has a few cosmetic items and pro modes to unlock. But you probably rarely play long sessions – the games are just too monotonous.
Conclusion
Especially single players should stay away from Switch Sports. It hardly has any content, even compared to the age-old Wii Sports Resort. And motion control alone doesn’t tempt anyone from behind the stove these days. It’s a little different for multiplayer. You can continue to measure yourself with friends in the intuitive movement games and this time there is also online functionality. Overall, this is still a little difficult to swallow at full price. The already reduced price from some dealers is fair if you want to have some Wii Sports feeling back for a moment. This article was brought to you by our gaming editor, Daniel Klink. If you want to know more about him, follow this link, you will also find exclusive information on the latest gaming trends and top predictions for the future of the industry.
