{"id":124313,"date":"2022-04-27T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-130364"},"modified":"2022-04-27T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T13:00:00","slug":"review-in-progress-nintendo-switch-sports-familiar-fun-with-friends-but-little-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/04\/27\/review-in-progress-nintendo-switch-sports-familiar-fun-with-friends-but-little-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Review In Progress: Nintendo Switch Sports &#8211; Familiar Fun With Friends, But Little More"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/48830a809858b\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/48830a809858b\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<figure class=\"youtube\" data-videoid=\"9pu5z6vHRFc\">[embedded content]<figcaption class=\"youtube-sub\">Subscribe to <a class=\"external\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/subscription_center?add_user=nintendolife\">Nintendo Life<\/a> on <span class=\"g-ytsubscribe\" data-channel=\"nintendolife\" data-layout=\"default\" data-count=\"default\"><a class=\"external\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/nintendolife\">YouTube<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<p><em>Note: At the time of publication the online functionality is not yet live for this game. As it is such a crucial part of the experience, we have decided not to score the game until we can have sampled the full online experience. Once we have, we will update the review accordingly and add a score.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wii\/wii_sports\">Wii Sports<\/a> came out in 2006 it was nothing short of a revelation; beforehand video games had been all but relegated to buttons, knobs, and sticks as a means of controlling them, but the Nintendo Wii and its titular pack-in sports title bust that idea wide open. You all know the story \u2014 waggle waggle, tennis racquet moves, mum\u2019s besotted, dodgy elbow next morning \u2014 but now Nintendo\u2019s trying to have another pop at the formula (after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wii\/wii_sports_resort\">Wii Sports Resort<\/a> and we suppose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wiiu\/wii_sports_club\">Wii Sports Club<\/a>) with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/nintendo_switch_sports\">Nintendo Switch Sports<\/a>. It\u2019s been 16 years, but are we looking at 16 years&#8217; worth of improvement?<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Nintendo Switch Sports Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/122240\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/122240\/900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" alt=\"Nintendo Switch Sports Review - Screenshot 1 of 4\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Let\u2019s cut to the chase: there\u2019s no secret seventh game (although golf is coming soon), there\u2019s the six games that are available at the start, and when it comes to local play that\u2019s your lot. Whereas Wii Sports had the training modes that showed you how to play each sport through a variety of mini challenges, Nintendo Switch Sports just has a brief (and skippable) interactive tutorial that plays when you select a sport, but only for Chambara, Football, and Volleyball. If you\u2019re in the dark on how to land a specific shot in Tennis, you\u2019re out of luck.<\/p>\n<p>Considering Wii Sports had the previously mentioned training modes for each sport, this is quite disappointing. It can\u2019t be denied that the sports are simple to pick up and play, but this hinges on your being familiar with the sport it represents from the off. You\u2019ll also not find a great deal of variety in how you can choose to play each sport. Some do have options and different ways to play which we\u2019ll detail later on, but many only have a simple selection of three difficulties when playing against a CPU.<\/p>\n<p>But let\u2019s talk about the sports themselves \u2014 you know, the whole \u2018game\u2019 part of the game. Volleyball is a fairly slow affair, unfortunately. The ball moves at a glacial pace to allow players to time their shots more easily which is laudable in its intent, but ends up making the entire game a slog. No options to change how the game plays either, it\u2019s the first team to five points and that\u2019s your lot.<\/p>\n<p>Badminton is the opposite, a quick-paced one-on-one bout where your accuracy and timing are critical. We had far more fun with this than we were expecting to; even though the concept and execution is simple, its pace and fluidity helped keep us interested. Unfortunately, like Volleyball there\u2019s no options to adjust how the game plays, and no doubles mode either.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Nintendo Switch Sports Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/122241\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA5MDAgNTA2Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/122241\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Nintendo Switch Sports Review - Screenshot 2 of 4\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Bowling is (as it always has been in Nintendo\u2019s sport games) an absolute delight. There\u2019s something so satisfying about seeing the ball roll down the lane and clatter into the pins with that extra bit of spin that <em>you<\/em> put on the ball by twisting your wrist. Better still, the \u2018Special\u2019 mode throws a host of obstacles down your lane semi-randomly, forcing you to completely rethink how you\u2019re going to get that ball of yours into those cheeky little pins at the back.<\/p>\n<p>Football is the most involved sport by far. You have to run around using the left stick (gasp!) and use a variety of angled kicks in order to get that ball into the opponent\u2019s goal. It\u2019s a massively simplified and slowed-down affair compared to the real thing when it comes to movement, but it\u2019s a decently good time only improved by the various options for play. You can do a 1v1, a standard 4v4, practice your little football socks off, or boot directly into the goal in the Penalty Shootout mode. It does feel a little unengaging at times \u2014 provided you\u2019re not just chasing after the ball constantly like a five-year-old \u2014 but it\u2019s still a decent laugh.<\/p>\n<p>Chambara is an odd one, but by no means do we mean that in a bad sense. The premise is simple: attack your opponent to knock them back whilst avoiding their block attempts, and block their attacks to stop yourself being pushed off the edge. It\u2019s the nuance that makes this all so interesting, though. You have three different weapons to choose from all with their own strengths and weaknesses, but the real fun is in goading and throwing off your opponent mentally. Essentially it\u2019s poker without the risk of having your real-life legs broken.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Nintendo Switch Sports Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/122245\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA5MDAgNTA2Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/122245\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Nintendo Switch Sports Review - Screenshot 3 of 4\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>And lastly we have Tennis. We don\u2019t really know what to think of Tennis; the concept is fine in theory but the execution feels a bit lifeless. It\u2019s similar to the Swing Mode in Mario Tennis Aces, except stripped back by several degrees. Nintendo claims that you can use a variety of shots when playing, but despite all our efforts we\u2019ve only been able to perform forehand hits, backhand hits, and occasionally a lob when we were really trying. You\u2019re also <em>forced<\/em> to play doubles in complete contrast to Badminton, which is fine in theory \u2014 after all, that&#8217;s how Wii Sports did it \u2014 but when you\u2019re controlling the net player as well as the back player it all feels a little forced. Throw in the lack of any major options besides the number of games (with no way to even play a full set) and what you\u2019re left with is something that just feels a bit limp to us.<\/p>\n<p>But whether a sport is good or not, it\u2019s always heightened by adding additional players. Multiplayer is unsurprisingly the main draw of Nintendo Switch Sports, and even the lacklustre sports were notably more fun with other humans as opposed to playing solo. Yet having said that, even when playing with other people there&#8217;s a distinct sense of <em>&#8216;is this it?&#8217;<\/em> permeating the entire experience. If you want to play one of the six sports, you&#8217;re golden. If you want anything to spice it up, you&#8217;re more than likely going to be left wanting. We know we were.<\/p>\n<p>Customisation is also a mixed affair. You can customise your avatar with a handful of different hairstyles, clothing colours and\u2026 well if you&#8217;re playing locally that&#8217;s about it. You see, the lion&#8217;s share of customisation items and equipment are exclusively unlocked in the online mode, meaning anyone who doesn&#8217;t have an internet connection or just wants to play with their friends or family locally is stuck with the fairly meagre default lineup. Miis have been sidelined we\u2019re sure in part to allow more customisation (although you can still play as your Mii if you wish), but when that customisation is locked behind an internet connection we can\u2019t help but have a bit of a sour taste left in our mouths.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Nintendo Switch Sports Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/122248\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA5MDAgNTA2Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/122248\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Nintendo Switch Sports Review - Screenshot 4 of 4\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>As far as looks go, it&#8217;s a generally decent effort. Spocco Square is a good-looking setting with lots of environmental details here and there, but it does feel somewhat generic at the same time. Performance is also largely good, holding a solid 60fps in almost all instances save a few peculiar instance of slowdown when bowling with more than one player simultaneously.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019re hoping that as soon as the online functionality is live Nintendo Switch Sports will make a lot more sense, but as a purely local game there\u2019s <em>a lot<\/em> to be desired to make this a worthwhile purchase. If you\u2019re keen on simply playing some motion-controlled Wii Sports-like games on your Switch then Nintendo Switch Sports might bring you a good bit of enjoyment, but if you\u2019re looking for something a little deeper and with a bit more variety than the game you first played on Wii, you\u2019ll probably be left somewhat disappointed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[embedded content]Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube Note: At the time of publication the online functionality is not yet live for this game. As it is such a crucial part of the experience, we have decided not to score the game until we can have sampled the full online experience. Once we have, we will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124313\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}