Key takeaways
- Switch Sports Resort is a Switch 2 exclusive with 12 motion-controlled sports, and it launches October 22.
- The Verge calls it the best entry in the series, while TechRadar's review flags that Badminton, Chambara and Football didn't make the launch lineup.
- Reviewers don't agree on which activities are new: The Verge counts three, while TechRadar counts only two.
- Price, online play and any plan to bring back the cut sports have not been reported yet.
Reviews of Nintendo’s Switch Sports Resort are out, and the mood is warm. The game launches October 22 as a Switch 2 exclusive, packs in 12 sports played with Joy-Con motion controls, and returns to Wuhu Island, the setting of Wii Sports Resort. The critics mostly like it. They just don’t like the same things about it.
What are critics saying about Switch Sports Resort?
Mostly good things. The Verge calls it the best entry in the series. TechRadar reviewed it after about 15 hours. PCMag played it at a Nintendo holiday event and came away convinced family games are worth taking seriously.
A headline roundup also points to Game Informer, Polygon and Mashable. Polygon’s headline calls the game a masterpiece. Mashable’s, going by that same roundup, says the setting is the best part rather than the minigames. I haven’t seen those reviews in full, so treat those two as pointers, not verdicts.
Where the reviewers agree
They agree this is a proper follow-up to 2022’s Nintendo Switch Sports, and that the island setting and the motion-control sports are the draw. The lineup is the same across the write-ups: tennis, bowling, golf, volleyball, basketball, boxing, table tennis, archery, thumb wrestling, skateboarding, power cruising and prop plane.
Several of those get extra modes. Bowling has a mode with 100 pins. Table tennis adds a Return Challenge and a single-player island champion to beat. Tennis has a Laid-Back Match mode, and basketball has a Three-Point Contest. Archery hides targets to find, and PCMag says it also hints at wind and distance affecting your arrows.
Thumb wrestling got the most attention for being strange. You enlarge your thumb by pressing it against the opponent’s hand, then try to pin them. Lay your thumb flat and you build a power meter, but you’re open to being pinned. All three outlets mention it.
The cut sports are the sore spot
TechRadar is the only outlet of the three that covers what’s missing: Badminton, Chambara and Football (soccer) from the original Nintendo Switch Sports are not in the launch game. That’s three sports gone, against 12 in the new lineup.
Whether that bothers you depends on what you played in 2022. If sword fighting or soccer was your group’s go-to, this is a real loss, and TechRadar’s review treats it as one. The Verge and PCMag don’t dwell on it, at least in the portions available. That’s a gap in coverage as much as a disagreement. I’d read it as the one concrete knock on a game that otherwise gets a lot of praise.
Whether the three sports come back through updates or DLC hasn’t been reported.
Is the open island the main event?
It depends on who you ask. The Verge leans hard on the open-world setup. It describes a sightseeing mode where you hunt for landmarks and secrets across the island inside a five-minute limit, and collectibles you can spend on clothes and accessories for your character.
TechRadar spends more of its energy on the sports themselves, and says a single-player mode called Island Crown adds solo depth. Mashable’s headline, as noted above, goes further and says the setting beats the minigames.
So the split is about emphasis. One camp sees an island to explore with sports scattered through it. The other sees a sports collection with a nice backdrop. I can’t tell you which camp is right, because the available text doesn’t say how deep the exploration goes once the novelty fades. If the exploration is the reason you’re buying, wait for more reviews that spend real time on it.
Which activities are actually new?
Reviewers disagree here, so be careful with any store-page or headline claim. The Verge describes prop plane, power cruising and skateboarding as three new activities built around exploring the island. TechRadar says only skateboarding and thumb wrestling have never appeared in earlier entries, and files power cruising and prop plane under Leisure Sports.
PCMag adds a third wrinkle: it calls the jet ski steering a callback to Wii Sports Resort. That fits with TechRadar’s count, since it suggests power cruising isn’t a brand-new idea. The mechanics are easy to picture. Prop plane has you hold a Joy-Con like a paper airplane, and power cruising has you hold two Joy-Con like jet ski handlebars. Skateboarding uses the Joy-Con 2‘s mouse controls, which ties it to Switch 2 hardware in a way the older games weren’t.
Boxing has also been reworked, according to TechRadar, with a stamina bar and easier uppercuts and hooks.
Why it matters if you own a Switch 2
If you’ve been waiting for a game the whole household can pick up in a minute, this looks like it. The Verge notes that the original Nintendo Switch Sports sold more than 18 million copies, more than Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Splatoon 3. That’s the outlet’s figure and I haven’t seen it confirmed elsewhere. It also describes Wii Sports as Nintendo’s best-selling software ever. Take both as The Verge’s claims.
The timing is crowded. The game lands between Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake on Switch 2, so your holiday budget has competition. PCMag’s event also showed Switch 2 versions of Monster Hunter Wilds and the newest Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 4, along with Pokémon Pokopia and Minecraft.
My take: if you own a Nintendo Switch 2 and play with other people, this is an easy yes on reviews alone. If you mostly play solo, the Island Crown mode and the exploration are what you’d be paying for, and those are the parts critics describe least. Since the game leans on motion and Joy-Con 2 mouse controls, a spare set of Joy-Con 2 controllers is worth considering if you plan to play with a group. How many players the game supports hasn’t been detailed in the reviews.
Price, online play and other open questions
The biggest gap is price. It hasn’t been reported, and neither has whether the game ships physically, digitally or both. That matters for a game likely to be gifted.
Online play is the second unknown. None of the reviews describe how online modes work or perform. Nor is it clear whether the game is bundled with, or discounted alongside, Switch 2 hardware.
Then there’s the caveat on the reviews themselves. PCMag’s impressions come from a preview event, not a full playthrough, and its text is cut off. The Verge and TechRadar texts are also truncated, so some of their points may be missing here. Every verdict above is the reviewer’s opinion. One more thing: TechRadar is the only outlet to give a release year, 2026, for the October 22 launch.
Tools & products mentioned
- Nintendo Switch 2 on Amazon — Check current price
- Joy-Con 2 on Amazon — Check current price
Disclosure: some links in this article are affiliate links or our editor's own courses and book. If you buy through them, TechyCluster or its editor may earn money at no extra cost to you. This does not influence what we cover or how we cover it. As an Amazon Associate, TechyCluster earns from qualifying purchases.
Frequently asked questions
When does Nintendo Switch Sports Resort come out?
It launches October 22 on Nintendo Switch 2. TechRadar gives the year as 2026.
How many sports are in Switch Sports Resort?
There are 12: tennis, bowling, golf, volleyball, basketball, boxing, table tennis, archery, thumb wrestling, skateboarding, power cruising and prop plane.
Is Switch Sports Resort only on Switch 2?
Yes. TechRadar describes it as a Switch 2 exclusive.
Which sports were cut from Switch Sports Resort?
According to TechRadar, Badminton, Chambara and Football from the original Nintendo Switch Sports aren't in the launch game. Whether they return later hasn't been reported.
How much does Switch Sports Resort cost?
The price hasn't been reported yet, nor has whether it's sold physically, digitally or both.
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Sources
This article was compiled from reporting by the following outlets. Links go to the original reports.
