Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is the best Nintendo sports game in years – here’s why

There’s a number of different ways to play Nintendo Switch Sports Resort. The first is by selecting one of the 12 individual sports, of which there are nine competitive and three casual, with different games within each of those sections.

The nine competitive sports are tennis, bowling, archery, boxing, volleyball, tennis table, basketball, golf and thumb war. The three casual sports are prop plane, skateboarding and power cruising. (More on what the individual sports are like later on.)

There are modes such as friend lobby, casual online play and warm-up. There are also options for creating and customising your character – these are quite sparse at first but the more you play, the more you unlock.

Further outfit, appearance, emote and equipment options unlock through achievements in performing certain actions in minigames or by completing games to earn a currency that unlocks these cosmetics through a gacha system. There are weekly and monthly rewards, and a certain amount of coins is required for a pull, where you’ll get one item at random from those displayed.

It’s an interesting way of bringing gacha mechanics into Nintendo Switch Sports Resort and it can make working towards that exact cosmetic you want feel a little bit like a grind.

However, there’s one mode that stands out above them all: Island Crown. This is a single-player, offline mode in which you start at rank 20 in each of the nine competitive sports and have to go head-to-head against an AI opponent to rise through the ranks to compete against the champion of each sport.

This is fantastic. It gives a proper competitive edge to Nintendo Switch Sports Resort that I couldn't get enough of and this is what’s going to keep me coming back for more. It never failed to give me that ‘just one more game’ feeling and never felt tiresome – even in events of which I’m not the biggest fan.

In order to beat your next opponent, you have to get pretty skilled at each sport as you progress. As well as the fun of playing against friends and family (whether in the same room or online), this new mode is fantastic if you just want a game of something while feeling like you’re progressing and earning rewards. It really offers a sense of longevity.

‘Nintendo Switch Sports Resort’: Presentation

The presentation from Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is what you’d expect. There’s a vibrant colour palette and the characters themselves have that cartoonish look as you play different sports and explore Wuhu Island. You can create avatars or even use your Mii.

The audio is great across the board, in terms of both the sounds created by playing each sport and the music. Voiceovers can be a little bit irksome after a while but this isn’t a big issue.

In terms of performance, everything is stable and solid across both docked and handheld modes, so it’s very strong in that department. At no point was I taken out of the immersion because of any technical glitches – which is what you’d expect from a first-party title.

‘Nintendo Switch Sports Resort’: Gameplay and minigames

Overall, gameplay is incredibly responsive across the different sports, using Nintendo Switch 2’s array of control methods. By that, I mean motion controls and even mouse controls in one of the casual sports.

Starting with tennis, you can do a classic doubles match with up to four players or there’s a 1v1 laidback option with a big, slow-moving ball. There are three different difficulties and you can do a single game, best of three or best of five across hard, clay or grass courts, with the characteristics of each behaving really well.

This is a classic game and it feels really responsive. After each game, coins are awarded depending on how you perform, along with achievements for performing certain actions in games, which all go towards unlocking more cosmetic items for your character.

Another classic game is bowling, and you can play a match or a 100-pin game. Standard matches can be normal or ‘special’, with tricky obstacles and a moving floor.

It retains that classic feel and is a firm fan-favourite. It’s an absolute thrill chaining a number of strikes or managing to topple all 100 pins in one go.

Archery is back, too, and there’s a standard rule set alongside a ‘special rules’ mode that unlocks the more you play. Different locations have different wind speeds to take into accounts across plaza, beach, plains and mountains.

Special rules sees you aim for your own area on a board divided into four sections among each of the four players – you get more points the closer you get to the centre as always but if you hit an opponent’s section, they get points instead of you. The size of each section of board across the three rounds depends on where you are in the rankings, too. This was incredibly fun and is a highlight of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort – especially when playing against other people.

Boxing features standard 1v1 gameplay, with players having to jab, guard and lean to beat their opponents across three rounds. The aim is to knock out your opponent but it seems as though players have three lives before being knocked out.

Stamina needs to be considered – if you go all guns blazing, your punches will not be as effective. It gives a little something else to think about but I do feel there could be a little more to this, as punches are quite straightforward. You don’t have to uppercut for example, you just have to punch in the direction you want to hit, without performing any detailed moves.

In volleyball, players can play 2v2 matches or ‘bump to the beat’ – a rhythm game where you get more points for the timing of bumping a ball out of a dispenser that shoots at you while music plays.

During matches, players pass, set then jump and hit with better timings meaning better results, making your shots more difficult to return. Players can block in defence too and move side-to-side, using the stick controls. It’s good but matches can be quite slow if actions are not timed that well. There can be loops of waiting for players to pull off the perfect actions.

Table tennis, on the other hand, is far more frantic and, in my opinion, fun. There are 1v1 matches and a return challenge mode in which you have to aim for cans while returning serves.

The 1v1 matches have that classic feel while feeling responsive, which is key in a sport as quick as this. This has always been one of my favourites and that is still the case with Nintendo Switch Sports Resort.

Basketball is a bit of a letdown, however. It’s one of my favourite sports yet in Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, it’s not represented that well.

Players can play matches, three point challenge, three point contest and five streak battle. In matches, you play either attack or defence and there is no transitional play.

When defending, you track runners, steal the ball by hitting it away, block shots and steal passes. When attacking, you drive to the hoop, shoot or pass.

While basketball itself is incredibly fast and fluid, this mode by comparison feels a bit stop-start and lacks that cutting edge.

Three point challenge is where you can practice and get a streak going. Three point contest is where between two and four players battle it out, while five streak battle is where players can battle to see who can get five hoops in a row.

In golf, there are 27 different holes to play, with gamers being able to choose from three, nine or 18 holes. Resort, classic and special courses are available across beginner, advanced or expert difficulties.

These are similar to previous golf games in which players swing the Joy-Con with the speed and distance determined by how quickly the controller is swung and if any curve is detected. Different clubs can be selected for different ranges and lines can be adjusted with the joystick, too.

Different terrains, such as fairways, roughs and bunkers, don’t feel massively distinctive except for how the ball runs through them. It feels as easy taking a shot from the bunker as it does the fairway.

Then there’s the new minigame ‘thumb war’, which is silly yet superb. You move your hand with the controller then press a shoulder button to put your thumb down, with the aim to try and pin your opponent.

However, if you put your thumb down without getting pinned for a period of time, it grows and becomes more powerful, making pinning your opponent easier. High risk, high reward.

If pinned, players can shake their controller to get free. I’ll be honest, I thought this might feel like a bit of a gimmick but it is actually one of the most fun minigames available.

Now for the casual games, starting with prop plane, which sees you control a plane with a Joy-Con. There’s a sightseeing tour where players have to soar around Wuhu Island, finding as many photo opportunities and completing as many missions within a certain time limit.

As you progress, new starting spots unlock, making accessing new photo opportunities and missions a lot easier. This is where some of the presentation is lacking, as Wuhu Island doesn’t look massively detailed.

For those who have played classic Spyro games, this feels very much like a speedway but with motion controls.

If you crash, you respawn with little penalty. It’s okay but it just feels as though it takes too long between some instances of finding anything interesting. There’s also ‘ball battle’, in which you have to steal balls from your opponents; and ‘free play’, in which Wuhu Island can be explored freely.

Both skateboarding and power cruising have sightseeing tour and free play options, too. Power cruising falls into the same trap as prop plane but skateboarding is a lot more fun.

That’s because in skateboarding, the mouse controls are used and you can skate from place to place while performing jumps and tricks however you want. It just feels more engaging because of the things you can do between reaching certain objectives. This is something that is lacking in prop plane and power cruising. Skateboarding also has ‘skate sprint’, where you have to navigate a course as quickly as possible.

Power cruising sees you control a jetski using the Joy-Cons as handlebars. It’s fun on paper but, in practice, because tricks and flips can't be performed, it can feel a bit tiresome going from one objective to another with not much to do in between.

On the whole, the majority of minigames feel really fun and engaging, both in solo play or multiplayer modes. The odd game could be stronger but there’s more than enough here to keep players engaged.

‘Nintendo Switch Sports Resort’ key details

Release date: 22 October 2026Publisher: NintendoDeveloper: NintendoAge rating: 7