Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is shaping up to be a significant step forward from 2022’s Nintendo Switch Sports, combining competitive activities with exploration, collectibles and expanded single-player content on Wuhu Island. Nintendo is also bundling the game with Switch 2 systems during the holiday season, potentially giving the new title a broad audience from launch.
After spending more than an hour with the game, the experience suggests Nintendo has moved beyond simply offering another collection of motion-controlled sports. Wuhu Island functions as a destination players can explore, compete in and enjoy at their own pace.
Wuhu Island Becomes More Than a Sports Menu
One of the biggest differences is the return of Wuhu Island as an explorable setting.
Nintendo Switch Sports used Spocco Square primarily as a hub for choosing activities. In Sports Resort, Wuhu Island plays a much larger role, connecting competition with sightseeing and casual exploration.
Power Cruising demonstrates that approach particularly well. Players can race across the water, navigate obstacles and launch over waves, but the activity also offers a sightseeing experience.
During timed exploration, players can search for landmarks and collectibles while completing objectives around the island. One encounter involves following a pink dolphin to earn a collectible, while another requires using a large wave to reach an otherwise inaccessible item.
Afterward, players can see the route they traveled across Wuhu Island, providing a visual record of where co-op partners explored together.
Certain activities, including Power Cruising, also offer free-play options where players can explore without a timer, although collectibles and achievements cannot be unlocked in that mode.
Exploration Extends Across Land, Sea and Air
Skateboarding Introduces Joy-Con 2 Controls
Skateboarding provides another way to navigate Wuhu Island while making use of the Joy-Con 2 controller’s mouse functionality.
Players move the controller backward to simulate pushing against the ground, lean to steer and flick the controller upward to jump. Spins and other aerial tricks can also be performed through motion controls.
The island itself encourages experimentation, with rails, waterways and recognizable locations such as the Maka Wuhu volcano providing destinations to investigate.
Prop Plane offers a completely different perspective.
Flying around Wuhu Island reveals landmarks to photograph, balloons to pop and collectibles hidden throughout the environment. The island has also changed since earlier appearances, with additions including a new resort hotel near the golf course and smaller islands surrounding the main landmass.
These features make exploration an important part of the experience rather than simply scenery surrounding individual sports.
Classic Nintendo Sports Return With New Twists
Competition remains central to Nintendo Switch Sports Resort.
Bowling largely preserves the familiar formula established by Wii Sports, while Archery introduces competitive variations designed to keep matches unpredictable.
In one Archery mode, each player receives a designated quarter of the target. Aiming for the center becomes risky because an inaccurate shot could land in another player’s section and award points to an opponent.
Targets can also rotate, while the size of each player’s scoring area may change to disadvantage the leader and create opportunities for late comebacks.
Thumb Wrestling is another addition that appears particularly suited to local multiplayer, relying on simple mechanics and direct competition between players.
The 12-Sport Lineup Leaves Some Favorites Behind
Not every part of the sports selection is equally compelling.
Table Tennis joins Tennis and Volleyball, meaning three of the game’s 12 activities revolve around net-based competition. That leaves less room for returning favorites that could have taken greater advantage of Wuhu Island.
Swordplay, which was memorable for battles across the island in Wii Sports Resort, is absent. Baseball and Frisbee are also missing despite their potential fit within the game’s broader recreational theme.
Boxing, however, makes its return and highlights Nintendo’s expanded focus on offline play.
Players can face increasingly difficult CPU opponents and climb the rankings toward becoming champion of a particular sport. This miniature campaign structure gives solo players clearer progression goals than Nintendo Switch Sports offered at launch.
A More Complete Sports Resort Experience
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort appears to address several of its predecessor’s biggest limitations by combining familiar motion-controlled competition with meaningful exploration, progression and offline content.
The sports roster may leave some longtime fans wishing for favorites such as Swordplay or Baseball, but Wuhu Island’s expanded role gives the overall package a stronger identity.
With activities spanning land, sea and air, local multiplayer options and more reasons to play alone, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is shaping up to be more than a simple follow-up. It could become the fuller realization of the Switch Sports concept that players have been waiting for.
Charles Dickens is a contributor to Highlands Today, covering news, politics, business, technology, sport, entertainment, and lifestyle. He focuses on clear, accurate reporting and useful information that helps readers stay informed about current affairs and developments affecting their communities. His work highlights relevant stories, emerging trends, and important issues, presenting them in a balanced, accessible, and reader-friendly manner.
