Nintendo Switch Sports (100th Post Special)

 

(Image Source: Gamestop)

Less than a week ago we were given a new entry in the Wii Sports line of games, and many people, me included, have been playing this over the weekend. So does this stack up to the original pack in title, or the amazing island set sequel? There was also the Wii U one but I never played that so I am going purely off of as someone who played Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort a ton growing up. It's time to stand a safe distance from the T.V, grab our controls, and flail our arms to victory in Nintendo Switch Sports.

This game gives you six sports to play, Chambara which is a foam sword-based duel, Volleyball, Soccer for us who live stateside, Badminton, Tennis, and the MVP of the package, Bowling. Bowling was my favorite back then, and it still is now, oh my goodness bowling is still incredible. There are only two ways to play as this game is all motion controls with minimal button inputs, aside from that there are no button controls so handled mode is not an option, so either tabletop or with the Switch docked and plugged into the T.V. I did both and tabletop works, but the best way to play this game is on a T.V. Table top mode is functional but a tad clunky and doesn't lead to as full of an experience when playing the sports.

When you open the game, you can use a Mii or make an original character, I decided to make a character and I think they look fine, it takes some getting used to for fans of the past titles but they work. You then have to pick online, local or play with friends, and this is where one of the first problems lies. If you pick local you can fight the computers and do some fun special modes as well as with friends, special bowling being a standout. But that is only for local and friend play and there are no achievements or awards for doing so, there is not really a single player experience at all which is a huge step back from even Wii Sports. Both Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort had plenty of content for single and multiplayer, Resort even having achievements and single player exclusive modes.

The game plays great but that leads to yet another setback and that is that some of the sports feel the same. Three of them are very similar in nature and are fun but lose a bit of enjoyment when played paired with each other. The games are all fun to play and control well, the joycons are very responsive, bowling has never felt better, but they play well for the other sports as well. I did not play with friends, played a few matches against the CPU's but spent most of my time online, and a few solo matches of Special Bowling, or  which involves obstacles blocking the pins that you have to work around. When I played online, the connection worked well nine out of ten times but there were a few times that I was disconnected. When in the matches they ran super well, with this and Mario Party Superstars, I am hoping this is a sign towards better connection for Nintendo games online.

Each sport was fun to play, and I played enough to the point of my arms being sore and the game telling me to take a break. Soccer plays like Rocket League, Volleyball, Tennis, and Badminton all play similar, but they are all fine and have some slight differences. Of the three Badminton was my favorite. Chambara is a duel mode with a few different sword options and is very fun to play, and Bowling is handled like a battle royale, lowering the number of players as the match goes. Each one controls very well, and no sport lasts terribly long, leading to tons of matches or multiple matches of different sports. The online works well, and you will need to play online because the local mode with computers does not level you up or net you the perks. 

When you play a sport when the match ends you will get EXP for a number of things, leading to leveling up and unlocking cosmetics which are timed. When you level up you will get a random cosmetic, which is set to a day counter to encourage multiple play visits, and eventually unlock elite versions of the sport, AKA ranked matches, which can be turned off and on which was a nice feature. And that was about it, the sports, a few solo options, but a game that encouraged mostly online play to unlock things. There were a few fun modes to be played solo or with friends, and the online works well, but this is kind of bare in terms of content.

The game looks good, and though there are not a ton of music tracks they all are great. The menu music is super catchy, and I can not wait to listen to remixes and to this track over and over again. The presentation is good and the graphics pop, even the menus stand out! There is a ton of good in this game but at launch it feels incomplete, with Golf confirmed to come soon it makes me hope that more modes, more sports, and some single player content gets added down the line. At the moment this game is fun in short bursts and has some charm, but falls a tad short in some areas.

As this game is so new, I won't give my final thoughts just yet but rather revisit it later, with hopefully more to talk about. There is a lot of good in this game, and it is fun with friends, and the bowling alone will be bringing me back time and time again, as well as Chambara and Badminton, those are my top three and are fantastic.. Consider this a part one of two, with more in the future as we wait to see what else gets added. These are my current thoughts, but like first impressions they are subject to change, so for now I am going to share what I liked and didn't like to close this out.

Liked:

The Presentation

The Control

The Music

The Gameplay

Overall A Fun Time With Friends Or Online

Did Not Like

Lack Of Single Player Content

The Encouragement Of Online Only Play

Too Many Sports Felt Too Similar

Lack Of Some Series Staples