I was recently invited to Nintendo’s Australian HQ to play a few hours of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort ahead of its October 22nd release date on the Nintendo Switch 2. While I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect other than more sports, there were a couple of additions here that made me think Nintendo may have genuinely course-corrected after the aggressively okay previous entry.
For some context, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is a sequel to 2022’s Nintendo Switch Sports, but also something of a successor to 2009’s Wii Sports Resort. Players are back on Wuhu Island, the setting of Wii Sports Resort, and this time around you’re able to freely explore it in some new ways.
Both Prop Plane and Power Cruising have existed in some form prior, but free-roaming Wuhu Island now goes beyond just taking to its skies. There are three distinct Sightseeing Tour options, with flying a plane and riding a jet ski both using updated versions of their respective motion controls as you explore and look for hidden collectibles and tidbits of island lore. It’s a sizeable map to explore, so I can imagine myself spending a fair chunk of time here on discovering every last secret – and yes, you can still fly into the big volcano.
Skateboarding is the all-new addition among the Sightseeing Tour modes, as far as the actual mode of transport goes. This one makes use of the Joy-Con 2’s mouse mode controls, as you drag the controller along your chosen surface to simulate pushing with your foot, and then lift and/or twist it to perform jumps and tricks. Wuhu Island’s terrain has been laid out to prove especially fun on a skateboard, with tons of things to grind on, jump off of or otherwise navigate on four wheels. It completes the land, sea, air package as far as touring Wuhu goes, and I reckon it’ll be one of the hits in the package.
Archery was a favourite of mine in Wii Sports Resort, so I was stoked to try it out on the Switch 2. The basic actions are similar to before, albeit a lot more responsive with a pair of Joy-Con 2 controllers in hand, but importantly we were given the opportunity to play it in a new simultaneous competitive form, which has up to four players all shooting the same target at the same time. This works by giving everyone their own quadrant of the target to aim for, and accidentally landing an arrow in an opponent’s section earns them points, which made for some very entertaining losses on my part. Secret targets return, too, though I didn’t happen upon any while I was playing.
Table Tennis was perhaps the least exciting out of what was on offer in our preview, mostly because we’ve done Tennis and various forms of it so many times at this point. The improved HD Rumble does do a good job of selling your shots and making everything feel more accurate, though. Same goes for Bowling – we specifically rocked the always-fantastic 100-Pin Bowling mode, which I proved to be… a little rusty at, but had a ton of fun with nonetheless. Very happy to see this come back as its own side mode.
Boxing is a sport that, while also returning, was showcased to us in a slightly different way as we dove into the new Island Crown mode. This is something of an option for solo players who want a campaign-ish experience, asking you to rise through the ranks of the nine “traditional” sports on the road to defeating the champions in each. I don’t know how many folks are hungry for a single-player Switch Sports experience but as an option for getting practice in against increasingly tough CPU opponents, like the notorious Matt, it’s cool to see.
Of all of the sports that I was able to sample, though, the surprise standout was absolutely Thumb Wrestling. A brand-new addition for this game, you’d be forgiven for writing this one off as a bit of a gimmick, but once you get your hands… er, thumbs, on it the realisation sets in that this is the premiere activity in Nintendo Switch Sports Resort.
Like all good martial arts, Thumb Wrestling is about the mind games. The goal is, of course, to pin down an opponent’s opposable digit with your own, holding it there long enough to be declared victor. To counter their ability to frantically shake their thumb free, you’ll need to either charge up attack power – a risky move as it leaves you wide open – or continually pin your rival to wear them down and make breaking free more difficult. It’s exactly the blend of approachability and hidden depth that marks the best of Nintendo’s sporting efforts, plus the oversized hands and goofy physicality make for a silly time. And isn’t that the point?
There are still a handful of sports I wasn’t able to try out this time around, like Tennis, Volleyball, Golf and Basketball, but at this point it should be pretty safe to assume they’ll all feel familiar at worst, moderately more responsive and visually impressive at best. The beefier list of sports, free-roam options and the single player campaign-like Island Crown mode all show a lot of promise, and hopefully will go down well with anyone who didn’t vibe with Nintendo Switch Sports.
Personally, Thumb Wrestling and Skateboarding should prove worthy of the price of entry alone when Nintendo Switch Sports Resort launches on October 22, 2026, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2.
Previewed at an event hosted by Nintendo. Visual assets provided by Nintendo.
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Born into the world of video games through SEGA, and in particular Sonic the Hedgehog, Kieron’s gaming tastes now consist of the latest, shiny AAA thing, an indie darling or two, and an embarrassing number of hours of Balatro.