The second half of the Nintendo Switch life cycle starts with the sequel to Wii Sports: we have fleshed it out for you in our preview
The Kyoto giant was once again confirmed as King of the Unexpected when, contrary to the expectations of almost anyone, it announced Nintendo Switch Sports only at the start of the “second term” of the hybrid console: now that the superfine albeit simple sports simulator winds its way towards the shops, the time has come to dedicate a preview. On the occasion of the reopening of his sports club, we had the opportunity to carry out a road test. So we armed ourselves with elbow grease (from the tennis player) to see the improvements to the formula.
As a winning team does not change, we can say one thing right away. In some ways it is a compromise, but this time we say it in the best possible meaning of the term. On the one hand, in fact, the hand is still stretched towards casuals: the creation of an avatar now contemplates the genesis of a pseudo-Mii exclusive to the game, ideal for those who want the console only as their own personal gym. On the other hand, however, we have the ambitious verve of a game standalone as the good soul of Satoru Iwata would have liked. And in this case, all the cards in order to ask for forty seem to be there. Or rather, there are.
Sometimes (and whirls) they come back
The first impression with which to open our preview, straight away, is that Nintendo Switch Sports is playing on strengths of its predecessors. This game design choice is already evident in what we have just said so far, but to be more specific we would like to reverse the conventions of any review. For this we anticipate our usual technical scrutiny (to make it a preamble). Graphically, for the two of you who may care about this, the direction that moved the development of the entire game is clear. Instead of an inordinate exploitation of the potential of the hardware, there is a sense of priority towards a simple, clean and functional style.
The same goes for the sound: instead of an English-speaking chronicler, we now have celebrations in our local language also by the participants. In its perhaps generic management, the dubbing wants to be of impact in the moments where it can contribute to the immersion, and we have found that the development team has avoided the annoying ritual overlaps with wisdom. Similarly, the soundtrack has been able to leverage nostalgia with some rearrangement of the original melodies (it is still the Big N), but never “so much for”. In short, knowing where to act is important, and the game has proven to be able to our senses even before serving the first ball.
Volleyball and Badminton – Nintendo Switch Sports Preview
Avoiding following a particular order, let’s get to the heart of the Nintendo Switch Sports preview. There volleyball it has proved to be one of the most difficult sports, which is understandable considering that it is with the new disciplines that the development team wanted to experiment. The moves available to our reference character (so that the teammate, except co-op, is moved by the CPU) are many, and the necessary movements are equally diversified. Timing is essential, and in this sense the experience (at the first start) does not take long to rise to the Olympus of the most punitive.
Moving on to a sport that has seen us less awkward, the badminton (or volàno, as you wish) proved to be one of two revelations in our first look at the game. If you are at all familiar with what sets badminton apart from tennis, then you might expect its videogame transposition of the former to be the antithesis of the latter. And you are right. Despite having different controls, badminton immediately proves to be intuitive and rewarding, making the improvements made to the gameplay immediately evident. We are talking about two parallel evolutions: one in the game itself, and the other in the actual motion controls.
Bowling and Soccer – Nintendo Switch Sports Preview
Now let’s move on to the first big return from Wii Sports. The bowling is the prime example of the game design idea that acts as the backbone for the whole game: working on existing strengths. The basic simplicity, except for some minor differences (never abandon the back button!), Has remained unchanged compared to what has already been seen and appreciated previously. In short, it is still possible to change the angle and move sideways, but to the delight of the most hasty (and, let’s face it, we all have been a bit …) local multiplayer allows (also) to play simultaneously without alternating. Hurray!
The soccerinstead, it succeeds in the (easy) feat of entertaining more than the football simulators of Konami and EA and its real-life counterpart. Although drawing inspiration from Rocket League in its proportions, Nintendo’s traditional football (it was a must to specify it) implements a simplified and accessible variant of the actual game, leaving the bulk of the work to the arms (two Joy-Con each). Penalty mode will allow you to use your legs thanks to the special lanyard (included with the physical version of the game) of Ring Fit Adventure, but the update coming in a few months will extend compatibility to the entire sport.
Chanbara e tennis – Anteprima Nintendo Switch Sports
We have encompassed the yin and yang of the immediacy of the game in the last two disciplines. The chanbara (aka chambara, we checked) comes back from Wii Sports Resort with a load of news. There are now three types of sword to try your hand at, from the normal single to the one with a special attack, finally passing through the two swords (excellent for improvising new Roxas and for using two Joy-Con each). Predictably, given the complexity of fencing in all its forms, there are many actions to learn, and resorting to triggers to be on guard is not enough: there is also a rock-paper-scissors system to take into account, like Smash’s shields and holds.
But let’s go to the last sport, the only one capable of putting Nintendo’s white monolith on the lips of non-gamers of all ages: the tennis. Here, too, as in bowling, the winning team does not change: the controls and, in general, the “feel” of the gameplay has remained the same as always. However, diametrically opposed to Wii Sports, we are now dealing with motion controls that are as precise and reliable as ever. Anyone who enjoyed serving an ace in 2006 enough to do so for years to come will find the source of their next years of (sweaty) fun here as well. Seriously!
Our impressions
How could we conclude our preview for Nintendo Switch Sports? Now that the hybrid of wonders has turned out to be at the halfway point rather than the terminus, we are convinced that (even without unfair comparisons with the Wii bundle much desired by Reggie Fils-Aimé) this is the “launch game” that 1 -2 Switch could only have dreamed of being. Spocco Square has already aroused more “wuhu” from us than the island of the same name did in previous Sports. And things, with the arrival of summer, will only improve further, as the most attentive of you will already know.
After a field test to test the online functionality (prerequisite to increase the number of players with some sports, if we really can indulge in fussiness), we remind you that later in 2022 a full-bodied update. In addition to expanding some features (we have in fact only hinted at the variants of each sport; it is not just bowling, football and chanbara that give us freedom of choice), with the new version the golf by Wii Sports. For now, we can only speak highly of the game, hoping to evaluate it at its best with a thorough review when it is with us (April 29).
Now it’s up to you to tell us yours: what do you think of the title so far? Let us know below, and as always don’t forget to stay on TechGameWorld.com for all the most important news for gamers and more. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.