After the infamous Wii Sports, a free game enjoyable for the whole family, no one dared to step up to the plate. There had been no serious contender to that game in any way — until the Nintendo Switch console released Nintendo Switch Sports. Fans went from content to hatred in a short period of time, as they realized that the game wasn’t that great. Figuring out it was a direct rip-off of Wii Sports with some new features. Putting on a $49.99 price tag and you have what resembles a quick cash grab. Nintendo Switch Sports showed very little improvement, the only good things you can really say was that there was some decent graphics and an online mode.

Nintendo Switch Sports has a total of six game modes in which you play with a friend or online. Chambara, soccer, tennis, bowling, badminton and volleyball are all the modes. Tennis and bowling stood out the most because they were almost the exact same as Wii Sports. The only difference is better graphics and better end screens. The gameplay never changed. Not to mention chambara is a terrible version of swordplay which was a game mode on Wii Sports Resort (An add on to Wii Sports). 

Let’s see what the gameplay is like. When opening the game you are greeted with a fancy intro. It shows how you want to play (online, locally, with a friend). When you choose an option you have a view of a city with each part of the city having a game mode in it. In tennis there are two players on each side. Depending on how many people are playing, AI will fill the roles you and your friends are not playing. Although it is a clear copy of the Wii Sports version, it is still guaranteed fun nevertheless. Chambara is a game mode where you and someone else are on a platform and you try to knock the other off the platform. It is short, sweet and straight to the point. But, it gets very stale the more you play it. It is possible that they disguised the name as chambara which is the Japanese word for sword fighting to hide the similarities to the Wii Sports game mode Swordplay, as they are identical. 

The soccer game mode is a surprisingly bright light out of these game modes. Soccer can be played with two people or four people. It is also possible to play 4v4 online or with AI. Somehow sharing some characteristics of the PS4 video game Rocket League, it is definitely a fun and new game mode. 

Bowling is exactly what it sounds like. You have an aim feature and make the gesture of throwing a bowling ball. This game mode hasn’t really changed since its Wii Sports counterpart. It would be good to play with relatives, but other than that it is pretty lackluster. 

The game mode badminton is very defective. Although it deviates from other games, it’s not in a good way. Badminton is like tennis but one on one in a very small space. While it might be fun at the moment, it carries the same simple hitting mechanics as tennis which leads to its downfall. 

The volleyball game mode is different from the rest of the game modes. While the other game modes were more straightforward, this one was more complex. Volleyball had more steps. It wasn’t a great game mode. Nothing really draws eyes to it. The game mode is pretty boring, plain and simple.

Overall, the game as a whole is very mediocre and bland. It stood no match to its predecessor. Nintendo Switch Sports felt more like a business move for the Nintendo Switch trying to compare itself with the Nintendo Wii. All it did was cause outrage from fans that thought the game was going to be better than the original, when in actuality it paled in comparison to it. The Nintendo Switch Sports game is not worth the $49.99 price tag but if you need a safe game to play with the entire family, this is an okay option.

“Nintendo Switch Sports:” ★★★☆☆