Noah Parker – Google

I’d like to preface this by saying I don’t tend to hold onto things because of their nostalgic value. I love my old games, but if a newer version does it better, I’ll probably never play the old one again. That’s not the case with this game. It’s a decent addition to the Switch console, but it doesn’t quite capture the charm of the original Wii Sports or Resort. I have a copy of the original Wii Sports handy, as well as Wii Sports Resort. After playing through them a bit to prep myself for this new release, I found a lot of the mechanics in this game to be less satisfying. Something feels…missing? With that, it also has a LOT less content than Resort, which I have trouble forgiving given the Switch has been out for 5 years now. (Ping pong, anybody?) On it’s own, it’s a decent game. If I was a kid and never played the originals, this would be a lot more fun. The graphics, setting and gameplay are at least compelling in their own right. However, it feels more like a third party knock-off when compared to its predecessors. I can’t help but feel it will age poorly in comparison, especially given how badly the Wii U iteration aged. If this had been around when I was 12, I don’t think I’d come to remember it in high regard the way I do with Resort. Also, whoever’s decision it was to make these new characters the default over the Miis should be…moved to a new department. I was very taken back by the lack of character customization options, and the new characters feel like a corporate ad campaign. All in all, I give it a 5/10.