Nintendo Switch Sports hands-on: Reviving a surefire formula for fun

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It’s hard to believe Taz from Looney Tunes and try to overwhelm your opponent with a flurry of swings which, pro tip, doesn’t really work. The goal is to knock your opponent off the platform into the water below, which can take as little as one or two hits in later rounds. There are even charge and twin sword modes to spice up the action, but I didn’t get to try those out, which is probably a good thing because the standard mode is hectic enough.

Finally, there’s my absolute favorite of the bunch: badminton. It feels twice as fast as tennis, and even though I only played one match, it might have been the most fun workout I’ve had in weeks. Rallies are frenetic, and if you can make your opponent flub their timing, you’ll be rewarded with a soft lob (denoted by a wobbly birdie) that you can smash back with extra aggression. There’s even a command for doing a drop shot, which adds a nice bit of strategy.

For those thinking about becoming Switch Sports pros, there’s an online competitive mode that lets you rank up as you develop your skills. Bowling also gets a special survival mode that pits 16 players against each other simultaneously. And in the fall, Nintendo is going to push out a second free update that brings golf back to the mix.

Honestly, Switch Sports is so engaging my only question is why something like this wasn’t available at the Switch’s launch in 2017. 1-2 Switch was fine, but it often felt more like a tech demo than a collection of party games. And it didn’t really have the replayability or the pickup-and-play appeal Wii Sports provided. But no matter, a proper sequel is gonna be here soon, and from what I’ve played so far, it’s going to be even better than the original.