# Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Review: Nintendo Everything Calls Switch 2 Title a Big Upgrade > In its Nintendo Switch Sports Resort review, Nintendo Everything calls the October 22 Switch 2 game a major upgrade with nine sports, though item unlocks draw criticism. - Canonical URL: https://coreiten.com/en/article/nintendo-switch-sports-resort-review-switch-2-upgrade - Language: en - Section: Nintendo - Author: Sami - Published: 2026-10-24T02:02:40+03:00 - Modified: 2026-10-24T02:02:40+03:00 - Publisher: CoreITen (https://coreiten.com) - Keywords: Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, Switch 2, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch Sports, Joy-Con 2, Wuhu Island, Wii Sports Resort ## Summary Nintendo Everything's review calls Nintendo Switch Sports Resort for the Switch 2 a massive upgrade over the original game, featuring nine main sports and a return to Wuhu Island. - The new lineup features nine main sports including tennis, bowling, archery, boxing, volleyball, table tennis, basketball, golf, and thumb wrestling. - Nintendo Everything highlights thumb wrestling as a personal favorite where players use the Joy-Con 2 to aim for a knockout against an opponent. - Addressing past criticism, the title adds robust single-player content like a ranking ladder, achievements, collectibles, missions, and the Island Crown mode. - Wuhu Island exploration features three vehicles with a five-minute timer by default or a Free Play option, including the prop plane, skateboarding, and power cruising. - Nintendo Everything identifies the randomization grind as the game's biggest flaw, requiring two to four hours per collection using 1,000 Spocco Points per pull. **Why it matters:** This review highlights how Nintendo addressed major criticisms of the original game's shallow launch while introducing controversial grinding mechanics on the Switch 2. --- Published on October 22, 2026 and developed by Nintendo for the Switch 2, *Nintendo Switch Sports Resort* receives high praise in a new *Nintendo Switch Sports Resort* review from Nintendo Everything. The outlet calls the game a huge upgrade and a virtual replacement for the original *Nintendo Switch Sports*, noting that Nintendo appears to have addressed earlier criticism about shallow launches and drip-fed free updates that followed a similar launch with fuller base content in *Mario Tennis Fever* earlier in 2026. While the original Switch entry lacked single-player modes and felt incomplete even after a free update added golf, the reviewer describes the Switch 2 follow-up as “simple and fun,” light to play, and accessible to any type of gamer. ### Nine Main Sports and Standout Activities *Nintendo Switch Sports Resort* features nine main sports, all playable online: - Tennis - Bowling - Archery (new compared to the previous entry) - Boxing (new compared to the previous entry) - Volleyball - Table tennis (new compared to the previous entry) - Basketball - Golf - Thumb wrestling (new compared to the previous entry) As of the review's publication on October 23, chambara, badminton, and soccer from the previous game have not returned. Despite the odd inclusion of both tennis and table tennis, Nintendo Everything finds the lineup varied. The reviewer names thumb wrestling - previously featured heavily during a Nintendo Direct reveal - as a personal favorite for its silly, Nintendo-style fun. Players hold the Joy-Con 2 vertically and sideways like a thumb; pressing down increases the thumb's size and power to aim for a round-winning knockout against a smaller opponent, though it leaves the player open to being pinned. Bowling, archery, and golf are also highlighted, especially in online survival matches where low scorers are eliminated. Bowling includes a 100-pin mode alongside the returning special lane option with obstacles in front of the pins, golf offers numerous holes to putt on, and archery requires focus to hit bull's-eyes using one Joy-Con 2 to aim and the other to pull back and shoot. On the downside, the reviewer was less fond of boxing and returning sport basketball. Boxing's controls felt somewhat finicky when tilting the Joy-Con 2 left and right, while basketball matches - particularly online - can drag on and lead to stalemates. ### Single-Player Additions and Wuhu Island Addressing the original game's lack of solo play, *Nintendo Switch Sports Resort* adds a ranking ladder, achievements, collectibles, missions, and the Island Crown mode. Island Crown challenges solo players to defeat a gauntlet of 20 increasingly tough CPU opponents, which the reviewer notes is not overly substantial but offers late-stage challenge and marks a major improvement over having no solo content. For Nintendo Everything's writer, who fondly recalls playing *Pilotwings Resort* as a child, the centerpiece is the Leisure Sports set on a returning Wuhu Island from *Wii Sports Resort*, now expanded with new buildings and areas. By default, exploring in any of the three vehicles uses a five-minute timer, though a Free Play option removes the time limit: - **Prop Plane:** Rated by the reviewer as the strongest of the three for its simple controls, pleasant audio and music, and wide exploration range over, under, and around obstacles. Players can pop tracked collectible white balloons and collect Spocco Photos detailing points of interest - including one odd lore note calling “Wuhu” a “god of ruin and rebirth.” - **Skateboarding:** Lets players explore on foot using the new mouse controls, which the reviewer found unique and impressive after a brief adjustment. It showcases landmarks such as the actual bowling alley and table tennis court used in the main sports, tracks its own separate list of Spocco Photos, and includes a high-speed course racing side mode with multiplayer support. - **Power Cruising:** Called the weakest leisure sport by the reviewer because it is restricted to water, though it uses creative controls where two Joy-Con 2 controllers act as jet ski handlebars that can be revved for a turbo boost. ### Miis, Customization Grind, and Multiplayer Limits While Sportsmates return with more customization options, Miis play a more prominent role than in the original Switch game - a shift the reviewer suggests may follow the popularity of *Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream*. A day one update even allows players to make only Miis visible around Wuhu Island, effectively turning off Sportsmates. However, Nintendo Everything identifies customization as the game's biggest flaw. Players earn Spocco Points in matches and spend 1,000 points at the Item Center for a random pull from an item collection, with no way to buy a specific cosmetic directly. According to Nintendo, the game releases two new weekly item collections plus a monthly collection, and the reviewer notes that completing a single collection takes two to four hours (closer to two hours when finishing online matches quickly) - more than doubling the weekly grind compared to the original game, in which the author spent over 100 hours collecting every item. Although *Resort* includes more default customization items than its predecessor, Spocco Points and unlocks are tied to each individual user profile on the Switch 2 console. The reviewer criticizes this setup because visiting friends and family who only play once or twice a month are locked out of most cosmetics unless they grind matches themselves. In addition, local co-op is restricted to docked mode; handheld and tabletop play are blocked, which the reviewer notes makes some sense to keep players in close proximity from hitting each other with Joy-Con controllers, even if it prevents quick portable sessions using the console's two attached controllers. The review also points out the absence of GameShare support as a slight missed opportunity. ### Final Verdict Aside from the frustrating weekly and monthly item unlock system and the absence of chambara, soccer, and badminton, Nintendo Everything concludes that *Nintendo Switch Sports Resort* is a great sports game and a massive improvement over its predecessor. With Wuhu Island's charm, online play across all nine sports, and dedicated single-player modes, the reviewer recommends it both for solo players and for groups of friends and family. ## Sources - [nintendoeverything.com](https://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-switch-sports-review-for-nintendo-switch-2/) ## Related topics - [Switch 2](https://coreiten.com/en/topic/switch-2)