Remember bowling in your living room? More than fifteen years ago, Wii Sports was an instant hit thanks to its unique twist on playing video games.
Now, a version of the game is back for the Switch.
Nintendo Switch Sports lets you play bowling, tennis, soccer, volleyball, badminton, and sword fighting.
Hard to believe it’s been some 15 years since the original.
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“At the time, normal console video games had a controller with 2 joysticks and a d-pad and ton of buttons and something that was really simple invited everybody into video games,” explained Christopher Plante, editor in chief of the gaming site Polygon.
“I think Switch Sports is going to be a hit,” said Plante.
The game takes advantage of the unique, detachable motion sensitive controllers on the Switch, called Joy-Con.
They translate real world movements into onscreen play.
This version is slicker than the original, with more customizable characters and regular updates.
“It’s just still very fun to pretend to bowl in your living room,” added Plante.
For the first time, you can play online, so you can compete with friends, family members or just complete strangers.
“When you play online you unlock new features, or costumes or accessories, you can get a new hat or a new face mask which is a very 2022 thing,” said Plante.
There are six sports in all, including fan favorite Bowling, along with Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball, Badminton and Chambara, or sword play.
I tried them all – Bowling is still my favorite, followed by Tennis and Badminton. Chambara and Volleyball are the trickiest to get the hang of.
They all get you to smile, move and off the couch and the experience is instant fun for the entire family with almost zero learning curve. Just don’t throw your controller into the TV.
“Especially since these Joy Cons don’t have the wristband already on it, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few people destroy some really nice TVs in the coming months,” concluded Plante.
Just be sure to attach the included safety wristband before you start playing.
Switch Sports is available now for $40 for the digital download which you can access through the Nintendo eShop. $50 gets you a boxed version, which includes a leg strap for better Soccer play.
Nintendo says Golf will be added in a free update this fall.
