👏 Nintendo Switch Sports Resort has achieved a Metacritic score of 79
👍 It’s garnered generally positive reviews, with only 15% mixed and 0% negative
🤷♂️ Confusingly, the game is exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2, despite the name
📆 The game is out on October 22, 2026
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort brings back the motion-controlled fun that put the Wii on the map, and taps into the enhanced capabilities of the Switch 2 Joy-Con 2 controllers. With plenty of new sports to enjoy and more polish than before, the reviews of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort are positive overall.
The game is currently sitting at a Metacritic score of 79 after 44 critic reviews. That’s an impressive improvement over the 72 score Nintendo Switch Sports achieved back in 2022.
Here’s what critics made of Nintendo’s latest Switch 2 exclusive, which is out on October 22.
Nintendo Life gave Nintendo Switch Sports Resort 9/10 and claimed it’s the Nintendo Sports series “at its best”:
“After the stumbling start of its predecessor, it's nice to see the series back on track in Nintendo Switch Sports Resort. While some of the 12 different sports might feel a little too safe, most of the classics feel better than they've ever been, and the newbies surprise and delight with some classic Nintendo intuition. Revamped customisation options and a surprising amount of single-player content both feel like open goals, but they also provide a great excuse to keep playing, even once the party is over. This just might be the Nintendo Sports series at its best.”
GameSpot also gave Nintendo Switch Sports Resort a 9/10 in its review, saying:
“As someone who played the original Wii Sports when it first released, and was awed by the rudimentary real-life movements being mimicked on screen, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort allowed me to feel that all over again as an adult. And it’s a feeling best felt surrounded by friends. Whether you’re a jaded 36-year-old man with no children (like me), a parent, a grandparent, or a kid, it’s hard to imagine even the most calloused-hearted person not having fun with the game. Get your family together, get your friends, heck–invite your neighbors over, break out the party essentials, and have fun.”
VGC thought Nintendo Switch Sports Resort was worthy of an 8/10, calling it “the finest iteration of the series to date”:
“As the 20th anniversary of Wii Sports approaches, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort delivers the fifth and finest iteration of the series to date. The 12 sports provide a good variety, and while some of them continue to have the same (deliberate) control quirks that have remained for two decades now, the overall package is rammed with content regardless of whether you enjoy local or online multiplayer, or prefer to play alone.”
Game Informer also enjoyed Nintendo’s latest Switch 2 entry, giving the game 8/10:
“Nintendo Switch Sports Resort delivers a capable compilation of quick-hit sports minigames that can be easily enjoyed regardless of how many people are holding Joy-Cons. Though I certainly have my destination sports, there’s not a loser in the bunch. Island Crown mode does a great job expanding the single-player options, but this package’s legs are in its multiplayer experience. And since Switch Sports Resort is chock-full of easily approachable minigames, I can see it becoming a cherished inclusion in the rotation of party mainstays.”
IGN gave Nintendo Switch Sports Resort 7/10 in its review:
“While the quality of its sports varies drastically, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is a fun and playful collection overall that shines as the party game it’s meant to be.”
The Radio Times was one of the more critical outlets, giving the game 6/10:
“Don’t get me wrong. The sports on offer here run well, they’re absolutely fine, and people will have fun playing each other in this game. This is why I can’t go any lower than three stars here, although my tone might say otherwise. Nintendo set out to make another sports game, and that’s exactly what the developers did... I just wish they could’ve done more.”
It sounds like that even though not every sport is a winner, the overall package is interesting enough to entertain the majority of players, especially those who enjoyed Wii Sports all those years ago or simply wanted more from Nintendo Switch Sports.
Up next: Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Switch 2: how to actually get one
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. He also runs a retro gaming YouTube channel called Game on, boy! Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.