Pack my bags and book me a one-way ticket to Wuhu Island. After its announcement in June, I was mildly excited for Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, mostly because of the prospect of returning to Nintendo’s vacation paradise after more than a decade since my last visit in Pilotwings Resort on 3DS launch day. After my first hands-on at San Diego Comic Con, I walked away filled with fuzzy nostalgia, but questioning how much a motion controlled sports party game could grab my attention in 2026, a full 20 years after the original Wii Sports had its TV-smashing moment. But after playing another hour plus and seeing how much fun I had in multiplayer, and how much there is to do in single player, it’s vaulted up to be one of my most anticipated games for the rest of the year. What’s happening here?

One key demographic for the Switch Sports series that I don’t fall into is the casual Nintendo gamer: someone who has Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Party, the original Nintendo Switch Sports, maybe a Jackbox Party Pack or two, and not much else. You know, someone who has never had to click the “Show More” icon on their Switch because they don’t have enough games to fill the initial row. To be clear, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that type of player: many of my friends have Switch home screens that look exactly like that. Nintendo is bundling Nintendo Switch Sports Resort with the Switch 2 this holiday season, and in terms of getting that audience to upgrade, I think it’s a really smart move.

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