In addition to new events, now you can explore Wuhu Island like never before.

When the original Wii Sports came out, it felt like a thinly-veiled collection of mini games meant to showcase the novel motion controls on Nintendo's latest console. The series evolved into a wholesome family-friendly party game and its upcoming entry — Nintendo Switch Sports Resort — is taking that premise to its biggest venue yet.

If you're like most people (including me), there's a good chance you aren't up to date regarding the lore of Wii Sports, and that's totally okay. The big change with this release is that the game has returned to Wuhu Island, and for the first time in series history, you can actually explore the surrounding area and check out various points of interest.

Now this might seem strange for a franchise that largely revolves around a collection of self-contained challenges and contests, but it underlines an important expansion in the scope of the game. Alongside traditional sporting events including bowling, archery, volleyball, golf and basketball, Nintendo has added sightseeing missions. You can traverse Wuhu Island in three different ways: flying a plane, skateboarding and power cruising (aka jetskiing).

While there aren't real competitive objectives to complete while surveying the island, you can collect things like Spocco Points. These can be used to unlock various cosmetic customizations for your Mii or can find Spocco Photos to enable new starting points for exploration. In some ways, this addition feels a bit odd, as its open-world nature seems like it would feel more at home inside a new action-adventure game.

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