Nearly two decades after Wuhu Island first welcomed players into its sunlit bays and volcanic depths, Nintendo returns to that beloved place with Switch Sports Resort — not merely to restore what was, but to deepen it. The sequel arrives as both a technical refinement and an act of creative faith, trusting that the joy of motion-based play, and the quiet pleasure of wandering a fictional world, still has something genuine to offer. In an era of sprawling open worlds and competitive spectacle, there is something quietly radical about a game that asks you to hold a controller like a paper plane
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort revives Wii classic with enhanced motion controls and expanded exploration
The inside of the volcano has been expanded into a larger cave system than before
Mark
So this is a straight remake of the 2009 Wii Sports Resort? What's actually new here?
Mimi
It's more of a reimagining. The core sports are back—Table Tennis, Archery, Bowling—but the motion controls are completely rethought. Instead of just swinging a Joy-Con, you're holding it like a paper plane when you fly, or mimicking a skateboard push with your foot.
Luke
But are those motion controls actually more responsive, or does it just feel different because it's new hardware?
Mimi
The Joy-Con 2 is noticeably faster than the old Wiimote. I could feel the difference immediately in Table Tennis—the timing window felt tighter, more precise.
Mark
What about the exploration modes? That seems like the biggest addition.
Mimi
Three sports are purely exploratory now. You skateboard or jet ski around Wuhu Island collecting photos. The island itself has been expanded with new surrounding islands, and the volcano cave system is bigger than it was in 2009.
Luke
So it's not just nostalgia—there's actually new content to discover?
Mimi
Yes. I spent hours in the original Island Flyover just flying around. Now there's more to see, and the sightseeing modes give you a reason to explore methodically instead of just wandering.
Mark
And Thumb Wrestling is completely new?
Mimi
Completely. It's less about skill and more about reading your opponent. You're waiting for them to expose their thumb so you can grab it. If they catch you, you shake the Joy-Con to break free.
Luke
That sounds like it could get old fast. How much depth is there?
Mimi
It's short and silly, which is kind of the point. It's not trying to be Table Tennis. It's a mind game, and it works for what it is.
Mark
Online multiplayer—is that changing how people will play?
Mimi
Completely. The competitive modes suddenly matter more when you're playing against real people instead than CPUs. I felt genuinely competitive in ways I didn't expect.
Le Pouls
- The Joy-Con 2's faster, more precise motion tracking transforms familiar sports like Table Tennis into something sharper and more satisfying than the original Wiimote ever allowed.
- New modes like Thumb Wrestling abandon technical mastery entirely, turning matches into tense psychological standoffs where reading your opponent matters more than any practiced skill.
- Archery's shrinking scoring zones create a self-correcting tension — the better you play, the harder it gets — keeping matches alive until the final arrow.
- Wuhu Island has grown outward and inward: new surrounding islands give jet ski explorers real destinations, while the volcano's cave system has expanded to reward those who remember diving into it in 2009.
- Online multiplayer raises the stakes, promising that the competitive instincts this game quietly awakens will soon have a much wider arena to play out in.
Nearly two decades after Wuhu Island first welcomed players into its sunlit bays and volcanic depths, Nintendo returns to that beloved place with Switch Sports Resort — not merely to restore what was, but to deepen it. The sequel arrives as both a technical refinement and an act of creative faith, trusting that the joy of motion-based play, and the quiet pleasure of wandering a fictional world, still has something genuine to offer. In an era of sprawling open worlds and competitive spectacle, there is something quietly radical about a game that asks you to hold a controller like a paper plane and simply fly.
Walking into a hands-on session with Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, there was an unexpected pull toward competition — the kind Nintendo has always been good at drawing out. The game revisits sports from the 2009 Wii Sports Resort, and the improvements are felt immediately. Table Tennis retains its satisfying snap, but the Joy-Con 2's faster, more precise motion response makes the whole experience feel sharper than its predecessor.
Among the new additions, Thumb Wrestling stands apart by stripping away technique entirely. Players watch each other, waiting for an exposed thumb to grab — land it and your thumb swells with power, miss and you shake the controller frantically to break free. It's brief and silly, but entirely about reading another person's intentions.
Archery returns with a clever competitive twist: the target is divided into personal scoring zones, and the more points you accumulate, the smaller your zone becomes in the next round. It's a system designed to keep matches alive, and it works — a losing player can still steal a win in the final round.
The most affecting part of the preview, though, was the exploration. Three sports in the game are non-competitive, built around wandering an expanded Wuhu Island. The Skateboarding Sightseeing Tour lets players roam on foot collecting photos; Power Cruising offers a jet ski tour of surrounding seas, now populated with new islands worth discovering. The Prop Plane's Sightseeing Tour remains the highlight — flying straight into the volcano still works, and the cave system inside has grown larger than before.
What ties it all together is how thoughtfully Nintendo designed the motion controls. Mimicking a skateboard push, holding the Joy-Con like a paper plane, gripping the trigger as if pinning a thumb — none of it feels like a gimmick. These are intuitive, charming interactions that carry the series' signature warmth. What began as skepticism about a graphical update ended as genuine conviction: Wuhu Island is worth returning to, and with online multiplayer now included, the competition is only going to intensify.
Walking into a hands-on session with Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, I felt something I don't usually feel: the urge to win. There's something about Nintendo's multiplayer games—Mario Kart, Smash Bros., and now this—that pulls out a competitive instinct I didn't know I was carrying. By the time I left, I'd apologized to at least one person for my intensity.
The game brings back sports from the 2009 Wii Sports Resort, and the improvements are immediate. Table Tennis, which I'd sunk hours into on the original, still delivers that satisfying snap when you smash a ball after your opponent's mistimed swing. The difference is tangible: the Joy-Con 2 motion controls respond faster and more precisely than the old Wiimote ever did. It's the same sport, but sharper.
Among the new additions is Thumb Wrestling, which strips away technical skill in favor of pure psychology. You stare down your opponent, waiting for them to expose their thumb so you can grab it. Land the grab and your thumb swells larger, powering up your next attempt. Get caught and you shake the Joy-Con frantically side to side to break free. It's brief, silly, and entirely about reading your opponent's intentions rather than mastering a technique.
Archery returns with a twist. In the preview session, my opponent and I played under special rules that divided the target into four colored zones—each player could only score in their own section. The catch: the more points you accumulated in a round, the smaller your section became in the next one. I was losing badly until the final round, when I managed to claw back enough points to steal the win. It's a clever system that keeps matches competitive even when one player pulls ahead.
But the part that genuinely moved me was the exploration. Three sports in the game aren't competitive at all—they're about wandering Wuhu Island, which has been substantially expanded. Back in 2009, I spent countless hours in Island Flyover, not just flying through the sky and diving into the volcano, but dragging my plane through the town streets to absorb the place. I wrote fanfiction about the Miis living there. I know that's specific, but it explains why I couldn't contain my excitement about the new Skateboarding Sightseeing Tour, which lets you explore the island on foot, collecting photos called Spocco Photos as you go. Power Cruising has its own sightseeing mode, except you're on a jet ski in the surrounding sea—and Wuhu Island now has whole new islands around it, so there's actually something to discover instead of just empty water.
The Prop Plane's Sightseeing Tour is still my favorite. I did what any fan of the original would do: I flew straight down into the volcano. I'm happy to report not only that you can still do this, but the interior has been expanded into a larger cave system than before. The nostalgia hit hard, but so did the realization that this wasn't just a prettier version of an old game.
What sold me was how Nintendo thought through the motion controls. Table Tennis and Boxing use standard Joy-Con swinging, but the rest are inventive: you mime pushing a skateboard with your foot, hold the Joy-Con like a paper plane when flying, and position it upright for thumb wrestling, gripping the trigger as if you're actually pinning someone down. These aren't gimmicks—they're intuitive, clever, and they carry that unmistakable Nintendo charm. I came in skeptical that the Switch 2 version would offer much beyond updated graphics. I'm leaving convinced it's worth the return to Wuhu Island. And with online multiplayer now in the mix, my friends should probably prepare themselves for what's coming.
Citations marquantes
The motion controls feel more responsive using a Joy-Con 2 than they used to with a Wiimote— Hands-on preview experience
The inside of the volcano has been expanded into a larger cave system than before— Hands-on preview experience
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