5 Games Like Nintendo Switch Sports

After a good fifteen years away from the spotlight, Nintendo will once again look to push its celebrated Wii Sports collection over to the Switch front. Complete with a range of new sports and added Joy-Con support, the well refurbished packet of bite-sized activities will reunite players with their former Mii's for a whole new era of competitive gaming.

That said, seeing as we're still a few weeks away from its official release, it does give us an excuse to set up a few temporary checkpoints before the big day. And because of the number of modes Switch Sports will look to employ, it does give us a few dozen additional doors to open, as opposed to one. Consequently, these are perhaps the best choices for filling the gap before the curtain call on April 29th.

5. Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

The Olympic Games has forever been a fixed staple on traditional sports, bringing the elite together to compete in activities for the whole world to witness. Its virtual counterpart, of course, has the honor of flying the colors for a whole other audience. And as predictable as the series may have become, it is still one of the most celebrated franchises on the market — made even more popular by Nintendo's long arm of Olympic spin-offs on handheld consoles

Although Tokyo 2020 did drop the realistic tone in favor of a far less serious design, its cartoon-style was still a welcome addition to the retired formula that had been rehashed time and time again. As well as having a spool of new activities, including sports climbing, boxing, and BMX racing, Tokyo 2020 brought a refined competitive multilayer mode, which worked wonders for the global player base that had, up to its release, longed for a top-notch digitalised Olympics experience.

4. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Rounding back to Nintendo's long arm of Olympics spin-offs, it seems only right that we deliver our usual spiel on one of its finest hours in the timeline to date. Specifically, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. And yes, it is another excuse for us to talk about the last Olympic Games. But seeing as Switch Sports brings a similar collection of events to the table, it does make for a suitable candidate in a list of this design.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is far more than a fresh lick of paint on a tattered frame. It's glossy in its own special way, and with a whole lot of help from its band of familiar faces, a real turning point for an old concept. With thanks to its surfing, skateboarding, and boxing activities, it becomes a plethora of hyperactive mini-games that suits the whole family.

3. Sports Party

Sports Party is an off-brand collection of Olympic-like mini-games for Nintendo Switch and Wii. Sort of like a spiritual successor to the beloved Wii Sports chapter, Ubisoft's offspring bridges the gap between home favourites, only with motion controls playing a much bigger role than ever before.

In a nutshell, Sports Party is a series of multiplayer games that range from jetskiing to skateboarding, beach tennis to frisbee. Collectively, the library of family-friendly events formulates a near-perfect PvP experience that is suitable for all ages. And for that, we're happy to give it a couple of thumbs up.

2. Instant Sports

Seeing as we're set on staying close to home with Nintendo's hardware, we might as well put Instant Sports on the table, which is arguably the lesser-known spiritual successor of both Wii Sports and Sports Party. And yet, in spite of its blatant ability to copy and paste key assets of the two, it is still an overall enjoyable archive of sports games.

Built on six globally recognised sports, being tennis, soccer, bowling, baseball, hurdles, and rafting, Instant Sports is perhaps the closest thing you'll get to the upcoming Switch Sports chapter. Therefore, if you're wanting to get some practice in a month in advance, then be sure to give this one a try.

1. Wii Sports Resort

If, by chance, you have an old Nintendo Wii knocking about, then you should at least consider dusting off Wii Sports Resort and reigniting a few former fires in your front room. Though, to be fair, any Wii Sports entry works equally as well, so there's no real pressure to unearth Resort, in particular.

That being said, there was a reason why followers of the Wii series favored the sequel, and it wasn't purely down to the fact that it employed a MotionPlus remote add-on, either. Instead, it was more the range of sports that the game zeroed in on. From wakeboarding to canoeing, swordplay to parachuting, the tropical island of Wuhu had the whole shebang. Therefore, as far as passable sequels go, Wii Sports Resort makes for a fine candidate. So, be sure to check every nook and cranny for that old Wii before hitting the Switch chapter.

So, what's your take? Do you agree with our top five? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.

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