Is Thumb Wrestling really worth it in solo play?

No, against the AI it's trivial: you just have to wait for the opponent to crack. In multiplayer, however, it becomes a game of patience and reflexes with a real bluffing factor. The solo longevity remains questionable.

How does Bowling improve on Wii Sports Resort?

The mechanic remains identical and reassuring, but the Joy-Con offer noticeably superior precision. Visually, the game runs really well on Switch 2, and the satisfaction of knocking down pins is just as rewarding.

Should we expect real depth across all the sports?

That's the big question. With four disciplines tested out of twelve, it's impossible to judge the overall balance. Archery promises a genuine learning curve, but some modes risk running out of steam after a few rounds.

Nintendo Switch Sports Resort: GameRant's Hands-On Impressions

Q: Which mode makes the best use of HD Rumble?

Motorized Cruising clearly gets the most out of it: you truly feel the interaction between the waves and the acceleration through the controllers held like handlebars. It's the most impressive discipline tested.

GameRant tested four of the twelve disciplines in Nintendo Switch Sports Resort: Thumb Wrestling, Bowling in 100-Pin mode, Motorized Cruising, and Archery. A short session, but enough to get a sense of the potential of this spiritual successor to Wii Sports Resort. And the dominant feeling is clearly the urge to come back for more.

Thumb Wrestling is a pleasant surprise. It's a silly concept - move the stick to position your thumb, press the trigger to push it down - but against a human opponent, it becomes a real game of patience and reflexes, almost a bluffing mini-game. Against the AI, however, there's no challenge: you just wait for it to crack and it's over.

Bowling, meanwhile, checks every nostalgia box. The 100-Pin mode works exactly as remembered, but with noticeably improved Joy-Con precision. Watching a ball demolish an army of pins is just as satisfying as it was fifteen years ago, and it runs really well visually on Switch 2.

Motorized Cruising, the Wave Race tribute, makes the best use of HD Rumble: you can really feel the interaction between the waves and the acceleration through the controllers held like handlebars. It's the most spectacular of the four disciplines tested.

Archery, on the other hand, is the real surprise of the bunch. Unlike Bowling, which you can imagine mastering fairly quickly, this discipline requires managing distance and wind on every shot. You miss, you try again, you improve. According to the journalist, it's clearly the mode that makes you want to come back and get better the most.

What's worrying is precisely the gap in depth between the sports. Thumb Wrestling is fun with friends, but it's doubtful it has real solo longevity. And with only four disciplines tested out of twelve total, it's impossible to judge the overall balance of the selection - it remains to be seen whether the whole roster holds up or whether some modes run out of steam after a few rounds.

GameRant's provisional verdict: it's off to a very good start, provided the remaining eight sports match the level of Archery and not just that of Thumb Wrestling.