Sports Story

Sidebar's highly anticipated follow-up to the smash-hit indie game Golf Story got a surprise release last week on the Nintendo Switch. Yes, believe it or not, but Sports Story is finally available on the eShop after a series of delays.

Unfortunately, there have been some concerns raised about the state of the game at launch, and Sidebar Games has even issued a notice on social media - informing fans it will be deploying a patch in the near future to fix some of these issues.

So, how is the game in its current state? Given the time of the year, there aren't all that many reviews floating around for it just yet, but here's what we did come across on the world wide web. This includes our own Nintendo Life review.

Here on our lovely website, our reviewer Mitch Vogel gave the surprise Christmas release six out of ten stars, noting how it sadly wasn't "up to par" after such a long wait. In saying this, it might be worth a look after an update or two:

"If you loved the original, you'll likely find Sports Story to be a fun-enough follow-up, but there’s no denying that it feels like quite a letdown after years of waiting. Assuming Sidebar can sort out the worst of the technical issues, we’d give Sports Story a light recommendation to anyone looking for a quirky take on a sports RPG, but this one doesn’t deserve a spot at the top of your list."

COG Connected gave Sports Story 60 out of 100 - mentioning how underdone it was compared to its predecessor:

"Sports Story pales in comparison to its predecessor. The plot fails to capture the whimsy which engulfs the original. While I understand Sidebar Games’ decision to go large with its narrative, in doing so, it removes the simplicity which makes Golf Story so unforgettable. Although it expands its gameplay with a number of new sporting activities, the success of these varies. Combining this with the volume of performance issues and bugs means this swing is a whiff rather than a hit."

The YouTube channel SwitchUp was a little more forgiving, acknowledging how the issues will likely be patched, resulting in a better game in the future:

"It's still a flawed gem...there's a gem in here for sure, it's a bit random, it's a bit all over the place at times, but I can see what they were trying and I think those playing this a year from now, it'll probably be a blast...I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do."

And the Italian game website Multiplayer.it seemed to enjoy it a lot more than other critics - awarding it a score of eight out of ten, even with "the bugs present". Here's a rough translation via Google:

"Sports Story continues in the footsteps traced by Golf Story, maintaining the same protagonist and different elements of the appreciated cast of the first work of Sidebar Games, improving numerous elements in its formula."

Note: If we see any more reviews go up in the new year, we'll add them to the above round up.

Have you tried out this game yet? What are your own thoughts so far? Vote in our poll and leave a comment below.

What do you think of Sports Story so far?