Back what seems like a lifetime ago, I got a chance to have a pop at Nintendo Switch Sports Resort at gamescom [sic] '26. No, I don’t mean the stuff that just anyone with a ticket and the patience to wait in an enormous queue could play. No, I got a chance to play sports that the average Joes could only dream of, like table tennis.

I played prop plane, table tennis, archery, thumb wrestling, skateboarding, bowling, and boxing, but not necessarily in that order. I believe people with the patience to tackle the game on the show floor had the chance to play power cruising (discount Wave Race to you and me), and it’s possible I had the option between that and bowling, if my memory’s correct.

Prop plane was good. You’re free to fly around the entirety of Wuhu Island at your leisure, although there is a time limit imposed. I asked if there was a way to play without a time limit, and the Nintendo reps got a little cagey and said something along the lines of "there are other settings and modes you can play in the full game," so fingers crossed we get our true free-roaming experience that allows us to crash planes without time being a factor.

It’s not entirely aimless, though. There are things to collect in the world that can demand slightly complex manoeuvres, and it added a lot to what could have otherwise been an empty and dull flight experience.

What I didn’t gel with was the controls; you have to hold the Joy-Con 2 like it was a toy or paper plane, and guide it thusly. I understand why they went this way, but I and my wrist were gagging for just some simple controls to properly enjoy the world without a waggle-based barrier.

Table tennis! I’ve got to be honest, it’s table tennis. It's definitely got some more nuance and oomph to it than something like the original Wii Sports tennis, and you can do all your slices and drives that you’d want to. Controls are nicely responsive and it does somewhat ‘feel’ like you’re doing a facsimile of the real thing. It’s just difficult for me to get too excited about table tennis.

Archery was a big step up, and for me it was when the motion controls really came into their own. No rapid movements, no sharp responses for the controllers to try and understand, just gentle, precise movements and gameplay that really highlight how good motion controls can be.

I also loved the mode that we played, where I and the Italian journalist who was in the room with me played simultaneously, all aiming for the same target. The target was split into quarters, though, one each for us and one for each of the CPU players, and depending on how each player performed, at the start of the next round the quarters would shift. Not quite able to keep up? Your quarter might become more like a third. Ploughing ahead of the pack? You’re going to get a mere slither.

This added a real dynamism to each round, and the Mario Kart style of push-and-pull really helped to not only balance the challenge somewhat, but also raise the stakes, as an arrow that errantly landed on someone else’s slice would award them points instead of you. Spicy!

Thumb wrestling garnered a lot of jokes when it was first shown off, and I didn’t really have any major hopes for it. Colour me surprised, then, when it ended up being one of the more tactical sports I played that day.

Obviously you have the notion of pressing your finger down to goad your opponent into putting theirs on top, only for you to whip your thumb away at the last millisecond and slap it back down on top of theirs, but there’s more. If you keep your thumb held down (but not pinning the opponent), your thumb will power up and grow in size.

This means that should you manage to pin your opponent, your mighty thumb, like a fleshy maraca (although sadly not green), will be more difficult for your opponent to escape from, making you more likely to win that round. It’s not exactly revolutionary, but it’s one of those things that takes what could’ve been bland jam and turns it into one of the more surprisingly endearing marmalades.

Skateboarding, the other free-roam activity I partook in, also utilised a slightly bizarre control scheme, although I think this one worked a lot better. You’re using the mouse controls of the Joy-Con 2 to essentially propel yourself along, and I think just because it was so much more interesting than holding the 'A' button à la Tony Hawk’s, I actually really enjoyed it.

It was fun to skate around Wuhu collecting skateboard wheels and seeing everything from such a different perspective compared to prop plane. I got very excited once the Nintendo rep told me that I could grind on rails as well, only to try it immediately, fail, and have him respond, "not those rails".

Yeah, it turns out there are rails you can grind on, but they’re only very specific ones, despite the rest of Wuhu Island being absolutely littered with other, perfectly grindable handrails and guardrails. I can only imagine it’s a bit of a Nintendo thing, and they don’t want to encourage youfs [sic] to rub their skateboards over public property.

Bowling. It’s the same as bowling in Switch Sports. I don’t know if my Italian friend was actually Roman, but he was bloomin' fine at bowling.

Now for boxing, I remember Wii Sports boxing from back in the day, and I thought it was one of the more interesting sports available, but I was rubbish at it. I was keen to see what 20 years of technology could do to bring the virtual boxing scene forward, but unfortunately it didn’t click for me.

The controls just weren’t responsive enough for something as fast and reactive as boxing. I repeatedly tried to do hooks and uppercuts when it seemed appropriate, but was very rarely able to actually pull them off; the game just kept initiating endless jabs. It’s possible that I didn’t manage to get the nuances of the controls down in my short time, but considering that it’s meant to be replicating real-world movements, I just don’t feel it managed to achieve that.

Again, it’s entirely possible that this was just a me issue, but I can only talk about what I did. I’m just a man.

My time with Switch Sports Resort has given me the impression that it will be a massive success. Despite some misgivings, I did enjoy my time with the game (especially archery), but Nintendo’s probably not trying to market this game to the mid-30s Elden Ring lovers. They’re looking at a more casual audience, and I think anyone who had a good time with the original Nintendo Switch Sports is going to have a damned good time when Resort lands on 22nd October.