We are rapidly approaching launch day for Nintendo's next first-party release, Mario Tennis Fever, and, following a series of hands-on sessions, the final previews are starting to roll in.
While we here at Nintendo Life don't have a full written preview for Mario's latest sporting shenanigans, the wonderful Ollie Reynolds sat down with equally wonderful Alex Olney to talk through his time with the game. "It's more Mario Tennis," Ollie said, "and if you like that sort of thing, you're going to be absolutely thrilled".
While Ollie's time was mainly limited to brief multiplayer matches, he did sing the praises of the new Fever rackets and Wonder Flower-filled challenge courts. You'll find his full conversation with Alex about all things Mario Tennis Fever (and NSO Virtual Boy, Mario Wonder - Switch 2 Edition, Pragmata, and Resident Evil Requiem) in the video below.
But we're not the only ones who have stepped onto the Fever court today! Several other outlets have also shared their early opinions, and we've rounded up a bunch of them so you can get an idea of what everyone makes of it so far.
We'll kick things off with GamingBible's preview, which seemed very positive about the whole experience, particularly the promise of varied gameplay:
Given the sheer number of Fever Rackets on offer though paired with an impressive teaser of what special matches add into the mix, I’m hopeful that this game has all of the right ingredients to deliver
Metro seemed similarly optimistic, praising the potential for chaos that the new mechanics and gimmicks bring:
It’s frantic, it’s daft, and it’s sure to be a fun family party game, even if it’s not a serious tennis sim
Likewise, Polygon felt that Fever might just be the best Mario sports title in years, and a worthy start to the Switch 2 generation:
While the full scope of its content suite is still a question mark, long-time developer Camelot is poised to deliver a strong serve for its Switch 2 debut. The fundamental play of a Mario sports game hasn’t felt this good in over a decade
IGN's preview sung many of the same praises outlined above, but it also gave a shoutout to the "fantastic" visuals:
It’s nice to see developer Camelot’s Switch 2 debut looking so clean, especially after 2021’s Mario Golf: Super Rush was downright ugly at times
Baby Waluigi's presence made a headline appearance in The Gamer's coverage, which appreciated how you can bring the tennis back to basics, if you so choose:
Unfortunately, some of these abilities do take the actual skill out of tennis and can boil matches down to simply spamming fever shots and hoping the RNG of tornadoes and splashes will be enough to win the day. Thankfully, there is an option to turn off these gimmicks and play the old-fashioned way
And finally, GameSpot left the preview equally intrigued, hoping that the full game can keep up the variety and depth found in the hands-on section:
I can't say whether it has course-corrected on the single-player, but the multiplayer is so chockablock with options and game-changing effects that I'm intrigued
Well, there you have it! It sounds like Mario Tennis Fever is shaping up to be a rather interesting one when it launches on Switch 2 on 12th February.
If Ollie and Alex's chat that we mentioned back at the start of this post has whetted your appetite for previews of the written variety, then you'll find our hands-on thoughts of Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, Pragmata and the Virtual Boy NSO library below.