Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is without a doubt one of my most anticipated games of the year, and now that I’m seeing what you’re able to do with the prop plane, I’m looking forward to playing it even more. I already had my eye on Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, simply due to my love for all things Nintendo and the smile its games leave on my face every single time I play them. However, Sports has always had a special place in my heart, ever since I played the original Wii Sports on the Nintendo Wii. I, among many others, can easily get down to the Wii Sports theme—because, come on, we all know it’s a banger—but there’s just something so nostalgic about that game that I’m clearly chasing the feeling again with my commitment to play the heck out of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort when it launches on October 22, 2026.
There are plenty of things to do in Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, from archery and table tennis to bowling, basketball, and volleyball. To be quite honest, I’m looking forward to doing it all, and I’ve already made a promise to one of my friends to absolutely dominate him in some thumb wrestling. But as I already mentioned, the prop plane might actually be the event I’m looking forward to the most. And the reason is actually pretty simple: I’m all about the cozy, laid-back exploration it seems to be offering, especially when it basically looks like a new Pilotwings—one of my favorite classic, and what I would consider cozy, Nintendo series.
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort’s Prop Plane Experience Looks Like Pilotwings in Disguise
Now, you might be unclear about what Pilotwings even is, considering the last Pilotwings game, Pilotwings Resort, launched on the Nintendo 3DS in 2011. That means we’ve gone over 15 years without a new Pilotwings game, and if you were unaware of what it was back then, it most likely flew under your radar. When Pilotwings Resort launched in 2011, the series was already on a downward trend, and Pilotwings Resort‘s middling reviews certainly didn’t change that. It’s unfortunate, too, because it offered players something unique that they couldn’t really get much anywhere else. If I were to guess, I’d say it had something to do with Pilotwings‘ genre and its niche appeal.
Put the consoles in the correct order.
But now, the success of games like Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve and its predecessor is proving that there is still an audience out there who enjoys arcade flight games, and with Pilotwings having always been a more leisurely, amateur take on the genre, there’s likely an even bigger audience out there for it as well now. Fortunately, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort looks like it’s basically bringing Pilotwings back into focus with its prop plane, which allows players to glide around Wuhu Island at their own pace with a low-stakes, open-ended structure and plenty of beautiful sights to see and exciting things to find.
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Prop Plane Key Features
- EXPLORE WUHU ISLAND — Fly freely around the island and its expanded surroundings.
- COLLECT SPOCCO PHOTOS — Discover sightseeing spots and learn about Wuhu Island’s landmarks.
- FREE PLAY MODE — Enjoy flying around the island without a competitive objective.
- BALL BATTLE MODE — Compete to collect the most floating balls before time runs out.
- SHOOT COLORED BALLOONS — Blast balloons scattered throughout the island.
- SHOOT OTHER PLAYERS — Fire at your friends’ planes while exploring together.
- FIREWORK SIGNALS — Launch fireworks to alert friends to your location.
- EXPLORE VOLCANO CAVES — Fly inside the volcano and navigate its expanded cave system.
- REACH HIDDEN LOCATIONS — Access mountaintops and other places unreachable on foot.
- DISCOVER HIDDEN COLLECTIBLES — Search the island for secrets and pickups.
- FLY WITH FRIENDS — Explore together with up to four players locally or online through a Friend Lobby.
More than anything else, I’m personally just looking forward to flying around Wuhu Island and enjoying whatever calming soundtrack Nintendo has composed to make it feel like the supremely laid-back experience I know it’s going to be. I can already tell it’s going to be gorgeous to witness firsthand, as the new overview trailer for Nintendo Switch Sports Resort alone shows off some incredibly captivating visuals. However, I know that while I’m taking my sweet time exploring the island in my prop plane and doing tricks along the way, there are also going to be plenty of collectibles to find—and you know I’m going to find them all.
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort looks like it’s basically bringing Pilotwings back into focus with its prop plane, which allows players to glide around Wuhu Island at their own pace…
There are Spocco Photos to collect, which are essentially sightseeing photos that encourage you to get a closer look at the surrounding landscape. There are also plenty of colored balloons you can blast as you’re making your way around Wuhu Island, so that’s going to be a blast—pun absolutely intended. As far as why you’re doing all of this, collecting Spocco Photos and popping colored balloons contributes to your prop plane sightseeing objectives and overall progress. It’s unconfirmed at the moment whether there are rewards attached to this progress or what they might even be, but it’s likely there will be rewards. I’m actually willing to bet players will be able to customize their prop plane further as their overall progress increases, but that’s just speculation.
Regardless of whether there are rewards for doing all of this, though, I think the prop plane alone might be enough to keep me coming back to Nintendo Switch Sports Resort long after I’ve had my fill of its other activities. I’m sure I’ll spend plenty of time competing with friends, but the prop plane looks like it will let me just slow down and enjoy myself without feeling like I have to accomplish something every few minutes—unless, of course, I’m busy shooting my friends’ planes down while we explore Wuhu Island together. But the laid-back, leisurely flight simulation is what I’ve always loved about Pilotwings, and it’s what I’m hoping to get out of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort as well. Nintendo might not be giving us a new Pilotwings game anytime soon, but if its prop plane can scratch even a little bit of that itch, I’ll be more than happy to spend a few hours doing absolutely nothing but flying around Wuhu Island.
- Released
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October 22, 2026
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
