Is motion gaming dead?

I unlocked a mystery that blows open The Nintendo Switch’s motion control capabilities. Since the days of Wii, Nintendo has been the pioneer of motion gaming, treading a path that very few can imitate. When the Nintendo Switch was released, many thought the tradition of ridiculous motion games would usher us into a golden age of greater technology. Eight years later, the motion gaming scene is incredibly underwhelming. We don’t even have a realistic boxing or baseball game. You either have to play educational fitness games, sports mini-game slop, or an FPS with gyro controls. Even Nintendo’s latest Switch Sports game feels like a shell of its former self. Today, we have VR and AR motion gaming for anyone who wants to explore 3D space, but console gaming is declining in motion control technology.

I was going to give up on finding a game that could bring back the joy of Kinect Sports, Sports Champions, or Wii Sports. I tried Mario and Sonic at the Olympics with some delight and Wario Ware is on my wishlist. But none of them hit that sports itch. After Switch Sports felt like a bunch of soulless remote-swiping, I felt the glory days of physical gaming were over. However, one game stuck out that needed to be investigated. Go Vacation.

Vacation Go remains a mystery

Nintendo’s library is not shy on trying to fill the vacuum left by Wii Sports. I had tried as many as my wallet could afford, but one title remained elusive. Vacation Go was a $40 enigma that needed to be solved. YouTube reviews were silent on the quality of the motion controls. Longplay videos refused to showcase how the controls worked. It seemed like Namco Bandai did not want you to know this game was a sports game. But at the same time, several lists highlighted Go Vacation as a decent sports party game. If there was a hidden game in the Switch library that offered decent ways to play rowing, boxing, skating, surfing, and ATV driving, I needed to know.

Vacation Go is a kid sim hybrid mixed with Summer, Winter, City, and arcade events. It’s like GTA exploration mixed with Wii Sports. Gamers create a character and have them explore vast locations in search of events to play. The game boasts over 50+ events.

One of the reasons that gamers do not have an informed opinion on the motion controls is because the entire single-player campaign, where you unlock each event, forces you to play in controller mode. All playthroughs are in single-player mode. One of the game’s many criticisms is that the fun parts are outside the main campaign. But you need to play the single-player campaign to unlock the fun stuff. Only then can you find the event in activity mode and toggle motion controls.

The Events

After grinding through thirty events, unlocking as many iconic games as possible, I now know if this is the greatest motion sports game on the Switch. Here’s what I learned.

ATV/Jetski: Drive by twisting the controller. Special moves are performed by shaking the remote, pushing the shoulder buttons, and pressing the right stick.

Skateboard/Surfing: Players pedal with the Y button and jump with the ZR trigger. Steering is motion-controlled, and tricks are done by shaking.

Tennis/Volleyball: Players need one Joy-Con. They move the player with the stick, using bump motions to hit and serve the ball.

Whack-A-Mole/Boxing: Players use the right-stick to move the hammer and a swipe motion to bring the hammer down. Boxing involves rotating the stick and shaking the controller at the right time. It’s nothing special.

Hang gliding/Skydive: Players steer and rise with motion controls. Hang gliding easily loses track of the motion controller. Skydiving involves rotating your character.

Baseball: Flick the controller at the right moment to either hit or miss the target. It’s nothing.

Snowball fight: Players move their character with the left stick and flick the remote to throw a snowball. Flicking in different directions does not aim the snowball.

Other sports: Dogsled racing, car racing, trick modes, and aiming games involve rotating the remotes for steering or flicking the controller at the right time.

Verdict:

Go Vacation is ambitious and generous, providing strong single-player and multiplayer modes, but its weak contribution to motion controls reflects the reality of motion gaming. Motion controls are an afterthought. Some of the events are a lot of fun and would make a great party adventure, but the innovation and creativity are gone. Still, I would recommend this game over Switch Sports because there is so much more stuff to do in this game. I could be wrong, but I don’t think Switch Sports Resort on the Switch 2 will revive the genre. If that’s the case, this game has so much more content and is much cheaper on eBay.

The sad conclusion. The Switch does not fully invoke the accuracy or user interactivity of the PS Move, Kinect, or Wii Motion Plus. Motion gaming is not a compelling reason to stick with Nintendo consoles, and there is no suitable alternative outside of VR and Nex Playground. Nintendo is done trying to win over kids with fun movement games.