Volleys, smashes, more Nintendo characters than I expected and weird racket powers. Mario Tennis Fever is the first big Nintendo game of 2026, and it’s a Switch 2 exclusive. I’ve kind of fallen in love with its electric gameplay and deep set of abilities and challenges, and yet I wonder: Why does this game feel weird right now? For me, it’s the price: $70.
Nintendo returns to its sports games every once in a while, and it’s a little hard to believe that the last Mario Tennis game, Aces, came out in 2018 for the original Nintendo Switch. Fever outdoes Aces in nearly every way, featuring more characters (38) with their own move advantages, as well as special ability-enabled “Fever Rackets” that have varying effects like setting the courts on fire, making doppelgangers appear, muddying up the play field and all sorts of other clever ideas.
Fever has extra modes that deliver extra specific challenges, flexible and deep customization for one- to four-player singles or doubles matches, and there’s even an “Adventure Mode” that walks players through gameplay strategies and has a bunch of extra little minigames and boss battles.
I think this is my favorite Mario sports game ever made, and I can see myself coming back to it for its addictive and simple-to-get-into tennis battles. Yet, would I recommend it to anyone at its $70 price? No, I wouldn’t, unless they were a die-hard Mario Tennis superfan.
The Switch 2 is already 8 months old, and creeping toward its one-year anniversary in June. Switch 2 exclusives are coming at a steady pace, but accompanied by Switch 2-upgraded ports of Switch games with bits of new extras. I’ve said since the Switch 2 debuted that while Nintendo’s latest console is a fantastic new upgrade to the Switch, it’s not a must-have yet. I still feel that way, even though I deeply love Donkey Kong Bananza, Mario Kart World and Kirby Air Riders.
Mario Tennis Fever adds another good game to the mix, but it feels like a B-side. Or, I would have wanted even more to make this feel like a $70 buy.
Adventure Mode’s mini games and boss battles add a lot of extra fun, which I appreciate. Don’t expect an RPG, though.
I played the game early thanks to advance code from Nintendo, and sank into its many modes for a bunch of hours. I haven’t finished Adventure Mode yet, or completed the challenges in Trial Towers. I haven’t played with people online yet. There’s still a lot of game left to explore, and because it’s a battle-like sport, replay value here is basically infinite.
I love that there are weird, whimsical parts of the game: Super Mario Wonder-themed modes that transform the court with growing pipes as you try to collect Wonder Seeds. A mode where you try to collect points by putting the ball through rings. A pinball-like mode with bumpers. All the Fever Rackets also add unique chaos by adding disruptions to the court when your Fever meter is maxed, almost like Mario Kart power-ups.
What I really would have loved is a lot more odd minigames, something like Mario Party or WarioWare. More court types. More unexpected chaos. Is it greedy for me to ask? I don’t think so, at this price. I expect a lot of game for $70.
While Fever does feel filled out in a way that makes me think of Mario Tennis Aces with an expansion pack, it’s only tennis. Even if it is great, strange, Nintendo tennis. After about five hours of playing, I started to feel like I’d tennised myself out.
I can’t wait to see what other surprises Nintendo has for the Switch 2 this year: hopefully a new Mario Galaxy game, or maybe we’ll hear more about the next Splatoon soon. I’d save up for what’s to come, and wait for a sale to dip into Fever down the road. In a few years, it’ll be a great piece of the library that I’ll be glad was released. Right now, it’s not exactly the thing I was looking for to level up the Switch 2.
