When Home Sports was announced, I couldn’t help but look at it as a modern VR reimagining of Wii Sports. Leveraging the advanced mixed reality capabilities of Meta Quest 3, it looked like a unique way to experience a multitude of sports in virtual environments while integrating real-world elements. Developed by Resolution Games, the same studio behind titles like Demeo, and Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs, Home Sports looked promising enough to become a flagship title for mixed-reality party gaming. Unfortunately, despite its innovative use of technology, the game falls far short in execution.
Home Sports shines brightest in its use of mixed reality. By blending the digital and physical worlds, the game allows players to integrate their real-world spaces into its sports simulations. For instance, I transformed our living room into a mini-golf course and a badminton court. This seamless adaptation is powered by Meta Quest 3’s advanced pass-through technology.
However, this brilliance comes with a big caveat: Home Sports requires a large, open area to enjoy its sports games fully. It feels like back in the early days of virtual reality, where each setup required a ton of room, and we were leaving that era behind, mostly due to the ease of use that the Meta Quest brought in terms of portability. Players in smaller spaces or apartments will be limited, as the game doesn’t fit well in smaller setups.
The biggest issue is that there are no options for seated play, alienating those with mobility restrictions or less spacious environments. It’s a big oversight that significantly reduces the game’s accessibility and appeal, and with those two back-to-back, had a big knock back on how much use I was able to enjoy fully. I was no longer able to take my Quest 3 on the go.
“Home Sports requires a large, open area to enjoy its sports games fully.”
Home Sports features five sports: pickleball, hockey, bowling, mini-golf, and badminton. While the lineup is diverse and promising on the surface, each activity feels like a pared-down, underwhelming version of the game, especially when compared to Walkabout Mini Golf VR or anything from Wii Sports.
Home Sports Pickleball
The gameplay mechanics of pickleball lack depth overall. There’s no real opportunity for strategic play, and the limited shot variety makes matches feel repetitive. After a few rounds, it became clear there was little more to explore.
Home Sports Hockey
Hockey is a chaotic experience that echos air hockey more than anything, and even then, it struggles to find its footing. The controls feel overly simple, and the physics are often unpredictable, which led to moments that the puck was just flying around when either I or the opponent would tap it.
Home Sports Bowling
Bowling offers a more straightforward experience, with mechanics that are easy to pick up. However, it suffers from inconsistent ball physics, which disrupts the immersion. A weird level of tactile feedback to bowling made it feel way worse than Wii bowling.
Home Sports Mini Golf
Mini Golf is one of the more serviceable sports in the collection, but it struggles to compete with standalone VR mini-golf titles like Walkabout Mini Golf. The courses lack creativity and polish, and the controls don’t feel as precise as they should. As a result, it’s hard to justify spending time on this mode when better alternatives are available.
Home Sports Badminton
Badminton is the weakest of the five sports, plagued by sluggish controls and uninspired mechanics. The rallies lack energy and flow, making the experience feel rather dull.
Home Sports makes no secret of its ambition to emulate the charm and accessibility of Wii Sports. Unfortunately, it falls short in nearly every way. Wii Sports succeeded because of its simplicity, replayability, and unexpected depth. It was a game that brought people together, offering activities that were easy to learn but challenging to master. In contrast, Home Sports feels shallow and uninspired. None of its activities are as addictive or engaging as their Wii Sports counterparts.
Beyond its gameplay issues, Home Sports is hampered by serious accessibility problems. The game’s reliance on large play areas excludes players in smaller living spaces. For those who don’t have enough room to swing a virtual racket or roll a bowling ball, the experience quickly becomes frustrating. The lack of seated play options compounds this issue.
“Home Sports makes no secret of its ambition to emulate the charm and accessibility of Wii Sports. Unfortunately, it falls short in nearly every way.”
Replayability is another issue. Once you’ve played through each sport once or twice, there’s little reason to return. The game lacks any meaningful progression system or unlockables. Without these little dopamine hits, Home Sports fails to really engage in a way that could make it a staple of VR gaming.
Home Sport’s shortcomings are especially frustrating, given how much we have seen the mixed reality scene grow within the Quest 3 ecosystem and how well it implements it. With better execution, Home Sports could have been a system-selling experience. Adding more sports, refining the mechanics, and including accessibility features could have significantly changed the game. To note, I did have some technical issues, such as inconsistent tracking and physics, that sometimes didn’t really make sense and broke immersion.
Home Sports is a classic example of a game with ambitious ideas but lacklustre execution. Its mixed-reality implementation is genuinely good and helps pull you into the sports arenas. However, this innovation is overshadowed by shallow gameplay, accessibility issues, and a lack of replay value. For Quest users with larger play spaces and curiosity about mixed reality, Home Sports might provide a brief moment of novelty. However, for most players, its limitations will outweigh its strengths. With so many polished VR titles available, it’s hard to recommend Home Sports.
