Wingspan

The flock of dizzying strategic possibilities and the brilliant plumage it's dressed in make this digital board game a must-play.

Wingspan is a strong card game for those with the patience to learn how it works. It's fun, compulsive and can sometimes truly surprise you with stacked effects and their outcomes. Its translation to the Switch is a little... difficult, but certainly not for want of trying. In handheld it's far from ideal, but on the dock, as a couch multiplayer experience, there's plenty of fun to be had. It's also enjoyable alone as you'll seek out ways to create the highest-scoring possible deck. Despite a few porting issues, Wingspan is definitely a good time, and it'll be difficult to stop after just one game. It's a lot cheaper than the physical game, too, making it a thoroughly viable alternative.

Wingspan is a fairly faithful video game adaptation of the board game of the same name, which was released in Czech as Na křídlech. The game features a great tutorial, unobtrusive background music, and beautiful visuals. Unfortunately, at least for me, it’s let down by the layout of the game board—where you can only see one biome at a time—the somewhat clunky controls, the AI opponents’ difficulty being too easy, and the potential for long downtime when playing with real opponents. If you’re a Wingspan fan, this video game adaptation will keep you thoroughly entertained. If you don’t like Wingspan, this won’t change your mind, although personally, I enjoy the AI mode more than playing the board game Wingspan with friends.

Wingspan already rules the roost when it comes to family games. It carries that same talon sharp gameplay into digital form remarkably well, and with the addition of AI and local play, it might just swoop into the hearts of bird lovers everywhere.

Wingspan is an interesting game. There is a good deal of strategy to it, and a lot of depth to the gameplay. It is certainly a more relaxing, less directly competitive type of game than many of them out there, making it one I particularly enjoy in the evenings when I am trying to wind down. Being based on a boardgame, there is an element of random luck in there that can subvert even the best strategies, but careful planning can certainly help pave the path to a win. All in all, Wingspan is a charming game that strategy fans should enjoy.

Wingspan is a calm, thought-provoking bird-watching game with fun visuals and sounds and simple controls.

For doubters, look through this review and count how many times I said ‘relaxing’ or mentioned the ‘slow-pace’ of the game. If this appeals to you, go out and buy Wingspan. That’s exactly what it is. It’s a beautifully designed and truly unique card game. This Steam port clearly builds off of a solid foundation from its board game progenitor. If my endorsement means anything, this game couldn’t deviate further from my normal interests, and I loved every second of it.

undefined.While I might recommend the board game over the video game overall, the video game is a worthy complement. It's also a good local and online multiplayer experience (especially with crossplay with the Steam version), which gives Wingspan an added benefit in 2020. No matter what year it is, Wingspan is a remarkable adaptation of a tabletop game that is certainly one of the best of its kind on Switch.

The Nintendo Switch has plenty of excellent board games already available on it. Wingspan is one of the best, if not the best of them. Admittedly the developers were fortunate in that they had the most beautiful, well-designed base material to work with, but rather than do a pedestrian copy/paste of the game to make for a boring digital release or, worse, somehow mess it up by trying to change the game in some way, the team has shown some real respect and appreciation for what makes Wingspan a special experience. Without changing the fundamental appeal of the game, the developers here have taken advantage of the video game medium to enhance the experience in all the right ways. Wingspan, on Nintendo Switch, is nothing short of perfect.

Card-based strategy titles have been coming to the Switch in a pretty steady stream but I don't think there have been any quite like Wingspan...