The thing you got to love about Nintendo is that they are always open to trying weird, new things when they release a new system. Whether it be the 3D with the Nintendo 3DS, the motion controls on the Wii, or the new mouse controls on the Switch 2, Nintendo is always good for a gimmick. The mouse controls make sense for some games but Nintendo has created a specific game to show them off called Drag x Drive. Unfortunetly, this one doesn’t hit the quality bar that Nintendo is usually known for.
Drag x Drive is a 3v3 online wheelchair basketball game based on the real-life sport. You’ll face off against another team and try to score points to lead your team to victory. The unique thing about this game is that you play it with the Joy-cons detached and placed vertically on a surface whether that be a table, your leg, etc. Whether you enjoy this game is going to come down to how much you can tolerate the control method. To move your character you have to pull back on the mouse over and over much like you would to roll the wheels on a wheelchair. Turning is handled by keeping one mouse still while the other one is moved to turn left or right. Braking allows you to make sharp turns, shooting is handled by raising the mouse and flicking your wrist, and passing the ball to a teammate can be done with the L+R buttons. The issue is that there is no other way to play this game and because you are moving so much you can easily get worn out with the controls quickly. I personally didn’t want to play more than 10 minutes or so at a time because I just didn’t find the controls to be comfortable.
As for the objective of a match, you have three minutes to compete. You try to grab the ball and once you do you have 14 seconds to shoot it at the other team’s hoop. Two points are awarded for shooting it in the zone while three points are awarded for shooting outside the zone. Grabbing the ball from the opposing team has to be done by running into the ball carrier head-on which will cause them to drop it. Hitting them from the side or behind will not accomplish this so keep that in mind. You can also get decimal points added on to your score by performing trick shots although these can be a bit finicky to reliably pull off.
Playing online will match you with other random players although if you want to play with a friend you are prevented from playing with randoms. This is something you couldn’t do in Mario Kart World either and it is annoying that this is yet another game that doesn’t allow it. If you want to play online with a friend you need to make a private lobby and that means needing to invite other people you know to fill it up. Why Nintendo is so against letting you play against randoms online with a friend or two is beyond me as pretty much no other online multiplayer game restricts this.
Between matches you can also be put into little mini-games like time trials, shot challenges, or obstacle courses. These seem to mostly exist to better acquaint yourself with the controls and can be skipped if you want to. I found them to be a nice little diversion but not anything that would hold my interest for long. That statement I think can be applied to this game in general though as there isn’t really anything to work towards. There are no online rankings and no real unlockables. You can customize your character but most everything is available from the jump. Speaking of how your characters looks another thing I found to be a downer about this game is the visuals. Everything is a very drab grey whether that be the arenas or the characters. There is some color in the customization options but it doesn’t help much and so this game feels like it is lacking that Nintendo magic in the visual department.
Drag x Drive is a neat little budget title from Nintendo’s weird side but many things about it may turn someone off from jumping into the court. The unique mouse control method works well but how long you can endure it will vary from person to person. The game also lacks anything to work towards, doesn’t have much to offer for modes or content, and lacks that NIntendo magic visually. I personally would recommend skipping this one for now unless some changes are made to it.
*Drag x Drive is available on Nintendo Switch 2. Review copy provided by Nintendo for this review.
Drag x Drive
$19.99
Pros
- Controls are easy to learn and have depth
- Playing online against others runs well
- Low cost of entry
Cons
- Controls can be awkward and tiring
- Not much on content and no real sense of progression
- Can't play against randoms online with a friend
- Boring visual style
