Nintendo owns some of the most valuable and recognizable IP in the world, so it’s always exciting to see them turn around and develop something entirely new. Splatoon (2015) ended up being a huge global phenomenon, leading to a trilogy of games, a manga series, and even a spin-off on the way. Since then, we’ve seen ARMS (2017) and Ring Fit Adventure (2019) also reach varying degrees of success on Switch. Drag x Drive, a digital-only Switch 2 eShop exclusive that makes use of the Joy-Con 2 mouse/motion controls, is Nintendo’s latest attempt at creating a new sports series, but does a game where you play basketball while riding around on a wheelchair have legs to stand on?
Drag x Drive begins with a somewhat lengthy tutorial that teaches you the ropes of the game, as the controls are a bit unorthodox. Using two Joy-Con 2 controllers, one in each hand, you move your wheelchair-ridden character by sliding the optical sensors on a flat surface like computer mice. This works best on a table or desk with a large mousepad, but I found that just using your pant legs is also a viable option as long as the material is smooth enough and won’t get bunched up. The controls are surprisingly intuitive, with each Joy-Con 2 corresponding to the left and right wheels of the wheelchair. Slide both controllers forward to roll forward, backwards to roll backwards, or just one or the other to turn left and right. You can also break each wheel (or both) using the ZL and ZR triggers, allowing you to stop or do tricks like tilting and bunny hopping.
The unique method of movement is easy to learn but hard to master, and if you were hoping for any alternate control schemes, you’re fresh out of luck. Drag x Drive was clearly developed as a technical showcase for the Joy-Con 2, with mouse controls for movement, HD Rumble 2 to feel the wheels of the wheelchair rolling over the bumps and cracks in the ground, and motion controls to wave your hands and shoot basketball hoops. The entire game takes place in one central hub area known as “The Park,” a combination skate park and basketball court. After opening the menu in The Park and selecting between one of three Driver types (“Guard” for max quickness stats but minimum strength and rebounding, “Center” for the exact opposite of Guard, or “Forward” for all-around mid-range stats) and customizing your character by choosing a jersey number (0-99) and the texture and colour for your helmet, armor, tires, and wheelchair frame, you’re ready to get rolling.
The main game is a competitive 3-minute round of 3-on-3 basketball where the goal is to make more points than the other team by shooting baskets with a flick of your wrist. Using the motion controls of the Joy-Con 2, you can also block opponent shots, wave to your teammates to signal them to pass the ball (done so by pressing L and R), or give them a high five to congratulate them on a good shot. Since there’s no dribbling on account of being in a wheelchair, the only way to get the ball from an opponent is to drive directly into them from the front, which can be quite difficult if you’re not properly coordinating with your team. To keep players from carrying, your team only has 14 seconds to make a shot before losing the ball. A single shot can be worth 2 or 3 points (depending on if you’re behind the 3-point-line) with bonus decimal points made for successfully pulling off trickshots, most notably by rolling up the halfpipes on either side of the court to spin, backflip, or attempt a dunk.
If you really get into it, Drag x Drive is a fun and unique spin on the sport of basketball, and the mouse controls paired with the motion controls genuinely works well, feels good (when using the right surface) and can work up quite a sweat after a few matches (though that might just be the summer heat). Unfortunately, there aren’t any custom or alternate rulesets, let alone the ability to change the game duration to anything but 3-minutes. There are two minigames that can be played between matches, but neither have much substance or replayability outside of being a short break. Circuit Sprint has you roll through a short obstacle course and race to the goal, while Rebound Scramble is a race to see who can grab a falling basketball first.
Drag x Drive is primarily focused on online multiplayer (meaning a Nintendo Switch Online subscription is required), so your enjoyment of the game will greatly depend on if you have anyone to play it with. Up to 12 players can get together in one private park, meaning it’s possible to have two separate 3-on-3 games going on at once, with two nearly identical basketball courts placed side-by-side (one outlined in red and one outlined in blue). Thankfully, CPU bots (easy, standard, or hard) are optional so you don’t always have to have 3 players on each team. If you don’t know anyone that owns the game, there is public matchmaking where you can connect with random players with similar skill levels, but local split-screen multiplayer is non-existent, neither is any kind of story mode or campaign, and there is simply not a lot in terms of single-player offerings.
There are 25 trophies you can earn around The Park by completing challenges, including Time Trials where you have to roll through a short obstacle course within a set time limit, Shooting Contests where you have to shoot a set number of baskets within a set time limit, and also winning in 3-on-3 bot matches, with one trophy earned for each difficulty level. CPU levels range from 1-8 with a 9th unlocked after collecting all other trophies, but if you jump straight to one of the higher difficulties and win, it will automatically unlock all the trophies for the previous levels. The purpose of the trophies is just to help improve your movement and shooting abilities when playing online, and all of them can be collected in an hour or two. A few separate side-missions unlock additional helmets for your character, but there aren’t very many, and most will likely be completed by playing the game naturally (except for bunny hopping over the jump rope 100 times… that one was particularly frustrating).
Being a digital-only release that costs just £16.99/$19.99, it wouldn’t be fair to compare the amount of included content to a full budget title. However, even when taking that into consideration, Drag x Drive still has less to do than expected. The Park is not only small in scale, but it’s also quite boring and bleak, like an industrial warehouse, and while the detailed graphics and smooth framerate (locked 60fps) are more than serviceable for the gameplay, the absence of any environment variety whatsoever is disappointing. More interesting character designs and some kind of lore or backstory also would have been nice to see, something akin to Splatoon or ARMS, as Nintendo is usually one of the best in the industry when it comes to creativity.
Drag x Drive tries too hard to reinvent the wheel, putting more focus on the unique (yet intuitive) mouse controls of the Nintendo Switch 2 than having enough gameplay content to give you the drive necessary to play more than a few times. Priced accordingly, shooting some hoops online with friends can be a real ball, and rolling around a skate park-like arena in a wheelchair is even more fun than it looks, but Drag x Drive doesn’t reach its full potential and is far from being a slam dunk.
6/10
A copy of Drag x Drive for review purposes was provided by Nintendo UK.
