Drag x Drive is Nintendo’s latest Switch 2 outing. While we’ve seen big new entries in franchises such as Mario Kart and Donkey Kong, this time Nintendo does a complete 180 to bring us a sports outing. With a new IP. And mouse controls. It could be seen as somewhat of a risk, but with a lean development team and small price tag, it could just pay off.
I’ll be the first to admit that Drag x Drive did not appeal to me when it was first announced. I’m not much of a sports enthusiast. I also don’t go for gimmicks, and the mouse controls seemed a little along those lines to me. Cut to two months later, and I became sufficiently intrigued by the trailers; I was keen to try this one out for myself.
Let’s start with those mouse controls. As someone who considers herself a console player first, PC user second, mouse controls, to me, seemed like a “nice to have” addition to the Switch 2’s functionality. I’ve since played the likes of Hogwarts Legacy and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, giving me enough reason to appreciate the way the Joy-Cons flip between regular and mouse mode. It’s truly impressive. Drag x Drive takes this even further, combining motion controls and mouse movements into one fluid experience. And it really does work well.
I won’t lie; Drag x Drive is hard to play—at first. Thankfully, a handy (and mandatory) tutorial starts things off on the right foot. This isn’t a game to just jump straight into; you need to learn the ropes first. The basic moveset involves using both Joy-Cons, one in each hand, as mice on a flat surface. You can use a tabletop, sofa armrests, or even your own legs. The fact that you can use various surfaces is important for accessibility, as not everyone will have access to a flat surface wherever they’re playing.
Sliding each Joy-Con forward moves the two wheels of your robotic-looking player. Moving the controllers at the same time in the same direction moves you forward.Moving them one at a time turns you. You can move backwards in the same way, sliding down instead of up. You can also brake by pressing the ZL or ZR buttons. So far, so good. Now let’s add in some motion controls.
To shoot hoops, simply raise your hand (and Joy-Con) and perform a swishing motion. It feels like an evolution of the Wii, in a way. Remember when we were all playing Wii Sports and whacking virtual tennis balls? Take that feeling and add the mouse controls, and you’ve got an inkling of this setup.
It’s a steep learning curve, but once you’ve got the hang of it, moving your character and dunking those balls feels terrific. Drag x Drive is fast paced, featuring three-minute rounds of three-on-three matches (or sometimes two on two when there aren’t enough players). Either way, how do you have time to line up your shots when one or two opponents are trying to knock or block you? The answer: you don’t.
Drag x Drive sports a feature that helps you score while on the move. Basically, the closer you are to the net, the more likely you are to score. So, three-point shots end up relying more on lining up your shots than those closer to the net simply because the accuracy of these far-away shots isn’t as high. It’s balanced well, though it can be frustrating when you’re in close range and your shot still misses. There is some room for skill, it seems.
A downside to Drag x Drive is the lack of local multiplayer. You can play offline, but this is restricted to games against bots. On the plus side, there are nine bot teams to defeat, each one increasing in difficulty. A win scores you a trophy, adding a collectible component to the gameplay. Locally, you can also practise your shots, repeat the tutorials, or try the minigames. It creates a fair amount to do for the $20 price tag. The main game, though, is found via online play.
Thankfully, joining a game is easy. There are two online areas: Public Park or Friend Park. Public Park adds you to an arena with up to 12 players. You can choose to always play a game, or only play when needed. Always playing means you’re partnered up pretty quickly (I haven’t had to wait more than a minute or two for a game to start). “When needed” means you’re only placed in a game when an odd number of players is present. This gives you more time to explore the surrounding area and the minigames within.
Speaking of which, the minigames are more plentiful than I expected. There are races, obstacle courses, skipping ropes to jump, quick turns to pull off, and more. In online mode, each one is ranked, while in offline mode, there are high scores to beat. It adds to the gameplay by providing some variety.
Aesthetically, Drag x Drive could prove divisive. The futuristic, sci-fi look is somewhat drab, which won’t appeal to those used to the likes of Splatoon or Mario Kart. Perhaps this design choice was deliberately chosen to help certain features stand out, like the scoreboard and characters. Paired with various neon colors dotted around the arena, the gray actually works well.
As for the characters, three types are available: Guard, Center, and Forward, each with varying stats in terms of speed and strength. You can also customize their look to a degree, including helmet shape (including unlockables) and the color of your wheels, arms, and headgear. It’s fun coming up with combos to stand out, and again, it’s striking against the gray backdrop. They’re still robots though (aren’t they?), so there’s a question of whether some personality would make things more appealing. For some players, that will definitely be the case. If you just care about slam dunks, things are perfectly fine the way they are.
There are three questions I asked myself while reviewing this game: Is it fun? Is it well developed? And is it good value for money? It turns out that the answers are yes, yes, and (mostly) yes. As I said at the outset, this is a risky game, and Nintendo isn’t shy about taking risks. It’s one of the reasons we love them. At the end of the day, it’s a fun game with neat controls at a fair price (local multiplayer notwithstanding). Will we still be playing it in 12 months? Time will tell. If Nintendo adds more jams, DLC, or other support, we might find it has legs.
