Drag x Drive Reviews

While Drag x Drive breeds little contempt with its inspired concept, it fumbles the ball not merely with its paltry offerings but its demanding, and even frustrating, motion controls. An interesting novelty, but ultimately a clumsy showcase for Switch 2's mouse controls.

Drag x Drive is a totally unique multiplayer gaming experience, but its lack of hooks, inaccessible nature, and dull visuals let it down.

Available at a budget price, Drag x Drive is a unique sports game that doesn't boast a great deal of content. Still, it's fun to play as long as you can get along with using your Joy-Cons like mice, and performing some advanced manoeuvres can feel a little hit or miss.

Drag x Drive is a creative and neat take on the game of basketball. The use of the Joy-Con 2's mouse controls is excellently implemented throughout, and the core gameplay loop is quite fun. However, the astounding lack of content and bland visual design leave this a hard recommendation for most players.

Getting your hands on Drag x Drive for the first time, the instinct is to make fun of its absurd control scheme. Essentially gliding two mice around to move and pantomiming the act of shooting a basketball to score is admittedly not the primary way any logical person would imagine playing a wheelchair basketball video game. But if you give it a little time and move past those initial skepticisms, what you find is a game that is surprisingly functional and is unique. Ultimately, however, it's ...

Drag x Drive offers engaging, fast-paced sports action with a reasonable assortment of single-player challenges in addition to online matches. The control scheme, while imperfect, is better than expected, although the ergonomics leave something to be desired. While the game might have benefited from a bit more content, there’s plenty of fun to be had.

The multiplayer-focused sports game from Nintendo has a novel control scheme but is tiring and feels imprecise.

A bafflingly under-designed multiplayer game that features some classic Nintendo innovation in terms of controls, but deeply unengaging presentation and zero longevity or variety.

The complete lack of charm and content in Drag x Drive makes the game difficult to recommend, even at its budget price of $20. It's the best showcase yet of what can be accomplished with Switch 2 mouse controls, but offers little else. There is some fun to be had with Drag x Drive and perhaps future updates will make it a better game, but there isn't enough at launch to keep Switch 2 owners busy for any serious amount of time.

There wasn’t a single second playing Drag x Drive in its pre-release window that I wasn’t thinking about Rematch. So, please indulge me for a moment while I talk about Rematch instead of Drag x Drive.

Drag x Drive is a new and unique oddity from Nintendo built entirely around the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s an online multiplayer game, situating players in 3v3 wheelchair basketball matches and minigames, all within an arena. Simultaneously pinnacle and anti-Nintendo design, Drag x Drive is an interesting project filled with game design you won’t find elsewhere… but it’s also lacking that charm and ambition the company is known for.

New Nintendo consoles tend to launch with a mix of heavy-hitters, like Mario and Zelda, and smaller, quirkier projects designed to show off the system’s unique features. So far, the Nintendo Switch 2 has offered plenty of the former with big games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, but, surprisingly, not really any of those oddball experimental titles. That's about to change with the release of Drag x Drive, a sci-fi-flavored arcade sports game that closely resembles wheelchair basketball and makes use of the mouse functionality and motion controls of the new Joy-Con 2 controllers in ways only Nintendo could dream up.

With the proper setup, Nintendo’s take on wheelchair basketball is a lot of fun and controls surprisingly well, but Drag x Drive sadly lacks enough content, variety, and personality to build around those fundamentals.

Drag x Drive is undoubtedly original and shows off the effectiveness of the Switch 2’s mouse mode pretty well. 3v3 matches are decent fun to hop into if you’ve got a spare few minutes, and the controls are generally intuitive. But as intuitive as they may be, those controls do get tiring on the arms after a little while. Additionally, the game is visually uninspired, lacking the vibrancy and character we all expect from Nintendo titles. In the end, Drag x Drive is a bit of a mixed bag, and only time will tell if it’s got enough sauce to hold down a loyal playerbase.

Drag x Drive was one of the more fascinating titles to be revealed during the Switch 2’s inaugural showcase. In theory, it’s deeply Nintendo—an offbeat sports title that takes advantage of a unique control scheme in a way no other video game does. Unfortunately, the final product feels like it exists solely to demonstrate the Switch 2’s new mouse controls, without much more to offer.

Drag x Drive makes a solid case for the Nintendo Switch 2's mouse control scheme, but it fails to make one for these wheelchair basketball matches themselves. Elegant steering doesn't mesh well with comparatively imprecise and messy tackling and shooting systems that range from too tricky to far too simple.

Drag x Drive may lack options with regards to online modes, and its controls take a bit of getting used to. However, if you can give up some time to engaging with this one, if you can get past the barriers in terms of controls and the early frustrations as you find your rhythm, you'll be rewarded with a unique and very well-made sports game that deserves to find an audience of dedicated fans. Add in some pals, and you've got a solid bit of fun for the price.

Drag x Drive is a novel take on wheelchair basketball, one that takes full advantage of the Joy-Con 2 controllers. While limited by an overall lack of content, the game still creates a good foundation for the future.

Drag x Drive packs in plenty of interesting ideas, but they never quite merge into a compelling eSports experience. The mouse and motion controls are impressive in isolation, yet in the chaos of high-speed competitive play, they can become a source of frustration. With minimal offline content and few incentives to return online, it risks being overshadowed by stronger competitors. Without significant expansion to its bare-bones structure, the game may struggle to hold onto its player base.

Drag x Drive is a shallow experience, but the skill ceiling has a lot of potential. Its low entry price makes it an easy recommendation, even if you're just interested in trying out the new mouse controls that the Switch 2 offers.

If you love sports games and want to play a unique iteration of 3-on-3 basketball then I have a lovely game for you today: here's Drag x Drive.

Drag x Drive isn’t destined to be the next big Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, but it remains one hell of a compelling case for its underused mouse controls and is a truly original sports title. It’ll take some time to get used to its oddball pacing and unorthodox mechanics, but once you’ve found your wheels on the court it’s hard to pull yourself away.

I hope this doesn’t end up being the Switch 2’s best use of the JoyCon mice. I’m hopeful that FPS games may feel better in that regard, but for now, Drag x Drive feels largely like a pass, unless you’re super into these sorts of motion control games, or appreciate the representation of wheelchair basketball in video game form.

Drag x Drive is fun, but it doesn't pack enough content to retain players. The three-on-three matches are a blast with the right teammates, and nailing some sweet tricks for bonus points is satisfying, but the magic quickly wears thin.

Nintendo truly are the masters of the controller gimmick, from the dual screens of the DS and Wii U, to the waggling motion controls of the Wii, and detachable Switch Joy-Con. Each one has come with first party games that really showcase their use, and for the Joy-Con 2’s optical sensors and mouse mode, that game is Drag x Drive.