Drag X Drive comes at an interesting time in the launch lineup for the Nintendo Switch 2. Rather than numerous day-one first-party releases that may risk overshadowing each other, the company has been releasing them one at a time, monthly. First we had Mario Kart World–alongside Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which kind of counts–followed by Donkey Kong Bananza, and now, Drag X Drive. The unconventional sports game is unique in the lineup for not centering around a known franchise. Instead its hook is an almost exclusively multiplayer focus and a novel control scheme based around the system’s mouse functionality. But while it’s a neat showpiece for how dual-mouse controls can create new game experiences, in practice it’s mostly just physically uncomfortable to play.
Drag X Drive follows in the footsteps of games like Rocket League, mixing various influences to create something new. In this case, its closest analogue is wheelchair basketball, a Paralympic sport that allows disabled athletes to play with some modifications. It adds a slight twist to that foundation, though, by taking place inside a skateboarding bowl, allowing players to build up speed and do trick shots to earn score bonuses. It’s a neat concept, and one that could pay homage to the athleticism of the real thing while giving it a wild variation. The hub area even has the look and feel of a basketball skate park, with courts living alongside loads of ramps and stunt areas.
The real hook is its control scheme. While other games have made light use of the Switch 2 mouse controls, Drag X Drive is centered completely around it. You detach both Joy-Con controllers and turn them on their side, and sliding them forward together approximates pushing the wheels of your wheel chair. Doing it in rhythm for a while gets you up to top speed, which is what enables your ability to vert off ramps and do tricks, or just rush into other players for a tackle to steal the ball. You lift a hand and flick your wrist to toss a ball into the basket, and tackling a player from the side or back staggers them for a moment and can throw off their attempted shot. Pressing the shoulder buttons acts as your brakes, and the HD Rumble feature lets you feel the tread of the tires as you roll. In theory, you can even pull off hairpin turns by braking with one wheel while pushing the other, or sliding them in opposite directions.
In practice, though–and with the caveat that my experience so far is limited–the whizbang concept is held back by its controls. I’ve tried on a variety of surfaces, from a table to my lap desk to my pants, and I’ve found the controls to be stubbornly inconsistent. It works well enough for performing basic functions to show off the concept, but when the game starts testing your skill, it hits against the limitations of its precision. A handful of single-player minigames in the hub area has you slalom through narrow checkpoints or stunt in a bowl, and aiming your vehicle quickly becomes frustrating. The behind-the-back view in basketball matches means you don’t always have a clear idea of where the ball is, relying on an indicator that points behind you to know who has possession and where. Meanwhile, shooting the ball seems extremely generous with the auto-aim, sinking shots if you just lob in the general right direction, but that also means that you don’t understand the reason for the occasional miss.
And even when the controls do work, it can be exhausting to constantly push your Joy-Con mice for every small action. Having to physically exert yourself for movement as well as taking shots is a quick way to get tired, which says something about the impressive physical prowess of actual athletes, but doesn’t make for a very fun or relaxing experience at home. I found myself wishing there were a standard gamepad option, but I also understand that would compromise the point of the game and put players on very uneven fields. But even just getting from place to place in the lobby can be a chore, as you have to wheel yourself over to the hubs for different options and game modes. I’ve played a handful of short sessions and by the end my arms needed a break, so it really doesn’t lend itself to sustained, lengthy sessions.
It doesn’t help that Drag X Drive isn’t much to look at. The Switch 2 has already been used to pull off impressive graphical feats thanks to Nintendo’s knack for art style. It isn’t the most powerful system, but Nintendo can make games look great and stylized. Drag X Drive has some very light stylistic elements–essentially a clean near-future extreme sports aesthetic, with exaggerated arms and hands on your robotic-looking players–but they aren’t pushed far enough to make it look distinct. It looks clean and well-rendered, but at the same time sterile and unexciting.
Gallery
You can customize your player character with a handful of options including choosing a number, a body type (Guard, Forward, or Center), and customizing your helmet, armor, and frame, and tires. For the most part this comes down to selecting a color and texture style, so the helmet is really where most of the customization lies. You can unlock extra options, up to 12 in total, by earning trophies in minigames and bot matches. And for the time being, that appears to be it. There doesn’t seem to be any meta progression or customization beyond that, so there’s very little to tempt me back.
And since it’s multiplayer-focused, my opportunities to play with others have been very limited so far during the review period. I’ve mostly played bot matches, which thankfully come with a series of nine difficulty levels–three apiece for Easy, Standard, and Hard modes. It’s possible that in practice, Drag X Drive will become a raucous good time in live 3v3 matches, but I’d like to put more time into the full game when it releases and play against the full community to make that assessment. For the time being, it’s a novel concept, but I have concerns that it won’t sustain itself for very long.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.