Recently, I've been playing a lovely new sports game. Fast-paced multiplayer with tight controls, endless replayability, great communication options and an overall sense of fun. That game is called Rematch. I have also been playing a game called Drag x Drive.
I won't critique a game for trying something new, nor for giving some much-needed attention to a great sport, therefore these are my main positive points for Drag x Drive. It took a look at the limited options for truly unique gameplay with the Nintendo Switch 2, and honed in on the mouse controls to make a wheelchair basketball game in which your motions control the pace and manoeuvres in the gameplay. In somewhat of a similar vein to Rematch, Drag x Drive doesn't take the rules of its sport too seriously, instead opting for more of an arcade atmosphere, where you can flip off of half-pipes and use tricks to gain some extra points on a successful shot.
Sliding the Joy-Cons back and forth, mimicking the motions needed to move a wheelchair, is certainly something that takes some getting used to, and results in an immediate frustration that may put you off straight away. From the time I've spent with Drag x Drive, I can say it does get better, but never perfect. The controls are simply not tight enough or satisfying enough to warrant a full focus on this mouse-control style of gameplay. Mice have been used to control video games for decades, but so far no one has thought it was a brilliant idea for you to pick up and drag the mouse in a straight line across a surface again and again to play. Part Arms, part Ring Fit, all confusing.
Despite being largely baffled by this game's existence, I'll admit it does have its moments. Once you've got a grip of the controls and can play a game or two, Drag x Drive manages to be a bit of a laugh. I will say that I'm not sure I was enjoying the game as intended for most of the time, and instead just had fun blasting from one end of the court to the other, ripping my shorts as my Joy-Cons scraped against my legs, trying to do tricks or hit impossible 3 pointers. Mechanically, Drag x Drive really can't be taken too seriously, else it's too easy to poke holes. Tackling, for example, just doesn't work, as any bump you take while facing a foe head-on means you lose the ball, but hitting someone hard in the back doesn't do anything. This led to a game where someone just had their back to my team while sitting under the hoop, so no one could do anything but nudge them slightly as they aimed their easy shot.
Outside of playing 3v3 basketball, you do have a small park to explore. A mostly grey environment with lacking minigames outside of time trials and shooting practise. It's not really something that's going to grab you if you want a break from the action. You can have fun with friends or random people, but again you're limited in what you can participate in. If you're really struggling with the controls, you can head back to the tutorial, but that in itself also feels limited, as it doesn't teach you certain elements like Bunny Hopping, which is a requirement for beating some of the time trials sprinkled in the park. I have to highlight the mechanics and controls once more here, as getting your chair off the ground takes such a feat of timing that whenever I managed a Bunny Hop I felt like it was a fluke more than something I'd intended to do.
On the one hand, I admire Drag x Drive for its commitment to recreating even a fraction of the effort required for a sport such as wheelchair basketball in its controls. But, on the other, it feels slightly ironic that a game focused on an accessible sport does not have accessibility options to give you another way to control the game. Focusing so hard on the movements made me feel sick at times and as with a VR title I couldn't really go through more than 30 minutes at a time of Drag x Drive without feeling like my eyes needed a break. The mouse controls just don't feel up to the vision of Drag x Drive yet. Turns are incredibly tricky to pull off well and the sense of speed really varies even if the motion of your arms remains the same.
I also find it odd how much this game combats one of the main selling points of a Nintendo Switch 2. You can't take Drag x Drive on the go, as you have to detach and use the controllers on a suitable surface. That surface can be your legs, mind, but you still need a decent space to set up the screen and let fly. Like the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, I struggle to find a way to justify this game's existence, much less the purchase of it. Saying that, though, I still think Drag x Drive might offer something to the right player that can withstand the strange controls and bland surroundings.
Right now, Nintendo feels like they're in a bit of a Kinect era with the Nintendo Switch 2. Trying out everything with fancy new tools like mouse controls and Game Chat, but not really knowing how to actually make these features into compelling game mechanics. Drag x Drive is unfortunately an experiment that hasn't nearly gone wild enough, and will be the subject of a tricky quiz question in a few years' time.
