Nintendo likes to surprise, as we know. But With Drag X Drive, the Kyoto firm pushes the concept of innovation until physical exhaustion. This wheelchair basketball game exclusively uses the Motion Control and the mouse function of the Joy-Con of the Switch 2. A rather malignant idea on paper which quickly reveals its limits in practice. After several hours of play and a few aches, here is our verdict on this experience, to say the least disappointing.
Clever, but exhausting checks
Drag X Drive pushes the limits of what can be expected from a gameplay. Each Joy-Con represents a hand that activates the wheels of the wheelchair. To move forward, You must slide the two controllers simultaneously on its thighs or on a flat surface of the mouse carpet type. To turn left, we keep the Joy-Con left motionless while pushing the right forward.
The compulsory tutorial lasts about five minutes, but it is more than enough to understand that This game will solicit your shoulders and arms like never before. Fatigue is felt quickly, transforming each game session into a real sports session.
The ball is made automatically when passing it. To make a pass, we use l+r. Marking a basket requires physically the hand that holds the joy-con and performing a throwing movement. A practical indicator shows that The closer we get to the basket, the more the chances of scoring increases. It is rather intuitive, but physically demanding.
A Rocket League Like Basket version
The heart of Drag X Drive consists of Play basketball matches 3 against 3 Like Rocket League. The games last 3 minutes flat with a rule of 14 seconds of possession before having to shoot, otherwise the ball passes to the opposing team. This temporal constraint adds a tactical dimension welcome to matches which could otherwise go around in circles.
To recover the ball from an opponent, it is literally to go for him so that he drops her, then go get her manually. The most advanced players can turn the ball on the finger or use the skate ramps integrated into the field to make dunks.
Three separate classes for limited personalization
Drag X Drive allows you to personalize your character and choose from three classes to different statistics. The class system still brings an interesting strategic dimension, even if the game does not sufficiently detail the differences between each.
This gap in the explanation of the mechanics unfortunately reflects the general approach of Nintendo on this title. The personalization of the characters also remains rather limited according to the current standards of multiplayer games.
Varied, but poorly developed game modes
If online multiplayer is the main experience, Drag X Drive still offers a decent offline mode. You can face bots with different levels of difficulty, participate in random shooting competitions, use a spectator mode or test a race mode.
These additional modes give a little variety to the whole, but they lack depth. The race mode in particular seems to have been added to a hurry without real reflection on its integration into the global experience.
Why is everything so gray and dark?
Unlike Nintendo habits, Drag X Drive displays a sadly generic aesthetic. Where Arms shone with her colorful style and charismatic characters, this new title put on a palette of dull colors dominated by gray tones. This visual approach completely detonates with the usual DNA of Nintendo and gives the impression of an unfinished game.
Even more problematic, Nintendo does not fully assume its concept. The firm carefully avoids talking about “wheelchairs” in its official communication, preferring the generic term of “vehicles”. This marketing reluctance contrasts with the technical audacity of the project and questions the real intentions concerning the possible representation of the Handisport.
More content to come? The great stranger
Drag X Drive sorely suffers from a lack of content. A single arena, limited challenges, no progression system worthy of the name and unattractive cosmetic rewards. Most free to play games have much more content, so Why would the players be willing to pay a title 19.99 euros for such a starry title?
The absence of multiple terrains, characters with a real personality and a memorable soundtrack shows once again how Drag X Drive is a hollow technological demonstration. Nintendo has missed the opportunity to create a new multiplayer classic to settle for a showcase of certain capacities of the Switch 2.
So that, to be paradoxical …
The height of irony, the game inspired by wheelchair basketball requires physically demanding controls. The accessibility options are almost nonexistent and the settings to adapt the controls remain extremely limited. It was difficult for me to perform sessions of more than 15 minutes, as the pain in the arms and shoulders became intense.
Have the developers of the game really experienced their work beyond fifteen minutes of play, or is Drag X Drive designed for necessarily brief games? The little interest represented by the title is proportional to the interest that we will have in the answer to this question.