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I believe it’s honest to say that when April’s hotly anticipated Nintendo Direct swung round, Drag x Drive wasn’t on anybody’s bingo card. Sure, one of many preliminary first-party releases on the Nintendo Change 2 isn’t solely a sports activities title – however one which’s primarily based on wheelchair basketball.
Evaluate information
Platform reviewed: Nintendo Change 2
Out there on: Nintendo Change 2 solely
Launch date: August 14, 2025
Drag x Drive is, at its core, a recreation supposed to indicate off the improved capabilities of the Pleasure-Con 2. Specifically, their mouse controls are used to maneuver your participant across the court docket. It’s additionally massively centered round on-line play, virtually positioning it as Nintendo’s rival to the massively profitable Rocket League.
So, a few main questions come up. Is Drag x Drive only a glorified tech demo? Or is it a fully-fledged Nintendo Change 2 sports activities title with sufficient depth to carry down a loyal playerbase? I spent hours enjoying this unorthodox new launch to seek out out.
An actual exercise
From the second you open Drag x Drive, you’re thrown right into a tutorial that teaches you all of the fundamentals of motion, hooping, and tricking. You possibly can place the Pleasure-Con 2 controllers on a flat floor and even in your legs, and use mouse controls to imitate pushing wheels on a wheelchair.
The controls are intuitive and pretty simple to familiarize yourself with, for my part. HD rumble additionally makes each flip and push really feel a bit extra true-to-life. There’s been some debate on-line about one of the best ways to manage your baller, however I discovered that holding the Pleasure-Con 2’s on high of my legs was probably the most snug, natural-feeling technique.
Nonetheless, after a couple of minutes of wheeling round in addition to a few observe matches, I recognized – properly, felt, actually – certainly one of Drag x Drive’s key limitations. My arms have been feeling beat.
Yep, this recreation’s an actual exercise, although I did marvel if this was intentional. Is Drag x Drive meant to immerse the participant within the high-exertion actuality of wheelchair basketball? Possibly. However the details are, I felt fairly achey after a number of back-to-back matches, which did make enjoying for longer than round half-hour really feel tiring.
Apart from that, although, motion is strong. You possibly can simply construct up pace with lengthy, relaxed strokes, and wheel up on-court halfpipes to dunk or hinder a shot. The ZL and ZR buttons allow you to brake, and you can even use them to bunny hop, providing you with some additional elevation when blocking or capturing.
On the subject of capturing, it’s additionally fairly constant. The extra lined up you’re with the basket, the extra seemingly you’re to attain, which may be carried out with a flick of the wrist – no buttons wanted. I did discover, now and again, my baller would increase their hand to shoot, even after I hadn’t carried out this movement. However more often than not, capturing is responsive.
Finest bit
I wheeled up the court docket’s half-pipe, flung myself into the air, and hit a gnarly dunk to assist my crew declare victory within the closing seconds of a match.
I’d argue that probably the most underwhelming component of Drag x Drive’s core gameplay, nonetheless, is defending. As a way to steal the ball, you need to cost into an opposing participant whereas dealing with them. However, when enjoying matches on-line throughout the recreation’s International Jam trial occasion, I discovered that this didn’t all the time work – I’d conflict into an opponent, however the ball would stay firmly of their grip.
On high of that, blocking didn’t really feel very dependable. In the end, my video games have been not often received by good protection. They have been sometimes received by aggressively attacking. Talking of, you’ll be able to bag additional factors with trick photographs – suppose dunks and mid-air throws. And I’ve to say, successful a match with a mid-air 3-pointer may be very satisfying!
Oh, and one closing observe on gameplay – I typically discovered myself in 2v2 matches when enjoying on-line by way of International Jam. Scrolling on Reddit, I found that different gamers encountered an identical incidence, although video games have been nonetheless usually balanced, and I barely ever skilled any delays or efficiency points.
I’m hoping 2v2s are rather less frequent when the total recreation is on normal launch, although, for probably the most action-packed expertise attainable.
The place’s the Nintendo magic?
Let’s take a break from gameplay to speak about design. Now, I am gonna be frank. I’m not a fan of the best way Drag x Drive appears. The world – or ought to I say, the courts – is just too bland. Colours aren’t very vibrant, and there’s a usually dingy look to the atmosphere, which is an actual disgrace.
Given this can be a Nintendo-developed title, you anticipate the vivid, character-filled presentation that so lots of the finest Nintendo Change 2 video games – and certainly, the finest Nintendo Change video games – thrive off of. As well as, character fashions lack polish, which means the sport doesn’t actually appear like it was made for a flashy new console.
Not solely is it visually underwhelming, however the general Drag x Drive expertise is fairly skinny – maybe to be anticipated given its low price ticket. 3v3 on-line matches are usually aggressive and entertaining to hop into, although, as I discussed, a number of video games left my arms feeling torpid. And aside from these on-line matches, there’s not all an excessive amount of to do.
There are a number of minigames littered across the courts – stuff like cone programs and dash time trials. In the event you full these inside a sure period of time, you’ll be able to earn a trophy. However after I did this, I didn’t really feel notably eager to return to them. Selection might be higher, too, on condition that lots of the minigames are variations of one another – there are a selection of cone programs to complete, as an example.
One thing that’s undoubtedly constructive, although, is that the trophies you receive by clearing minigames make it easier to unlock new customization choices. For instance, you will get new helmets – together with one with a mohawk, which I took a liking to. Aside from that, you’ll be able to alter the feel and colours of your armor, body, and wheels.
Mix this with the chance to modify between a speedy but light-weight guard, a cumbersome but sluggish middle, or an all-rounder ahead, and Drag x Drive finally ends up being a pleasingly personalizable time.
So, how about we return to that query of ours: is Drag x Drive only a glorified tech demo? Properly, that is likely to be a contact harsh. However the completed product does really feel slightly underbaked. The core expertise – the 3v3 on-line matches – is decently tense and end-to-end, and I can see myself dipping in on occasion for a fast recreation.
However a fast recreation is all I’d really need from Drag x Drive. It’s a exercise on the arms, minigames aren’t massively partaking, and the atmosphere isn’t visually stimulating sufficient to attract me in for the long term.
Very like it did with Arms on the unique Change, Nintendo took a protracted shot early with Drag x Drive. And truthfully, I respect the choice to create an authentic gaming expertise primarily based on wheelchair basketball – it’s refreshing to see extra illustration of sports activities akin to this. However in the long run, its tiring controls and unappealing aesthetic maintain Drag x Drive again from being a complete slam dunk.
Must you play Drag x Drive?
Play it if…
Do not play it if…
Accessibility options
There aren’t all too many accessibility options to notice from Drag x Drive. You possibly can alter the digicam distance in addition to the X and Y-axis configuration, and select whether or not to make use of mouse or stick controls for menu navigation. However, disappointingly, that’s about it.
How I reviewed Drag x Drive
I performed Drag x Drive for round 10 hours, primarily competing on-line throughout the International Jam occasion and in matches in opposition to bots in single-player mode. I additionally accomplished the vast majority of the out there minigames and performed round with the customization choices out there.
For probably the most half, I performed the sport in docked mode on my Nintendo Change 2, which is connected to the Sky Glass Gen 2 and a Samsung HW-Q800D soundbar. Nonetheless, I did additionally spend a while enjoying the sport in tabletop mode whereas related to my Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones.
First reviewed August 2025
