What parents need to know
Drag x Drive is a brand new game from Nintendo that is clearly designed to highlight the new control scheme made possible with the Switch 2’s joycons.
Indeed, you play wheelchair basketball, and the game uses the mouse function of the joycons to imitate the real maneuver of a wheelchair: you slide the two controllers to move forward, you slide the left controller to turn to the right and vice-versa, and you grip the wheels by pressing the triggers to brake. In the same way, the controller is brandished in the air to shoot at the basket.
Drag x Drive is a game designed above all to be played online. You can play 3 on 3 games (sometimes 2 on 2 if there are not enough players) with friends and/or strangers. Some additional mini-games will also require us to engage in wheelchair races, obstacle courses or be the first to reach a randomly thrown ball.
Details
Level of experience required
| Age | 3+ | 7+ | 12+ | 16+ | 18+ |
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Evaluation
Drag x Drive is neither violent nor scary.
Nothing to report.
There is practically no reading to do, except in the explanations at the very beginning, but everything is very simple and well illustrated.
We appreciate that the title features characters in wheelchairs.
The controls are simple and intuitive, if not very pleasant.
This title seems a bit expensive when we look at the amount of content it offers us, but there is no monetization beyond the price of the game, which we appreciate.
Local game modes
You can play alone (against bots) or with friends, but everyone must have their own console and copy of the game.
Online Game Modes
You can play online against strangers or with friends.
Expansions/Add-ons (DLC)
None.
Our opinion
During our test, two games came to mind, for two different reasons: ARMS and Rocket League.
ARMS, first of all, because just like the fighting game, Drag x Drive is a game that comes out very early in the life of its console, and which aims to highlight the motion controls specific to it. If ARMS wanted to promote motion detection features, Drag x Drive is looking to promote the mouse mode of the joycons.
On the other hand, Drag x Drive shares some flaws with ARMS, and worsens some. Just like ARMS, Drag x Drive relies almost entirely on online multiplayer, even though this time it’s even worse. There are no single-player modes, unless you want to play random games against bots, and progress is pretty much measured only by the few accessories you can unlock (rings, hat).
The content is therefore extremely thin. After 1 hour, we saw everything there was to see. And unlike ARMS, Drag x Drive doesn’t have an endearing protagonist or an intriguing universe to discover. It’s hard to imagine a “wheelchair basketball athlete” joining Link and Mario in the next Super Smash Bros. movie.
As we said earlier, Drag x Drive also reminded us of Rocket League. It has a similar visual signature, and the same concept centered on a somewhat unique version of a well-known sport.
But Rocket League has continued to do well for more than a decade for several reasons: the handling is simple but the mastery of the game is complex, it offers a lot of content, and the depth of the game mechanics helps to feed a vigorous competitive scene. Oh, and the game is free to download.
Drag x Drive has none of these advantages. On the one hand, the controls are simple, yes, but also annoying. Even though the controls mimic the action of handling a chair well (and I’ve already been condemned to a chair for a few months, enough for my muscles to remember it), I rarely felt like I was really in control of my chair in the game.
Maybe the ease and control would have come with practice, but the fact that the game is very repetitive and the controls quickly become exhausting for the forearms took away any desire to practice more.
Also, there does not seem to be a very great strategic depth. The scoring is the same as in the real sport (two points for a basket in the circle, 3 points for a basket outside the circle), but we are also given additional decimal points for style. The best way to rack up decimals is to propel yourself up the ramp next to the basket and dunk.
Result? All the experienced players just rush to the opponent’s basket and dunk. Few passing or fake games: only solo dunks. Not very exciting.
It’s hard to imagine a competitive scene being built around Drag x Drive. The game lacks depth in its mechanics for more “hardcore” players, and the universe is not attractive and exciting enough to attract a new, less experienced audience. We could have had fun in local multiplayer, but surprisingly, it was impossible to play with several people on the same console.
In addition, the asking price of $29.99 CAD for so little content may put many people off.
It’s a shame, because this use of joycons is ingenious, and we can imagine players in wheelchairs rejoicing to finally be represented, an extremely rare occasion in the world of gaming.
Unfortunately, Drag x Drive missed the basket.
Note: a code has been given to us by the publisher for review purposes but this does not influence our opinion.
