Drag x Drive could suffer the same fate as another Nintendo Switch game

Today, Nintendo finally announced a release date for Drag x Drive, the wheelchair basketball game that makes use of the Switch 2’s new mouse controls, via the Nintendo Today app. This new game was initially announced during the April 2nd Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, but has not revealed any further information since then. Drag x Drive will be released on August 14th, just under two months away. Some people have had the chance to try a demo of this new game, but for the most part, we still don’t know what to expect. Will this game be the Arms of the Switch 2?

Drag x Drive finally has a release date set for August. What can we expect from this game?

Drag x Drive is one of the few games from Nintendo’s latest Direct presentation that doesn’t have a strong legacy behind it. Many titles shown that day were sequels, part of a long-running series, or from a well-known development team. Rather than rely on something like that, Drag x Drive is an exploration of the new mouse-like features built into the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons. Much like an actual wheelchair, players will control their movement by dragging or pushing the Joy-Cons on a flat surface. Lifting the Joy-Con in the air mimics lifting the basketball and taking a shot. Over the past two weeks, the new Joy-Con’s mouse controls have been impressively responsive, which seems promising for how good this gameplay will feel.

But that is the problem. Currently, it’s mostly a guess about how interesting this game will be. The control scheme is unique, and a competitive multiplayer sport is promising, especially considering the use of Game Chat. But it’s hard to see what else Drag x Drive has to offer as a video game. It’s somewhat reminiscent of one of the first Nintendo Switch titles, Arms.

Overall, I think most people would agree that Arms was a fine game. It was a great way to get players used to the new Joy-Cons, holding one in each hand. But past the core gameplay of long-distance punching, there wasn’t much else to do. Arms was a fun concept that could have been more fully explored, and I worry that Drag x Drive will face a similar fate. After playing a few rounds of wheelchair basketball, will I still feel a need to come back for more? Will there be more to experience?

According to Nintendo’s website, Drag x Drive will be priced at around $20 and is available for pre-order now. This price point is a lot less worrying than if it were billed as a top-tier Nintendo title like Donkey Kong Bananza or Mario Kart World. However, it also seems to suggest that we shouldn’t have the highest expectations for what else is contained in this smaller package. Looking through the game’s page, the information is a tutorial on how to play rather than what features to expect. For now, Drag x Drive is selling itself solely on the novelty of these control schemes. At least now we have a release date to look forward to. Maybe before then, we will learn more about this unique game.

• Nintendo
• Nintendo Direct
• Nintendo Switch 2