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While much has been made of Nintendo's decision to go in a more straightforward route by naming its upcoming console the Nintendo Switch 2 – arguably the most normie option the company has gone with in my lifetime – the spirit of experimentation that's arguably defined Nintendo feels alive and well in Drag x Drive, the double mouse control wheelchair basketball game.
If you somehow missed the wild Drag x Drive reveal during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, the basic idea is something akin to Rocket League combined with Wii Sports' basketball and wind-up cars. You use two Joy-Con 2 controllers in order to, well, control the left and right wheel of a wheelchair. When you're ready to make your shot, you do a lobbing motion with one of the controllers to toss it in.
Watch x Play
To be frank, watching trailers and video of gameplay doesn't actually do the game justice. Ahead of playing for myself on the day of the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, the game looked a bit awkward and slow on reveal.
While the Rocket League inspiration was immediately clear, the speed at which those cars move certainly wasn't replicated.
I concluded, at least initially, that it was a goofy, little experimental game from Nintendo that was probably more proof of concept than anything else. You need something to show that the Joy-Con 2 controllers can both be used as mice, right?
Wrong. Well, right in that it does serve that purpose, but wrong in that actually playing Drag x Drive is much more than just a proof of concept. It likely helped that my expectations were low before playing Drag x Drive as opposed to my sky-high excitement for Mario Kart World and its Knockout Tour, but the feel of playing the game was exactly right.
I can't speak to how truly accurate the controls are, having never used a wheelchair or anything similar, but rolling away quickly became intuitive following a brief tutorial. With each Joy-Con 2 controller functionally serving as the hand you might use to spin the left or right wheel, there's a shocking amount of control to movements.
Shooting is just a flick of the wrist, and passing to another player is even simpler. Also, there's a demolition derby feel to stealing the ball from others, as you can ram them to take it and be rammed in return. Plus, there are curved walls you can zoom up to dunk.
Body movin'
Once you get the hang of it, it becomes somewhat instinctual to turn, speed up, and so on – making quick pivots by alternating left and right wheel directions, gaining speed by dragging forward, and lifting to return back to a starting position to drag again, like one would with an actual wheel.
In hindsight, I'm reminded of the first time I played the Nintendo Wii, in that it was exceedingly easy to just get lost in the movement of it all.
And look, maybe this gets physically exhausting in the long run. Or maybe it's frustrating that the actual mechanics for shooting seem a bit… wobbly. I still don't fully understand what the difference between a shot going in and a shot not going in was.
But after playing a couple of rounds, what I can say is that Drag x Drive did put a smile on my face, and I look forward to playing more of it the moment I can.
Drag x Drive is set to release in Summer 2025 for the Nintendo Switch 2. No developer has been announced as of yet, but Nintendo is publishing the game itself. The Nintendo Switch 2 is set to release on June 5, 2025 – and if you're looking to learn more, be sure to check out everything we know about Nintendo Switch 2.
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