- 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 29/Aug 00:01

Drag X Drive – Review

Although Nintendo is best known for churning out Marios and Zeldas, occasionally, they bring something different to the table, typically intended to show off the gimmick of their then-current console. The 3DS had Dillon’s Rolling Western, the Wii U had Splatoon, and the OG Switch had ARMS. Occasionally, a smaller new IP like this manages to break out and become a gaming behemoth in its own right; just look at Splatoon. With the Switch 2, Nintendo brings us another new ‘gimmick’ IP in the form of Drag X Drive. The game was seemingly mostly designed to show off the Switch 2’s mouse controls, but is there more to it than just being a glorified tech demo? Story Unlike Splatoon, which has had multiple story campaigns, and ARMS, which had surprisingly deep character lore, Drag X Drive features no narrative content. The game focuses almost entirely on multiplayer gameplay, although there are some additional challenges and minigames in the Park hub area. A single-player narrative campaign, even a very simple one, would have been very welcome here. The absence of story content contributes to the game’s lack of a meaningful identity, something that is further reinforced when it comes to the way it presents itself audiovisually. Graphics To the game’s credit, Drag X Drive’s visual performance is solid and smooth. Online matches run remarkably stable, with the game effortlessly keeping up a steady frame rate. That isn’t surprising, given that Drag X Drive is an in-house product, and Nintendo has a fantastic track record of optimizing its games for its own hardware. What is surprising, however, is the game’s art direction. The game’s clean, sterile art style is the antithesis of the Nintendo charm we’ve come to know and love. Visually, Drag X Drive comes across as bland and generic, with its gray, concrete arenas and personality-less player characters. Character customization exists, but it’s very limited, mostly limited to helmet tweaks. Aesthetically, the game has ‘missed opportunity’ written all over it. Sound We can’t hold a lack of consistency against Drag X Drive’s soundscape. Just like with the visuals and narrative, the game’s audio doesn’t match what we’ve come to expect from Nintendo. The game’s music is the worst offender here, being lacking in personality and atmosphere. It’s present, but it’s not distinctive. It’s not entirely surprising, given that this is a game mostly meant to be played online, so you’d want the audio not to suppress the GameChat feature. However, said feature is reserved for talking to friends. Communication with strangers is limited to pre-programmed shouts mapped to buttons, which isn’t a good replacement for proper communication. Gameplay Mouse mode is the Switch 2’s big new gimmick, and it’s central to Drag X Drive’s gameplay. We were already familiar with this new control mode, thanks to games like Welcome Tour and Nobunaga’s Ambition. The mode itself works great, and the idea of having dual mouse controls certainly has the potential to open up new ways to play games. Drag X Drive provides a good showcase for this: the game challenges players to partake in arcade-style wheelchair basketball. Each of the Switch 2’s Joy-Con 2 acts as a wheel of your character’s wheelchair. Sliding them together moves you forward, and alternating allows you to steer, with the ZL and ZR buttons acting as brakes. Lifting and flicking the Joy-Cons seamlessly lets you shoot the ball. The control scheme takes some getting used to and takes some serious practice to master. It’s also physically more tiring than a traditional setup. Your arms will definitely get a workout. The game is best played using the Joy-Con 2 straps too, as these act as little mouse ‘feet’, making sliding the controllers over the table a lot smoother. Speaking of a table, our initial reflex was to play with our Joy-Con 2 by our side, to mimic the wheels of our chair next to us, but the surface of our couch proved to be less than accurate. A smooth surface is what you want if you’re going to be a Drag X Drive pro. There is more to Drag X Drive’s inclusion of wheelchairs than just offering a unique control scheme. The arenas where the game is played offer plenty of ramps, and you can up your score by performing wheelchair tricks, like bunny hops and flips. You can practice these in between games in the Park hub area, where you’ll find challenges that will put your wheelchair skills to the test. The main meat of Drag X Drive is in its online multiplayer mode, however. Here you’ll partake in fast-paced 3 vs 3 matches that last just a few minutes each. The aim here is, of course, to score the most points. This mode is easily where Drag X Drive shines the brightest. The game offers an offline variant where you take on bots, but those matches lack the strategic depth and exhilarating momentum of the online matches. The core experience of Drag X Drive -and particularly those online matches- absolutely works as a showcase of what is possible with the hardware, but we have doubts when it comes to the game’s longevity. There simply isn’t a whole lot of content here, and the game’s lack of personality doesn’t help when it comes to staying power. In the short term, there is certainly plenty of fun to be had here, though. It also helps that it’s uncharacteristically low-priced for a first-party Nintendo title. Ultimately, Drag X Drive still gives the impression of being a tech demo, but a really good one at that. Conclusion We’re pretty sure Drag X Drive is going to end up as a footnote near Dillon in the annals of Nintendo history. While the core gameplay works, both as a showcase for its unique control scheme and as a fun little online multiplayer experience, the game is lacking in long-term staying power. It’s light on content, and its overall presentation comes across as bland and generic. Although the price point is lower than you’d typically expect from a Nintendo game, it’s unlikely that this will draw in players. That’s a shame, because for what it is, it’s a nice little curiosity, even if it only has a limited lifespan before you’ve seen everything it has to offer.