While much has been made ꦺof Nintendo's decision to go in a more straightforward route b💧y 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 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the wild Drag x Drive reveal during 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: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 m෴ake your shot, you do 💙a lobbing motion with one of the controllers to toss it in.
Watch x Play
To be fra❀nk, watching trailers and video of gamepla🍸y 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 certain🐽ly 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-hig💝h excitement for Mario Kart World and its Knockout Tour, but the feel of playin⛄g the gameও 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 controlle▨r 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 yo𒁃u 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 whe𒊎el.
In hindsight, I'm𝓀 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… wo🅰bbly. I still don't fully understand what the difference between a shot going in and a shot🏅 not going in was.
But a♋fter 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 m𝄹ore 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.
Switch 2 Spotlight: Dive deeper into Nintendo's new console
Rollin is the US Managing🉐 Editor at GamesRadar+. With over 16 years of online journalism experience, Rollin has helped provide coverage of🦂 gaming and entertainment for brands like IGN, Inverse, ComicBook.com, and more. While he has approximate knowledge of many things, his work often has a focus on RPGs and animation in addition to franchises like Pokemon and Dragon Age. In his spare time, Rollin likes to import Valkyria Chronicles merch and watch anime.
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