Drag X Drive – reviewing Nintendo’s wheelchair basketball game

Domagoj Belancic

13.8.2025

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

Pictures: Domagoj Belancic

Nintendo’s experimental wheelchair basketball game impresses with its unusual mouse controls. It reminds me of Rocket League. Unfortunately, there isn’t much exciting to do in the dreary and grey world of Drag X Drive.

It might’ve been the biggest WTF moment at the Switch 2 presentation in April. Alongside familiar faces such as Mario, Donkey Kong or Kirby, Nintendo presented a completely new game: Drag X Drive. A dark-looking game by Nintendo standards, with robots in wheelchairs playing basketball. Exactly: WTF.

I’ve tested the peculiar multiplayer title extensively and am left disappointed. The double-mouse controls are really cool, and the online matches are exciting all the time. Still, despite the solid gameplay, the title offers very little to keep me hooked on the Joy-Con 2 controllers in the long term.

Takes some getting used to, but the dual-mouse control is ingenious

To steer the wheelchair robots in Drag X Drive, you use both Joy-Con 2 controllers in mouse mode. To advance or back up, drag the mice either forwards or backwards simultaneously on a flat surface. You feel the spokes rattling in the controllers as if you were operating a real wheelchair. A really cool feeling. To turn left or right, just push one of the controllers forwards or back.

You use the shoulder buttons to slow down and pass the ball to teammates. If you want to shoot the ball into the basket, raise one hand and imitate a throwing motion. To prevent an opponent from shooting, raise both hands and block. Alternatively, just run head-on into the opponent with your wheelchair to steal the ball from them.

It took me a while to get used to the strange controls. I was constantly driving right past free balls or opponents, or oversteering because I was moving a Joy-Con 2 too much. My hands also cramped up because I didn’t know how best to hold the mini controllers.

But after a few training sessions against bots and online matches against real opponents, I feel more confident in the virtual wheelchair. I also try my hand at some tricks. Time and again I race into the half-pipe under the basket, take off and dunk the ball into the hoop like a freaking robot basketball wheelchair pro. It feels great, despite the occasional hand cramp.

The steep learning curve and finicky back-and-forth movement of the controllers won’t appeal to everyone. It can also be frustrating to find an adequate setup for dual mouse control. Although Nintendo claims that the Joy-Con 2 mice can also be operated on trouser legs, in practice this only sort of works with Drag X Drive. Inputs this way aren’t captured well.

My setup tip: sit on a sofa with two mouse mats – one on the left, one on the right. Or use the Switch 2 in tabletop mode on your desk – don’t forget the mouse mat, otherwise the sliders on the controllers will wear out quickly due to the constant friction.

Thrilling online matches

The highlight of the game is undoubtedly the exciting online matches against real opponents – either random strangers or friends. It’s a shame I can’t play against opponents with friends.

During my test period, I played through numerous matchups that ended up being extremely close. With all this racing and jumping vehicles and a giant ball, I feel like I’m back in my Rocket League days.

I particularly like the points system. Normal baskets score 2 points, shots outside the three-point line score 3. If I perform a trick while shooting, I get a bonus decimal point. For example, a sweet half-pipe hoop scores 2.1 instead of 2 points. A long shot while jumping with the wheelchair scores 3.2 points instead of 3.

This way you’re constantly weighing up whether it’s worth doing a trick when shooting (which can often go wrong) or whether you’d rather play it safe and shoot normally. The risk is often worth it. I often played matches where mere decimal points decided between victory and defeat.

Meagre additional content

Unfortunately, there’s no progression system in these online matches. I keep playing against random opponents and unlock… nothing. No cosmetic items, no upgrades for my wheelchair, nada. There are also no ranks with which I could move up to compete against better players. I’m missing an overarching structure, a goal I can work towards. This quickly destroys my motivation, despite the successful core gameplay.

Apart from the traditional 3v3 matches, I can also compete online in two mini-games. I can race against other players across special courses, or chase after a basketball along with everyone else in Rebound Scramble. Neither one knocked my socks off.

If you don’t want to play with others, you can also tackle various challenges scattered around the game world on your own. Courses with cones, jumping competitions and half-pipe challenges await you. If you successfully complete a challenge, you’ll receive trophies that unlock cosmetic items. And that’s already your lot. You can only really win helmets that minimally change the appearance of your robot.

Where’s that Nintendo magic?

The visuals of the game also didn’t impress me. Drag X Drive runs smoothly, but looks like a Switch 1 game. In addition, the entire game world looks unusually dull for a Nintendo game with dominant grey tones. The basketball gym and expressionless robots feel cold and soulless.

Am I exaggerating? Maybe. But just take a gander at what Arms looked like. That was a comparably experimental multiplayer title, released at the launch of the Switch 1. Even if the game wasn’t perfect, it had that Nintendo magic I’m completely missing in Drag X Drive. That certain something, that charm that keeps me glued to the controller.

It’s a shame, the impressive core gameplay definitely deserved a nicer presentation and more content for long-term motivation.

Drag X Drive will be released on 14 August 2025 for the Nintendo Switch 2. The game was provided to me by Nintendo for testing purposes.

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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