Drag x Drive Review: Chaotic in every sense

And that can be a good thing or a bad thing...

There wasn’t a single second playing Drag x Drive in its pre-release window that I wasn’t thinking about Rematch. So, please indulge me for a moment while I talk about Rematch instead of Drag x Drive.

I adore and loathe Rematch in equal measure; I don’t follow football but I immediately gravitated to Sloclap’s football game (and first multiplayer spectacle). An ice hockey fan and player — though I’ve dropped “player” this season to try to save my poor hip flexors — I could easily apply my strategic knowledge in one sport to another’s 3v3 and 5v5 modes. Control the ball, move to open space for others, and work together to put the ball into those gaps. It just clicked immediately.

Long story short, it’s a real shame that Sloclap is struggling to solve Rematch‘s online issues.

My hesitation over Nintendo’s overall implementation of online services aside, its 3v3 wheelchair basketball simulator Drag x Drive has a bit of an uphill climb ahead of it. Exclusively online — unless you want to play with bots — a couple hours of hands-on with the title has me thinking that its meta will make or break it.

From my current experience, Drag x Drive has a court that’s too small for six players, making it hard to find the space that I so relish within Rematch. Players will have to deal with controls (more on that later) and a 14 second shot clock, meaning there’s little, precious time to set yourself up for success. As such, players will hardly ever pass and instead just make runs for the net, looking to nab 2 points as quickly as possible.

Mark my words: players will constantly elect to barrel towards the net, looking to do an elaborate dunk, and that’s because tricks like that earn you bonus points. Those, frankly, are crucial to success; in several matches, our team won or lost by literally 0.1 of a point, thanks to — or because of — said tricks. They’re far easier to pull off than 3-pointers.

Once one team scores, the two-point zone of that side of the court actively pushes the other team away, meaning there’s space to pass the ball at that point. That’s where any passes take place: from the player who’s first fielded the ball to another who’s found some open space. That player will then do the damndest to, again, get a two-pointer (or, ideally, a 2.2 pointer).

There are ways to combat this, of course — the first being to cover your player, obviously. That’s sometimes more difficult than you’d think, though, because of Drag x Drive‘s elephant in the room: it’s exclusively controlled by Joy-Con 2 in mouse mode. That means that you can’t use a joystick to flick your vision around to see what’s happening behind you; instead, you need to move your left and right arms to turn around. By then, and because of said small court, you’re likely removed from the play.

The other way to combat someone barrelling to the net is to score and then go waaaaaaay back in the court to then triple-team the player with the ball. It’s surprisingly effective, mostly because there’s little space to manoeuvre.

Perhaps the worst thing that Drag x Drive allows is goaltending. If someone on the other team is taking a shot at net, you can simply aim your player straight at the net — using the halfpipe below to run into it — to stop the ball from travelling through the hoop. It’s extremely viable, so get ready for that to be everyone’s defensive strategy.

Controlling your player is frankly difficult, and I can see people dropping off because they don’t enjoy the experience. Thankfully, that’s where some of Drag x Drive‘s mini-games come into play as they not only break up games, but try to encourage refining your ability to control your player.

All that said, throwing each arm forward and back to control your player also takes a toll — I wasn’t uncomfortable after an hour of play, but I was certainly done for a bit. And, I’ve got to say: if Civ 7 can offer hybrid controls, instantly recognising that you’re in mouse or Joy-Con mode and letting you navigate with either in menus, I’d really love if Drag x Drive could do the same. It doesn’t.

This all may sound negative, but I’m hopeful that Drag x Drive can quickly sort out its issues faster than Rematch has. At $30 AUD, it’s the price of an upgrade for the likes of Kirby and the Forgotten Land — I’d frankly recommend you support this experimental sports game over a gen-to-gen update.

Ultimately, this will be at the mercy of two things: how Nintendo supports the title (and its online experience), and how quickly players learn and adapt to its meta. In the case of Rematch, it’s been quite rocky. I hope that Drag x Drive goes otherwise.

Drag x Drive heads to Switch 2 on 14 August.

Drag x Drive was reviewed using a promotional code on Switch 2, as provided by the publisher. Click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.

Drag x Drive 14 August 2025 Switch 2   Nintendo eShop