TheNintendo Switch 2has been a smash hit with its wildly successful launch, but an odd pattern has emerged when looking at the console’s first-party exclusives. These are usually the games you buy a Nintendo platform for, whichover six million peoplehave already done. The developer, publisher, and hardware manufacturer is world-famous for its gameplay-first creations, not only inventing some of the most iconic characters on the planet, but also some of thebest games ever made.
New console launches are usually pretty slow; game development takes longer than ever, but even before the current console generation, games released around the same time as a new platform tend to be limited in scope. Nintendo is actually on a pretty impressive run considering its output in the Switch 2 era, but it’s hard to look at the slate of first-party exclusives and not wonder if this was really the best strategy the company could’ve come up with.
Drag x Drive Review Scores Are Not Great
The Latest Switch 2 Exclusive
Drag x Driveis the most recent Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, having come out on August 14. At the time of writing,it has a critical aggregate score of 62onMetacritic– “Mixed or Average” according to the site’s categorization. This isn’t exactly a surprise, asDrag x Drivehas been seen as a glorified tech demo since it was first revealed. It makes use of the Switch 2’s mouse controls in a high-octane adaptation of wheelchair basketball.
In the interest of transparency, I haven’t playedDrag x Drive. I do, however, think it’s a charming concept. I’ve enjoyed the console’s mouse controls quite thoroughly when playingCivilization 7’s Switch 2 version, andbringing increased awareness to the sport of wheelchair basketball can only be a good thing. I don’t think anyone really expectedDrag x Driveto be a big hit, though.
Even at face value, it lacks Nintendo’s signature charm. I also remember watching a Nintendo Treehouse Live segment after the Switch 2 was revealed earlier this year and thinking how exhaustingDrag x Drivelooked to play. It was always going to be a niche experience, and perhaps Nintendo pricing it at $20 is an admission of the company knowing that.
Only Half Of Nintendo’s Switch 2 Exclusives Are Hits
Batting .500 Is Incredible In Baseball
Drag x Driveis just the latest data point for Nintendo’s first-party games on the Switch 2. There have been three others:Mario Kart World,Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, andDonkey Kong Bananza. For comparison, the list below shows each game’s current Metacritic score.
IfDrag x Driveis a glorified tech demo,Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Touris a literal one, and neither are even in the same ballpark as the PlayStation 5’s belovedAstro’s Playroom.Mario Kart Worldwas well-received, even if its open world got a lot of criticism, butDonkey Kong Bananzais among the year’s best games. Considering Nintendo’s usually illustrious track record, it’s quite bizarre to seetwo relative misses among the first four Switch 2 exclusives.
Nintendo’s First-Party Switch 2 Support Has Been Odd So Far
An Eclectic Bunch
Hardware sales figures speak for themselves, but the first-party software support is strange. Even taken alone,Mario Kart Worldfelt like an odd marquee launch title.Mario Kart 8 Deluxebeing the best-selling Switch game of all time probably had a lot to do with the decision, butWorldis notably not the single-player opus the Switch 2’s predecessor debuted alongside:The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
In my opinion,Donkey Kong Bananzacould have been a more compelling launch titlethanMario Kart World. It’s a single-player game, so it’s not partially reliant on internet connectivity or having friends who also purchased an expensive new console, and it does a great job showing off the hardware’s capabilities.Bananza’s voxel techis impressive, and it runs very smoothly (despite the frame rate dropping when you spin the map around too fast).
I understand why Nintendo held ontoBananzafor a month, though. DK is a gaming icon – not to mention the progenitor of theMariofranchise – but he’s never been as popular as many other Nintendo characters.Donkey Kongisn’t aMariogame, and it’s not aZeldagame, so it makes sense to releaseMario Kart Worldfirst.
Then there’sNintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which would have been a neat pack-in game, but Nintendo instead sold it for $10, on top of all the accessories you need to play all its micro-games. It’s in a similar boat toDrag x Drive; they’re both interesting ideas, butdon’t really reach their full potential, and collectively feel out of place as half of Nintendo’s initial slate of outings on the Switch 2.
There are plenty ofSwitch 2 exclusivesstill coming – I’m personally curious to learn Raiders. Then there are exclusives not developed by Nintendo that are sure to draw a lot of attention. I’m eager to finally playMetroid Prime 4, and I can’t be alone in wanting to see more ofThe Duskbloodssoon. And there is, of course, a behemoth on the horizon:Pokémon Legends: Z-A. TheNintendo Switch 2is off to a blistering start sales-wise, and there’s plenty to look forward to, butDrag x Drive’s lukewarm reception is just the latest indicator of a strange launch window lineup.
Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the successor to Nintendo Switch, scheduled for release in 2025. Confirmed as backwards compatible, it will play both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. A full reveal is pencilled in for August 11, 2025.
