The reviews are in for one of the Nintendo Switch 2’s earliest exclusives, and it’s getting middling scores across the board. This proves what a lot of fans said from the start: that it should have been a free pack-in game, rather than a paid release.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has seen incredible sales in the first few months of its launch, but it hasn’t had much reason for fans to buy one right now. The console is being carried by Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, with only a handful of exclusives still confirmed to be coming this year.

One of the few Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives that makes use of its unique hardware gimmicks is Drag x Drive, a basketball game that uses the Joy-Con 2’s mouse controls to maneuver the rider. The game is set to launch on August 14, but the early reviews are up on Metacritic, and the response hasn’t exactly been exciting.

Drag X Drive Should Have Been A Freebie

Drag X Drive has received mediocre reviews from outlets, with the consensus being that the controller movement is a tiring gimmick and that the game is severely lacking in content at launch.

Considering Drag x Drive is a twenty-dollar game at launch, the reviews are a bad sign for the game. Like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour before it, Drag x Drive should have been a free pack-in title, as a way of incentivizing people to buy a console, as well as show off the new hardware.

Nintendo seems to have an aversion to free games in the modern era. Back in the day, games like Wii Sports sold consoles, but those days are long gone, with the company willing to nickel and dime fans for every bit of software. Drag x Drive was never exactly exciting to look at from the start, and it feels like it’s going to swiftly be ignored and forgotten by Switch 2 owners.