If you have ever dreamed of an impossible crossing between Mario Kart and the Disney universeDisney Speedstorm is, basically, that wish turned into a video game. Karts, impossible shortcuts, crazy objects and a collection of Disney and Pixar characters that grows season after season, all under the umbrella of a free-to-play model with a lot of fine print. And yes, it has also reached mobile, so the simile with smartphone games is no coincidence.
What this Gameloft Barcelona title proposes is a mix of Very accessible arcade racing and a progression layer worthy of a modern game as a service: coins everywhere, loot boxes, season passes, characters and pieces to level up, rotating modes and events. On paper it sounds great; In practice, it combines brilliant moments with design and monetization decisions that take their toll.
A Mario Kart with a Disney flavor… and a free-to-play soul
Disney Speedstorm was born first on consoles and PC in paid early accesswith several founder’s packs that gave early access, starting characters and a good handful of rewards. Although its vocation is to be a game free-to-play multiplatform, during that early phase its free nature was suspended until its official launch, at which time it has been expanding systems and platforms, including mobile devices.
The game is currently available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PCin addition to its later released mobile version, and is presented as a full-fledged “game as a service”. Gameloft has recycled many ideas from its smartphone titles: various currencies, consumables, boxes of loot gachapon type, premium passes and a progression based on improving statistics by repeating races or checking out.
The entrance to the game is based on the Founder’s Pack and Season Passwhich offer drivers unlocked from the beginning, skins, premium currencies and other benefits. From minute one it is clearly perceived that the axis of the project is not only the races, but the ecosystem of progression, events, thematic seasons (such as Mulan) and a future in which characters and circuits will rotate to keep the community hooked.
Gameplay: simple, attractive and with some buts
At the controls, Disney Speedstorm feels like a classic kart game with some twist of its own. If you’ve played Mario Kart, it’ll take you seconds to understand what’s going on: speed up, drift to charge mini-turbo, collect item boxes, throw projectiles, use shields and look for shortcuts; The formula works, and the studio has respected it quite a bit.
Drifting is essential: maintain the drift more than a specific time It charges a speed boost that is activated when you release the directional brake, very similar to what is seen in Mario Kart, although here the system is somewhat simpler and less technical. In addition, there is a special turbo that refills passively and that all runners can activate to get a good extra acceleration, adding another layer of management to the pace of the race.
One of the most striking features are the rails you can grind onquite reminiscent of the antigravity driving of Mario Kart 8. If you manage to maintain your balance while moving through them, you gain greater speed and access to alternative routes. The classic acceleration panels are added, spectacular jumps, loops and unevenness that means that each turn can be slightly different depending on the paths you choose.
The controls are intended to be very accessible: accelerate, turn, drift, jump and use skills. There are even lateral lunging movements to throw rivals off the track, almost like in a Burnout with slow motion included when you manage to knock them off the track. On consoles and PCs with a controller, the response is good, although details to be polished have been detected, such as conflicts when pressing several simultaneous actions that can momentarily cut off acceleration.
Where the game weakens is in the physical sensations of vehicles. Many players agree that karts seem too light, almost as if they were floating a few centimeters above the asphalt. The lack of “weight” detracts from the impact of skids and crashes, and gives the impression that any character can take sharp turns too easily. Furthermore, the feeling of speed in the lower classes is poor: in the initial displacements and slower categories it seems as if someone has permanently left the brake half-pressed, something that is especially noticeable if you come from other faster arcades.
Unique Pilot Classes, Roles, and Skills
One of the most interesting ideas of the game is that the characters are not simple skins. Each pilot belongs to a class with a specific role, and also has their own special ability. This brings the design closer to a game of heroes with cars, where the choice of the protagonist influences as much as the layout.
There is four major types of drivers that mark the style of play:
- sprinters– Specialists in pure speed and acceleration, perfect for aggressive players. They make better use of the circuit’s speed panels, but are more complicated to handle and somewhat more fragile in combat.
- Cheaters: focused on boost and annoying rivals. They can gain an advantage when dashing an opponent and recharge their turbo manually by performing tricks in the air. They offer a fairly balanced profile.
- Fighters: easier to control, with less top speed but more contact-oriented. By attacking an opponent they can stun them and, in the process, recharge their manual boost bar.
- Defenders– The tanks in the game, with better acceleration and combat statistics. They get shields by hitting other runners with their dash and fill their boost by passing through special hoops located in the circuit.
In addition to class, each pilot has a exclusive skill inspired by your character. Mickey, for example, activates a kind of musical turbo with a showy trail behind him; Donald unleashes a maelstrom of blows that devastates any rival who crosses his path; Other characters boost their speed, fire projectiles or generate defensive fields.
Among all, one of the most ingenious is that of Mike Wazowski, who can place doors on the track: If he passes through one, he teleports forward, gaining positions; If their opponents do so, the door sends them back, making them lose positions. These types of ideas show how well the licenses could be exploited, although for now the rest of the unique abilities are not as imaginative and feel more generic.
The great challenge of this system is the balance between characters and roles. In the initial state of the game, many skills were clearly unbalanced, something very dangerous in competitive multiplayer: as soon as the community detects “the broken character in the meta”, the rest of the roster falls into the background and the variety is reduced. Gameloft has been adjusting values, but it is still a delicate section, especially when improving statistics is also linked to progression and monetization.
Settings, characters and a debatable artistic design
Visually, Disney Speedstorm is committed to a constant spectacle on screen. The circuits are inspired by very recognizable licenses: Pirates of the Caribbean, Hercules, Beauty and the Beast, Monsters SA, The Jungle Book, Mickey classics in black and white, the Great Wall of Mulan… Each layout is full of winks, dynamic events and details that fans will identify instantly.
There are very powerful moments, such as run between two pirate ships that are bombing each otherwith smoke, sparks and particles filling the screen, or go through scenarios that seem taken from Disneyland attractions, with routes that go up, down and twist around themselves. There are also antigravity sections, impossible bridges, hidden shortcuts and variations of each circuit that slightly change paths and accesses, giving the feeling that each lap can be different.
The initial roster included characters like Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Hercules, Megara, Belle, Beast, Sulley, Balú or Jack Sparroworganized by thematic collections. From there, the content plan involves adding new drivers and circuits with each season, drawing on the almost inexhaustible catalog of Disney and Pixar. In addition, there are “support characters” (Pluto, Chip and Chop, Clarabella, secondary characters of each license, etc.) who do not drive, but improve the statistics of the main driver when you equip them in your team of up to four companions.
However, where the game surprises (and not always for the better) is in its general artistic direction. Instead of fully embracing the fantasy and playful look of the movies, go for a pseudorealism somewhat dull: the characters wear fairly neutral racing suits, and the cars are essentially stylized but fairly conventional racing vehicles. You can change colors, license plates, wheels and spoilers, but there are no really crazy shapes or designs reminiscent of iconic objects from each franchise.
With the licenses it manages, many players feel that an opportunity has been wasted. huge opportunity to create ultra recognizable themed karts: a hydra-shaped car for Hercules, a vehicle based on the screaming bottles from Monsters SA, something more magical and playful for Mickey, a rolling teapot for Belle… Instead, the design of the cars remains “racing cars with details”, which contrasts with the boldness of the layouts and detracts from the personality of the whole.
There is also disparity in the quality of character models: Some look great, others look like they came from a decaffeinated version of Disney Infinity. Added to this is a somewhat gray palette and very “wet” lighting in certain circuits, which does not fully take advantage of the colorful and carefree character of the Disney universe. The special effects, however, provide the touch of spectacularity and color that the settings sometimes lack.
Soundtrack and dubbing: tribute with reservations
One of the great attractions of the game is its music. As you run, they ring remixed versions of legendary Disney songsadapted to a more electronic and modern tone. Recognizing chords from “Con Valor” from Mulan or the themes from Hercules while you run is a pleasure for those who grew up with those movies.
The problem is that these versions are heavily filtered by a pounding techno/electronic base which sometimes almost completely covers up the original melody. That makes the nostalgia hit less: you know the song is there, but it’s camouflaged under the overall style of the game. In addition, the tracks usually sound in English and a clearer integration with the context of each race is missing for them to really shine.
As for the voices, many players have pointed out the absence of a voice as strange. complete dubbing into Spanish for the characters. Taking into account how iconic Disney voices are in our language, hearing Mickey, Donald or Hercules only in the original version breaks the magic a bit, especially for younger audiences or for those who directly associate the films with their usual Spanish voices.
A convoluted and very “mobile” progression system
Beyond the racing, the true core of Disney Speedstorm is in its mobile game progression. The title works as a live service: seasons, golden passes, multiple currencies, loot boxes, components to level up characters and vehicles, allies that boost statistics… and an interface that, for many, becomes too cumbersome.
Each pilot has stars and levels that improve your attributes (speed, acceleration, handling, turbo, combat). To raise them you need specific pieces that you obtain by playing, completing challenges, opening chests or, directly, by paying. The same goes for support characters and certain vehicle components. All of this is governed by several internal currencies, some of which are slow to obtain and others linked to the spending of real money.
This system has a direct impact on gameplay: Improving stats makes your character objectively betterfaster or more resistant, with more powerful abilities. You can progress exclusively by playing, but the pace is noticeably slower if you don’t check out. That leaves the game bordering on the line between the classic “pay to fast” and a model with risk of pay-to-winespecially in competitive modes.
The gachapon loot boxes They offer components, allies, character fragments and other resources, with associated probabilities and the promise of not repeating already obtained items. Although this detail reduces some of the frustration, it is still a random system linked in many cases to the premium currency. Added to the tangle of menus, levels, passes and modes, the experience can be overwhelming for those who just want to go in, choose a Disney character and run around for a while without complications.
On the positive side, the game includes a seasonal adventure modewith thematic campaigns (like Mulan’s) structured in chapters full of races with specific challenges: come first, ram a minimum number of rivals, drift for X seconds, use certain skills, etc. This format serves as both a light story mode and an extended tutorial that unlocks features, teaches mechanics, and offers rewards that fuel the entire internal economy.
Multiplayer is another of the key pillars: there is Competitive and cooperative online, as well as local split screen. This allows you to organize matches between friends in the living room, although on Switch, for example, local mode is limited to two players and the field of vision is somewhat narrow. Even so, for those looking for an alternative to Mario Kart with crossplay between platforms, the proposal is attractive as long as the layer of progression and farming that accompanies it is assumed.
Performance and console and mobile versions
On next-gen consoles and PC, Disney Speedstorm offers reasonably solid performancewith colorful races and a good level of detail in the circuits. On PlayStation 5, for example, the game looks correct although some settings seem excessively bright and humid, reinforcing that somewhat generic “vitaminized mobile game” aesthetic.
The Nintendo Switch version is the one that makes the most concessions: it is surprising because of the spectacular nature of some of the laptop layouts, but resolution and frame rate suffer at specific times. Very notable drops in fps have been reported, to the point of being annoying in certain situations, and basic features such as vibration or the use of a gyroscope are conspicuous by their absence, which detracts from immersion and leaves the experience a little green compared to other more careful ports.
On mobile, the game takes its F2P philosophy to the extreme: short sessions, very fragmented progression and strong presence of microtransactions. The touch control complies, although it is advisable to play with a controller if you want to make the most of precision in skidding, jumping and lunging. It’s basically the same console experience compressed onto a small screen, with the same brightness and shadows of the business model.
Between platforms, Disney Speedstorm is committed to crossplay and shared progression (within what each ecosystem allows), making it easier for you to play wherever you play and have access to your characters, improvements and cosmetics, something very appreciated in a title that aspires to accompany you for months or years.
Disney Speedstorm is halfway between the dream of a Round and accessible Disney Mario Kart and a game as a service highly conditioned by its monetization systems. Its tracks are spectacular, the races can be really fun, and the idea of mixing roles, unique abilities, and mythical licenses works surprisingly well.
On the other hand, the feeling of lightness of the vehicles, a low-risk artistic direction in karts and drivers, and above all a convoluted internal economy mean that it does not shine as much as it could in the hands of any player who just wants to grab Mickey, step on the accelerator and forget about menus, coins and chests. Share this information about Disney’s Mario Kart and more users will know important details about the game.
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