Disney Speedstorm was supposed to be the next Mario Kart "killer," but after I've played it, I can only say that Mario has nothing to worry about. However, we must also consider that the current version is in Early Access, which doesn't represent the final product. So is that just a clever cover to try and force microtransactions on people, or an honest-to-God attempt at a new product that will improve over time? Well, that's what we're going to find out.
Regarding first impressions, Disney Speedstorm could have made a better one in my case. After I entered the game on Steam, I was greeted with the unskippable intro cinematic, and as soon as it was over, the game crashed without an explanation.
It kept doing that no matter what I tried. I restarted the PC and updated my Nvidia drivers, but nothing worked.
After four consecutive game crashes, I reinstalled the game, but it kept doing the same. After six total crashes, I almost gave up. I even reported the problem in a discussion forum on Steam, and it turns out I wasn't the only one with this issue.
Then, suddenly, a stupid thought crossed my mind, like a Hail Mary pass with 9 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter. My dumb idea was to uncheck the DLC from the game... and it worked. It might have been a coincidence, but the 7th time I tried it, it went without a hitch.
Photo: Gameloft
Other people with the same problem have said that adding "--vulkan" to the launch options did the trick for them, so clearly, it was a bug.
While an hour had passed since I tried to play it for the first time, you can imagine my nerves weren't in the best shape. But I inhaled, and like a mantra, kept repeating, "It's only an Early Access build; it's only an Early Access build..."
I couldn't blame Gameloft, the developer, because, in all fairness, that's why these early previews exist. To test everything out and fix what's wrong. At the same time, it's not fair to charge people for beta testing it.
Upon finally entering Speedstorm, I was greeted with the Start Circuit mode, where the game incrementally introduces you to its gameplay mechanics. You start with Mickey ("HA HA!") Mouse and go from there.
Photo: Gameloft
In short, the graphics look good with everything dialed up to 11 in 4K, the gameplay feels spot on, and the sound, while unspectacular, was appropriate.
But while I was trying to figure out the game initially, I found one unseen feature annoying – the onboarding, which was far from being helpful. Through onboarding, the developers tell the player how to engage with the game's systems and mechanics.
They could have done a better job of telling me exactly how to drift, jump, grind a power rail, crash into other players, where my power-ups were, and so on. I had to learn to control my ride through trial and error, which isn't an optimal first experience, but after three or four races, I finally found my bearings.
Gameplay-wise, it's pretty basic, but that's okay. It falls near the easy-to-learn, hard-to-master category where you want to be.
Photo: Gameloft
In between events, you spend your time in the menus, and let me tell you, at first, the UI (user interface) wasn't a joy, to begin with, either. Actually, it was worse than the onboarding.
Disney Speedstorm is a Live Service game, which means it has Season Passes and all sorts of annoying online currency that you use to buy skins, upgrades, etc.
The first time you see the menu, the game doesn't explain what's what, and it bombards you with everything at once, leaving you to figure everything out for yourself.
As a hardcore Souls-like/Soulsborne fan, I don't complain about complicated menus. But seeing that this isn't a Souls game, Gameloft should have introduced the interface elements step-by-step. This way, they would have avoided confusing the player, not to mention that the game is aimed at kids with an attention span of 5-10 seconds.
Photo: Gameloft
After this not-so-good hands-on second impression, I finally understood how to play it and what every menu tab was for. It was only then that I started to enjoy the game. And let me tell you, it's not bad, at least not at first.
Currently, there are 18 characters across the board, each belonging to a specific class like the Brawler, Trickster, Defender, or Speedster. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, so you'll mostly play with your favorite after trying them individually.
I recommend finishing the Starter Circuit before entering online modes to familiarize yourself with the game overall.
To win, you must outplay everyone else; there are more than a few ways of doing that. First, know that speed is your most significant advantage.
Photo: Gameloft
Instead of driving straight on, the purpose is to learn to drift almost nonstop. It provides a short speed boost and refills your boost bar, which you use to accelerate even harder.
Then, you'll see round platforms on the tracks that provide an additional speed boost when you drive over them. And remember to pay attention to the blue power rails that also fill your boost bar when you grind them. After mastering these gameplay mechanics, you'll be on your way to the 1st spot on the podium.
Offense and defense play a significant role as well. Aside from the character-specific power-ups, each track provides racers with usable items like rockets, shields, boosts, and many more tricks to master.
Get to know them all because they will be your greatest ally, especially after you figure out how to shoot backward.
Photo: Gameloft
Winning will reward you with different items you will use to buy stuff or upgrade each character individually. You'll have to work pretty hard if you want to upgrade them all.
Aside from the plethora of game modes, you'll also find the online section. It usually takes little time to get into a race, but that depends on the time of day, so it varies from case to case. As for the experience itself, it was a take-it-or-leave-it situation for me.
Sometimes there's lag, so be prepared for that, but when it works as intended, it doesn't differ much from the single-player modes, which have 0 lag. So it's up to you to choose.
CONCLUSION
Disney Speedstorm is a good game, but it's made for kids and should be treated as such. I started to get bored after one or two hours of gameplay, and some days I had to push myself to compete in more races.
Anything beyond that time window feels like a chore, especially when you hit the much-dreaded paywall, which usually lies in the upgrade menu.
Given its current state, coming from an adult that pays his own bills, I recommend waiting for the promised free-to-play version before jumping in.
Codrin just loves American classics, from the 1940s and ‘50s, all the way to the muscle cars of the '60s and '70s. In his perfect world, we'll still see Hudsons and Road Runners roaming the streets for years to come (even in EV form, if that's what it takes to keep the aesthetic alive). Full profile
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