Disney Speedstorm Review

Slow Start

While I have never been too big on racing games, Disney Speedstorm was something I had been looking forward to since it was announced in 2022. Being a Disney junkie was certainly a big part of that, but it also looked like a fun, well-rounded racer experience that looked even up my own alley. 

This is why it pains me to say that my excitement was misplaced. I never had the opportunity to play the early access version, but seeing some of the early reviews probably should have been the first sign of that being a blessing in disguise. 

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s try to start off with the positives. 

Graphics and Music 

I have to give credit where credit is due. Even for my relatively older iPhone model, the resolution and graphics of Disney Speedstorm are absolutely fantastic. The frame rate was a bit of a hassle, considering you moved so quickly that the tracks were often hard to fully soak in. 

But what I could see looked excellent, and I can say it is at least one of the better-looking mobile games on the market as of right now with relative confidence. 

Each track also uses music inspired by the movie it is based on, remixed for a high-octane racing setting. And it works! They hardly ever clashed with the tone or flow of the race. 

Skill System and Character Mechanics

Each character in Disney Speedstorm benefits from a charged skill system. This allows you to use two variations of moves whenever you pick up an item, like throwing a mine or making it explode around you. 

I’ll admit this adds a solid layer of strategy to the game as you play it since you can do a bit more than throw a banana peel or a blue shell like in Mario Kart. 

Each character also has special abilities that mesh well with these mechanics, which makes each character feel unique in their own as well as in how they interact with each track. 

Visuals

As mentioned earlier, online races make up the bulk of matches on Disney Speedstorm are the online races, which definitely gave me vibes of something like Mario Kart. 

Sometimes, however, the sheer amount of stuff happening at once was a bit off-putting at the start and only got worse as I kept playing. 

It’s not completely unbearable, but it does make the gameplay feel like it requires much messier than even a typical Mario Kart experience would. The number of characters using their special abilities, items, or track boosts feels more intense than most racers I’ve played. That amount of visual clog easily got overwhelming more than once. 

This is more of an issue on mobile than it is on PC or consoles, but it was still noticeable enough for me to acknowledge it. 

Gacha and Monetization

If there is one thing about Disney Speedstorm that you and I have likely heard numerous times, it is the issue with monetization. This was one of the first things I saw when researching early reviews of the game, and after experiencing it myself? 

Yeah. It’s bad. 

Disney Speedstorm is so packed to the brim with gacha that even fans of gacha would be annoyed. I’ve had to scroll through I don’t even know how many menus just to find a way to not spend money on this game. 

It is absurdly unfun to not invest in any of the upgrades because it makes playing the game feel more difficult than it needs to be. It is actually unfair because a vast majority of the characters are locked behind a paywall, but that only pales in comparison to the upgrades for said characters.

I tried starting off simply as Mickey against a few buddies of mine who also had the game, just to get a feel for things and see if he was my style. Offline, this is just fine. But in single player? Hoo boy. 

You are essentially required to level up your character for better stats. Every single statistic, from your top speed to your acceleration, can mean the difference between victory and defeat. You can unlock some of the more basic upgrades through the Season Tour mode and Starter Circuit (I did this for Mickey). It won’t take long before the pay-to-win reality of Disney Speedstorm begins to slip through the cracks. 

While multiplayer mode is fine because every character is the default Level 30, Ranked mode is based entirely on your character’s stats. So, if you simply did not buy that many upgrades, you are going to lose. A lot. 

In-Game Purchases

This is only compounded by the unnecessarily complicated variation of microtransactions and currency in Disney Speedstorm. For one, there is the main currency, Tokens, which can purchase character tokens, vehicle parts, and crew members. Then there are Multiplayer Coins that you get for finishing leaderboard events and winning in ranked multiplayer (good luck with that). You can get costumes and multiplayer loot boxes with these. 

Season Coins are what you’ll find for finishing the Season Tour and Starter Circuit modes. Finally, Box Credits are used for opening specially marked boxes in the Shop.

Certain characters are also completely locked behind the season. So if you miss a character that you want, you’ll have to hope you get lucky through a Universal Box. 

The problem with the Universal Box is that the racer shards – the easiest way to obtain racers – you get from them are both minimal and difficult to spawn. 

The only other “reliable” ways to get racer shards are through The Golden Pass (essentially the battle pass). Plus the Season Boxes released during each Season and Daily Special Offers, which require Season Coins. 

Unless you are willing to spend hours grinding for in-game currency to get those upgrades, Disney Speedstorm makes even casual gameplay feel like a chore. That, at its core, is a big part of what makes or breaks a game for me. 

Fail To Finish 

Even though Disney Speedstorm boasts some of the best graphics for a mobile game, a joyous soundtrack, and a cast of characters with the definition of variety, many of the game’s core mechanics bog down the experience. 

The confusing nature of the in-game currency and rather luck-based acquisition of characters encourages a very pay-to-win and grindy atmosphere to the game. Many might not find this too appealing. 

While you will be rewarded for investing in this game with an experience that is engaging and even more fun than Mario Kart, it will not be long before said investment starts to feel more like a hassle than a worthwhile use of your time.