There’s a better-than-average chance you’ve played a Disney-themed kart racer over the years, whether it's Mickey's Speedway USA from Golden Eye 007 and Diddly Kong Racing maestros Rare, or Toy Story Racer from LEGO specialists Traveler’s Tales. There’s even the largely-forgotten Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour – a whimsical little racer from Crystal Dynamics, helmed by the creator of… horror classic Dead Space. At any rate, Disney is going back to the enchanted well in 2022, courtesy of the crew behind. Game loft’s long-running Asphalt series. Does it have the bare necessities, or is Game loft taking the mickey?
Pitched as a hero-based combat racer, Disney Speed storm appears to be a typically intuitive and accessible arcade racing game. While IGN is, yet it has hands-on time with the game itself, the team has described the handling as easy to grasp, tricky to master, and certainly informed by the experience gleaned from the Asphalt series – particularly Asphalt 8: Airborne, Asphalt 9: Legends, and Asphalt Extreme.
Of course, approachable driving dynamics are the minimum entry requirement when it comes to competing in the karting space against incumbents like the impeccable Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the successful Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (and even non-karting racers like Hot Wheels Unleashed, one of the best arcade racers of the last decade). Disney Speed storm’s trump card here is the admittedly unparalleled treasure chest of characters, worlds, and even music it gets to draw inspiration from.
This means Hercules and Megan racing through the Monster’s, Inc. Scare Floor, Ba loo and Mowgli blazing through the Beast’s Enchanted Castle, Elizabeth Swan and Captain Jack Sparrow crashing through ancient China, plus all sorts of other combinations. The characters revealed so far appear to be arriving as pairs and also include Belle and The Beast, Mulan and Li Shang, and naturally Mickey and Donald. The studio has leaned into the theme by cladding each character in bespoke race suits too, which is a cute touch.
More importantly, however, every character has a specific range of skills. They can be roughly sorted into categories like defenders, brawlers, tricksters, and speedsters, which changes the best way to earn boost. Speedsters get more boost from boost pads, while brawlers get more boost from fighting, defenders earn more boost from slipstreams, and tricksters get more boost from drifting.
Each also has an individual array of stats that can be pumped up based on your playtime with them, plus unique special moves. Hercules, for instance, can summon Pegasus and receive a turbo shot by driving in his magical slipstream. On the other hand, Belle can summon obstacles ahead of opponents using her enchanted mirror. Mickey’s Fantasia-inspired skill increases his speed, but also the speed of racers around him. The hero aspect of Disney Speed storm does seem like an interesting development challenge to balance, though the team explains matchmaking and lobby options to cap racer levels ought to keep online players competing fairly. Disney Speed storm will feature cross-platform multiplayer support, so it seems unlikely it’ll suffer from a shortage of online opponents.
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