Review: Disney Speedstorm is a brilliant kart racer but service game critics should steer clear

videogameschronicle.com:

Gameloft’s handling of the live service structure – particularly in its Disney titles – ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous, depending on which of its games you play.

Its most notable recent major success, Disney Dreamlight Valley, has been surprisingly lenient so far, with microtransactions limited to season passes and a modest in-game store, leaving the rest of the game fully playable without distraction.

On the other end of the scale, the publisher’s 2016 mobile title Disney Magic Kingdoms is practically impenetrable (especially for newcomers) due to its combination of lengthy timers, obscenely expensive microtransactions and FOMO-induced timed events.

Disney Speedstorm sits somewhere in between both extremes, though thankfully it’s far from the least reasonable thing Gameloft has put out.

While it leans heavily on its service game structure, it’s not to the detriment of the gameplay on the track. And while the shadow of pay-to-win does loom over one mode in particular, the game also includes measures that give players an alternative should they prefer a level playing field.

First and foremost, Disney Speedstorm is an excellent karting game. The handling is extremely responsive (to the extent that you might even want to turn down the sensitivity a touch in the settings) and drifting is deeply satisfying, with only a couple of minutes’ adjustment needed before you’re gliding round corners with ease.

In terms of how it feels, it’s probably closest to Sumo Digital’s Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (or its sequel Team Sonic Racing), as it too had a drifting system which was among the best in the genre.

Rather than simply offering a straight Mario Kart clone, however, Gameloft has attempted to make Speedstorm feel