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Disney Mirrorverse review - "A revamped smorgasbord of Disney and Pixar faves"

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Disney Mirrorverse review - "A revamped smorgasbord of Disney and Pixar faves"

Because Rapunzel wielding her trusty frying pan is cool enough as it is, I didn't really expect to find something even cooler in Disney Mirrorverse (spoiler alert: I did). The new action RPG set in a divergent universe not only brought me an alternate Rapunzel using her kick-ass hair as part of her armour, but it also reimagined my favourite Disney and Pixar characters and made them battle-ready warriors - something they'll need to be for the hard fight ahead.

As Mickey and the gang invite you on a multiversal journey through a malevolent mirror dimension, is it worth tagging along for the ride?

Table of contents:

DISNEY MIRRORVERSE STORY

What drew me into the game at first glance was - apart from the lovely visuals - the narrative behind these alternate versions of the Pixar and Disney characters we've grown to know and love. Disney Mirrorverse is all about gathering your heroes to fight against Fractured or mirror versions of themselves across an evil dimension, and it's up to you to put a stop to these malevolent forces and protect the world from the darkness threatening to consume everything.

It's a pretty cool premise, and a great excuse to cook up these variant versions of princesses and cuddly creatures, all of whom have been revamped to suit a whole lotta action on the battlefield. Poofy dresses have been replaced with more efficient trousers, and even someone as fluffy as Sulley has been fit into a golden armour so he can fulfil his role as a hardy tank.

THE GAMEPLAY OF DISNEY MIRRORVERSE

Of course, you can ogle at these character designs even more as they spring into action during combat, which can be a manual or automatic affair depending on your preferences. The action RPG features real-time battles where you can control your party of three across the battlefield, running and dodging and unleashing devastating specials and attacks against unwitting foes (you can also toggle the Auto function on if you're feeling a little lazy, of course).

While you can't equip your characters with weapons or gear, you can tinker around with their unique skills and level them up based on what you think will help you in combat best. Character levels, however, have certain caps to them that require you to use breakthrough materials to unlock their limits - which, unfortunately, is something I'm not too fond of in the game.

WHAT'S THE APPEAL?

Apart from the level caps, I also found the gacha system a little challenging for free-to-play players, as Orbs needed to summon heroes are a little bit on the higher side. There are no ten-pulls and pity systems either, and while you can earn Orbs slowly but surely via dailies, things can get a little grindy once you hit a certain spot during the campaign and can no longer beat the enemies there.

There are, of course, other game modes where you can grind and collect resources, but the backgrounds and enemies here can feel a little bit repetitive over time. I was also a little disappointed that there weren't any voiced lines in the game at all (this is surprising considering how good the voice acting is in most games these days - you'd think proper VA work should already be a staple), which is a shame since these iconic characters could be brought to life even more if only they talked. The characters' silence does dull the immersion a little bit, especially when you're grinding through repetitive stages just to get a high enough combat power to progress through the game.

Thankfully, the main campaign does feature different locales and iconic places across the Disney franchise that'll keep each new level fresh. There's also this roguelike-esque dungeon where you can progress to collect special rewards while filling an enemy meter that will unleash foes once filled. It's a pretty refreshing mechanic (with a different set of energy used) for when you're tired of the regular campaign.

Overall, Disney Mirrorverse managed to keep me hooked for the full two weeks I played the game. Gacha RPGs are my jam, and this one happily fits nice and snug into my list of games in that genre that gave me a memorable experience. If anything, it's a fabulous way to reintroduce yourself to the characters you may have grown up on and see them in action in ways you haven't before. 

For the very end, we have surprise for you. We have a Disney Mirrorverse tier list that has all of the current characters sorted from the top down.

Disney Mirrorverse review - "A revamped smorgasbord of Disney and Pixar faves"

Disney Mirrorverse is an action RPG featuring real-time combat and a cast of beloved Disney and Pixar characters. It can be a bit of a challenge for free-to-play players to score more than 3-star heroes, but the creative character designs make each Guardian a joy to play on the battlefield regardless of rarity.
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Catherine Dellosa
Catherine Dellosa
Catherine plays video games for a living and writes because she’s in love with words. Her Young Adult contemporary novel, For The Win: The Not-So-Epic Quest Of A Non-Playable Character, is her third book published by Penguin Random House SEA - a poignant love letter to gamer geeks, mythological creatures, teenage heartbreak, and everything in between. She one day hopes to soar the skies as a superhero, but for now, she strongly believes in saving lives through her works in fiction. Check out her books at bit.ly/catherinedellosabooks, or follow her on FB/IG/Twitter at @thenoobwife.