The upcoming Disney-themed free-to-play racer from Gameloft, Disney Speedstorm, came to a screeching halt in December of last year as it was suddenly announced that the game was (unsurprisingly) getting pushed back to 2023. This hasn't stopped the development team from sharing new details about the title however, and their latest reveal is all about the Crew System (thanks, Nintendo Everything).
Think of the Spirits model that was used in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and you won't be a million miles away. Speedstorm's Crews will let you add extra abilities to your driver and kart by building a team of classic Disney characters before a race each with their own perks.The bonuses granted by this selection can change your kart's top speed, acceleration, handling and boosts amongst other stats, supposedly adding a tactical layer to each race.
The above trailer gives a pretty good example of what the Crew System looks like in action, though Gameloft also shared the following information on the mechanic in its latest Dev Diary blog post:
From Mushu & Cri-Kee, to Boo & Roz, there’s a whole host of Disney & Pixar crew members for players to unlock. You can unlock new crew members from reward boxes earned simply by progressing in the game. Equip them to the corresponding racers to help improve their stats.
Each racer can equip one crew members at star level 1, two at star level 3, three at star level 4, with the possibility to equip a maximum of 4 crew members at star level 5. Like racers, you can also use shards to increase the star level of your crew members to make them even more effective.
Progressing from the system that was seen during the game's closed Beta, Gameloft announced that Crews will also be able to influence your driver's unique and common skills at launch. While there isn't too much information on what this addition actually grants just yet, it seems that the revamped system will give you an advantage from the start line and also improve the quality of items that you pick up along the way.
We still don't have an official date for Disney Speedstorm as of yet, though the last delay positioned it releasing at some point this year.