Disney Mirrorverse Review: Hidden Behind The Mirror's Reflection
“When will my reflection show who I am inside?”
Those powerful lyrics come from Mulan, a Disney film about honor, love, and fighting against all odds to save the people who are important to you. Mulan was the first Disney movie that resonated with me and served as a stunning introduction to Disney's magical collection of animated films. The quote is taken from the song “Reflection.” That song—that specific line—was the beginning of my love for all things Disney, but surprisingly it’s also the perfect tagline for the latest Disney mobile game, Disney Mirrorverse—but not for the best reasons.
Disney Mirrorverse is a free-to-play action RPG featuring gacha rolling, various Disney characters, and a storyline that twists the classic narrative. You have to gather together a collection of everyone’s favorite Disney characters to protect the many timelines and universes from Disney franchises, which have come under threat by a dark new force, the Fractured. It's up to you to venture into the Mirrorverse and stop all those attempting to destroy the order between realities.
Image Credited to Disney Mirrorverse | Disney | Kabam
Before you wonder if you'll be putting Ursula into a deepwater prison or stopping the conniving Maleficent’s reign of terror, Disney Mirrorverse moves away from the classic tales we're all familiar with. Instead, you must face a more significant threat seeking to end all realities across the Disney universes: the Fractured. The Fractured are reflections of Disney characters, but not perfect copies. They're corrupted heroes, villains, and monsters. If you're accustomed to the whole alternate universe concept that’s become popular in blockbuster movies of late, Disney Mirrorverse features a similar narrative. As a world accessible beyond a mirror's reflection, the Fractured march forward and it’s up to your efforts alongside other heroes and villains to protect Disney's realities in the Mirrorverse.
That initial story hook might sound intriguing, but don’t get too excited. Disney Mirrorverse simply lacks the classic essence that has existed at the heart of so many of this studio’s beloved films. Movies like Moana and Snow White pull viewers in with a focus on emotion and character-driven drama, even when the situations presented are fantastical. Disney Mirrorverse doesn’t come close to living up to those lofty ideals. Some of the small character moments found in tidbits of dialogue got me to smile, but the overarching narrative left me cold.
Image Credited to Disney Mirrorverse | Disney | Kabam
Unfortunately, the gameplay follows suit. While Disney Mirrorverse features multiple modes, most of them more or less mirror each other in function, combat, and structure. Battles are played out as hack-and-slash encounters where you mainly control one guardian at a time. You’ll roll into combat in a three-person team and can swap between characters on the fly and cast their abilities to help you complete stages.
Whether it's storyline chapters, dungeons, or time-limited events, Disney Mirrorverse reuses its format of jumping into a level and facing Fractured monsters and bosses, whether they come in the form of fallen heroes or even more evil villains. That's all there is to the game. The only details that differ between the modes are the rewards provided, story highlighted, and the difficulty level.
Disney Mirrorverse’s repetitive mechanics across all its modes didn’t necessarily phase me. I mean, gacha games all over are riddled with tedious gameplay features meant to keep you powering your characters up for all eternity. But even by the genre’s standards, Disney Mirrorverse does shockingly little to ever change up or complexify its combat. I was saddened to discover that every stage, event, and episode I encountered were all the same: fight monsters, defeat the stage boss, repeat. And I only stuck with this cycle for a few days. I can only imagine how stale and unattractive Disney Mirrorverse must get for those playing for months.
Image Credited to Disney Mirrorverse | Disney | Kabam
Luckily, Disney Mirrorverse isn't completely without magic. The game's major selling point is its heroes and villains forging a truce and teaming up for a war where everyone from the Disney universes fights for the greater good. I actually quite enjoyed the different guardians of the Mirrorverse. Although most of them had to be acquired via gacha rolling, the characters seemed pretty balanced. Paying for gacha rolls is ludicrously expensive, with five rolls running around $80. However, the storyline missions provided enough free gacha pulls and even a few guaranteed guardians that I never felt like I was running into power level walls during my time with the game.
In terms of the characters, there’s something for everyone to enjoy in the game’s current forty-five hero roster, including heavy hitters like Jack Sparrow, Buzz Lightyear, and Rapunzel. If you like keeping your distance, ranged and support guardians will suit your play style. I preferred getting up close to the action, so I mostly utilized melee and tank characters because of their survivability and crowd control potential.
But compared to almost every action RPG out there, Disney Mirrorverse's guardian upgrading system feels exhausting. Half of the game’s motivation for combat is in collecting resources to enhance your guardians. And with a hundred levels per guardian, a handful of ascensions to surpass, and talents that provide passive boosts to rank up, Disney Mirrorverse's character system is arguably overfull with ways to grind out incremental character improvements. I was relieved to know there was an auto-play option after reaching a particular chapter and stage, since farming for all of these materials manually would have been an even more dreadful experience.
Image Credited to Disney Mirrorverse | Disney | Kabam
Almost every Disney animated film has that moment where our hero hits rock bottom, where it seems like all is lost and there’s no use going on. These stories teach us how to get back up even at those darkest times, how to save the day or come out on top even when everything seems stacked against us. It's pretty hard to imagine that heroic redemption arc with Disney Mirrorverse, as clever as I found some of the alternate reality concepts presented here.
Disney’s best movies are timeless because they surpass our expectations for children’s entertainment, but at the end of the day, Disney Mirrorverse is a bog-standard gacha rolling action RPG—essentially little more than a money pit disguised as a game. Presented to fans as a new way to enjoy playing as your favorite characters, it disappointed me across almost every feature it provides. As someone who started the game with high hopes, I'm left wishing I never wasted my time. Disney Mirrorverse may be a reflection of a beautiful sight, but just like the Fractured, that mirror image is just a corruption of the magical experiences that inspired it.
SCORE: 2 STARS OUT OF 5
PLAY IF YOU LIKE:
• Disney movies. If you love films like Big Hero 6, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Beauty and the Beast, you'll love Disney Mirrorverse and its expansive guardians to collect.
• Marvel Contest of Champions. If you enjoy gacha rolling in Marvel Contest of Champions, which is another game from Disney and Disney Mirrorverse developers Kabam, you'll love Disney Mirrorverse's similar mechanics and gameplay.
💬 Check out Disney Mirrorverse and let me know what you think of it in the comments below! Out of all the movies Disney’s made, who’s your favorite character?
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