There have been dozens of Disney games over the years, but few Nintendo-centric ones. The NES era brought with it Mickey Mousecapades, while the Wii had the original Epic Mickey exclusively. Disney Illusion Island is the first Mickey-centric game in years and features Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, and Goofy on a four-player co-op 2D platforming adventure. The adventure goes for a light-hearted vibe with a unique art style, which is something we rarely see in a Disney game. The art style resembles a bit of the Duck Tales reboot, with a more vibrant and vivid color palette.
The game features full voice-acting throughout its cutscenes and the official Disney cast is used, with some self-referential humor mixed into the dialogue. In a surprising move for a Disney game, it’s a Metroidvania with branching paths throughout the three core biomes. Unlike a lot of entries in the sub-genre, Illusion Island aims to be fun and playable first, and an exploration-filled game second – so you do get things like literal signposts and very boldly-colored worlds to help mentally keep track of where you’re at and where you’ve been. The platforming action resembles Rayman Legends with its vibrant colors and floaty jumps, while things like new abilities like ground pounds and grappling hook swinging allows you to find new areas in prior parts of the map. All four characters feature the same core moveset, but each has different animations to do things like jump and float down.
A lot of work went into the game and unlike a lot of platformers, it’s more puzzle-centric thanks to its lack of combat. The goal is to avoid enemies and then in boss battles, completing puzzle challengers to topple the bosses. The co-op approach allows players to hug one another to gain a heart, each player has multi-use button combos to help one another traverse the area. Players can teleport one another or do things like drop a support line to the player and keep progress moving. Solo play is also possible and for the platforming challenges can be preferable since you don’t have to worry about another player’s progress.
It’s a gorgeous-looking game, one with a lot of challenge and fun stuff like having little mini-competitions during play to do things like take a selfie before the other player(s). At only $39.99, it’s a reasonably-priced new game – especially for a licensed Disney game with original voice acting. We’ve given the game a fullreviewand if you’re in the mood for a new platforming adventure, it’s worth a shot.
