Disney Illusion Island Preview: A Platformer for the Disney Faithful

By Marc Deschamps - April 6, 2023 11:02 am EDT

This summer, Disney Illusion Island will release exclusively on Nintendo Switch, giving players the chance to experience an all-new 2D platformer featuring iconic Disney characters. While the game is still a few months from release, ComicBook.com had an opportunity to attend a special digital preview event, showcasing the game's opening cinematic, as well as some gameplay and a boss fight. It's a bit early to tell how the game will turn out, but it looks like a promising adventure for Disney fans of all ages.

In Disney Illusion Island, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy have received a mysterious invitation for a free picnic. However, upon arriving at the island of Monoth, the Fab Four discover the invitation was a ruse. It seems the island's inhabitants would like to hire the heroes to rescue three Tomes of Knowledge that have been stolen by thieves. If the books are not rescued, a great calamity will take place, and the inhabitants lack the skill required to get them back. Each Tome can be found in a different biome, where the heroes will have to use a magic "teebeedee" spell that can trap these thieves once they've been dazed. The sequence features a lot of strong humor, particularly when the Fab Four try to determine if "teebeedee" was meant to be a placeholder for the actual words in the spell.

The first thing players will notice about Disney Illusion Island is the faithfulness of its presentation. The game's designs are based on the style seen in Disney's recent Mickey Mouse shorts, as well as the Disney Parks ride Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. The game also features the same voice talents present in those shorts, as well as a brand-new orchestral score. Developer Dlala Studios has set out to create an experience that feels like playing a cartoon, and Disney Illusion Island already looks and sounds the part.

Following the opening cinematic, the developer showcased a gameplay preview in an area that is found a few hours into the game. In this segment, the team controlled Minnie Mouse as she made her way through a location and towards a boss fight. After reaching the highest point in the location, the top of a Peacock's head, Minnie began a boss fight with one of the thieves. The boss fight itself tasked Minnie with using her platforming abilities to swing across vines which loosened acorns above the thief's head, which would then drop down and daze it. After a certain number of hits, Minnie is able to use the teebeedee spell to trap her foe.

Once the thief was defeated, Minnie claimed the Tome of Knowledge and used it to gain access to areas previously locked off. As Minnie backtracked to a point where she could head to the next biome, the interconnected map and newly unlocked location brought to mind games in the "Metroidvania" subgenre. Meanwhile, the gameplay and presentation looked similar to Ubisoft's Rayman Origins. According to Dlala, the team took inspiration from a lot of different games, including platformers like Rayman, as well as '90s Disney titles like Castle of Illusion and Disney's Magical Quest.

While I did not get a chance to go hands-on with the game, I was surprised to see how intricate the platforming seemed to be. The Disney license might lead some gamers to believe that Disney Illusion Island won't offer a challenge, but it looked like there were a lot of environmental hazards that could harm players. Dlala was quick to note that this is a family game, but it's not specifically aimed towards kids, and the team isn't pulling punches on the difficulty level. Thankfully, the game seemed to have a generous number of checkpoints throughout each location, and Disney Illusion Island players can be set to infinite health; that could be a huge help for those looking for a more relaxed experience, or families that plan to enjoy the game together.

During the gameplay, Minnie also picked up pieces of "Mickey Memorabilia," which are hidden extras. Unfortunately, the icons did not allow me to see specifically what was unlocked, but the team did state that these extras would span the character's entire history, going back to Steamboat Willie. My entire gameplay session focused on Minnie, but players will also be able to choose from Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. The game supports four-player local co-op, though it will not be drop-in/drop-out. I asked the team if players could expect to see any unlockable characters. While there don't seem to be plans at the moment, the team did rattle off characters that had been discussed internally, including Daisy, Pluto, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Creative director AJ Grand-Scrutton stated that the team feels it has "more stories to be told in Monoth," suggesting we could see DLC or a follow-up game if Disney Illusion Island is successful enough.

Overall, the preview event was on the shorter side, so it's hard to say whether the team at Dlala will be able to reach the heights of the platformers that inspired Disney Illusion Island. The game won't be releasing until July 28th, so Disney fans are going to have a while before they get to see how things turn out. I have a few reservations about the game; I wonder how much backtracking players will have to do, and just how long the game will last with just three Tomes of Knowledge to collect. However, the presentation is gorgeous, the humor is strong, and it looks like it could offer a decent challenge. Overall, Disney Illusion Island looks promising, but whether Dlala Studios can deliver remains "teebeedee."

Are you looking forward to Disney Illusion Island? What do you think of the game so far? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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