Review: DISNEY ILLUSION ISLAND is Fun Casual Gaming for the Family
At the end of July, Dlala Studios and Disney Electronic Content released Disney Illusion Island on the Nintendo Switch. The game looked like a fun platformer featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends. This ends up being only partially true though. The teams were kind enough to supply me with a code in order to review the game, but all thoughts are my own. You can purchase your own copy of Disney Illusion Island from your favorite retailers including GameStop (affiliate link).
Join Mickey and Friends on a brand-new adventure in Disney Illusion Island
Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy embark on a new adventure to find three magical books and save the mysterious island of Monoth. You’ll meet unusual allies and dangerous foes as you play solo or with up to three friends as the Fab Four in local co-op*. Work together as you run, jump, swim, and swing your way to victory!
Experience a brand-new Mickey & Friends adventure with hand-drawn animation, a fully orchestrated original score, and featuring performances from the authentic voice talents.
So, what did I mean by my above statement being partially true? For starters, it is technically a platformer, but I would put it more in the camp of a Metroidvania since you aren’t completing levels like a traditional platformer. Instead, you travel around a fairly open world and unlock abilities to allow for further exploration as you play. One very interesting aspect is the fact that there is no combat. You can only avoid enemies. This is not inherently a problem as it adds a different kind of challenge for you.
I also really like the art style as well as the writing. Both fit in the category of familiar, yet modern and fun for everyone. Speaking of, this game is fun to play for the whole family. It’s simple enough where children can pick it up and play, but it’s still enjoyable for adults. The boss battles in particular might be a little tricky for younger kids. Each player can adjust their difficulty when they select their character determined by the number of starting hearts. You can choose 1-3 hearts or an invincible metal heart. I really liked how they allow for each player to set their own difficulty level. It’s also fun how each character gets the same abilities, but the items they use for those abilities are unique. For example, for the double-jump, Donald uses a rocket, but Minnie uses a paper airplane.
There are other ways to adjust the difficulty as well such as turning off hints, movement assists, and even the speed of timed elements.
The story for Disney Illusion Island is okay based on my experience so far. I haven’t finished it and I enjoy the writing for the characters (there are some really funny lines), but the overall story feels very secondary. In short, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy were tricked to this place and then asked to recover some stolen tomes.
There are some other complaints I have against Disney Illusion Island though. The game is a lot of fun to play with friends and family, but it’s a pain to add or drop players. The only way I could find to adjust the number of players or change your character is to go back to the main menu. It would be so much nicer, especially since this is a more casual game in my opinion, to have fast and easy drop-in and drop-out. Other than that, my only real complaint is that while the game is fun, the story feels weak and so I do not feel sucked into playing the game all the time.
Overall, if you’re looking for a game to play with the family and you like platformers, Disney Illusion Island is a solid choice. The story isn’t bad, but I wish it had a bit more pull. However, the art and writing are still fun. The ability for each player to adjust their own difficulty is a nice touch as well.
