Disney animated stories around Micky Mouse, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy have brought families together for generations. Whether it’s the unending reinterpretation of the Mickey Mouse shorts or Mickey’s Runaway Railway, the Mouse and his friends pull people together. So, it’s only fitting that he brings together different generations of gamers with couch co-op in Disney Illusion Island. An up-to-four-person co-op side-scrolling platformer, Disney Illusion Island aims to bring together all ages and succeeds in the hands-on preview we got at Summer Game Fest Play Days.
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Disney Illusion Island has players explore the mysterious island of Monoth on a quest to recover three magical tomes and save the world. Players start by selecting between the four Disney characters of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy to play as. Players will discover the island through various platforming feats that include jumping, swinging, and even swimming. There will be solving puzzles and taking on boss battles during their quest to save the world from disaster. As you progress through the island, players will unlock special abilities that will help them progress even further.
This game is all about platforming, so jumping, swinging, and the whole nine yards is required. This is also included not only for solving the puzzles but also within the boss fights. There is no “combat” in Disney Illusion Island; thus, all the boss battles involve players doing various platforming skills to do damage to said boss. We were able to play a boss during our preview and to defeat it.
We had to jump on multiple buttons over the course of multiple stages that did a set percentage of damage to the boss. After completing enough stages, we defeated the boss, with no combat involved. This was refreshing to see and play since we were a little concerned when we first heard that there would be boss battles since that sounded like our Disney friends were going to have to bust out the swords after platforming our way around the beautiful map.
Fun with friends is at the core of Disney Illusion Island. Having couch co-op players can play with us to four people. When playing with friends characters get some unique co-op abilities such as Rope Drop, Leap Frog, and Heart Gifting Hug. During the preview, we could only experience the Rope Drop and Heart Gifting Hug. Rope Drop drops a rope that allows your friends to climb up, making it easer for those who are struggling to platform up. The Heart Gifting Hug is exactly what it sounds like. With it, you can hug your friends to give them more health via a “heart”.
On top of all of this, the best part of Disney Illusion Island‘s co-op is it considers everyone’s skill level. The difficulty is based on a player’s individual selection and not as a collective whole. This is both good as it allows anyone to enjoy the game at the same and makes the game accessible to anyone of any skill level while not at the cost of players who would like more of a challenge. Another bonus is the developers wanted players to be able to play as any character. So while each character feels different and has different animations for resting and movement, ultimately, all of their abilities are the same. This allows players to play with any character of their choice without the fear of having to be forced to choose a particular character for any gameplay reason.
Monoth, the mysterious island, has multiple biomes and environments that players will get to explore. Each area will have its own unique feel, and this is shown and felt through the classic hand-drawn animation. Speaking with a game developer on the 2D art style, they really wanted to bring back and showcase the old classic hand-drawn animation. Felt it was something that had been lacking in newer games and a particular style they really enjoyed seeing. This decision really pays off, as Disney Illusion Island is a very visually beautiful game. The old-school Disney character design, the environments, and the animations are just gorgeous and lot of times, adorable. Disney Illusion Island includes an original orchestral score and authentic character voices for their fully-voiced animated cutscenes. All of it adds to a game that was one of my biggest surprises of the show.
Disney Illusion Island stood out to me at Summer Game Fest Play Days as a unique take on platforming. From the hand-drawn 2D art style to the orchestral music and the way platforming has been turned to “combat” makes this Dlala Studios game one to wishlist before it releases in July.
Disney Illusion Island is slated to release globally July 28, 2023.
