written and photographed by Jonathan Keating
Review
DisneyBizJournal.com
August 29, 2023
Disney has a long history with video games, dating all the way back to 1981 with the game Mickey Mouse, a release in Nintendo’s Game & Watch series. Of course, given the library that Disney has developed (both in-house and through acquisition) their licensed video games have expanded to include their iconic princess characters, Disney renaissance films, Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and all the other various “brands” you can imagine that are umbrellaed under the Disney company. Despite working with numerous other notable video game publishers over the years (Sega, Atari, Activision, EA, etc.) and having virtually every Disney character you can imagine have some connection to a video game, Disney’s most recent video game entry comes back to what was established in 1981: Mickey Mouse and Nintendo.
Disney’s Illusion Island was released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch in late July of 2023. The game revolves around Disney’s Fab Four set of characters (Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy) on a quest to become heroes by defending Monoth Island. Their hero’s journey is defined by collecting stolen artifacts (deemed Tomes) and returning them to the rightful owners. Of course, there are twists and turns along the way, but the game is more explicitly focused on gameplay than it is story.
By my own admission, I was surprised by the style of gameplay for Illusion Island, having done no research as to what the game was before I started playing. I had seen some of the artwork and a few short clips, but I mostly went in blind in relation to the specifics of the game. From the little marketing I had seen, I assumed Illusion Island was going to be in the style of the Mario 2-D platformers. Instead, the game firmly fits in the Metroidvania subgenre. Sprawling maps, unlocking new abilities, frequent backtracking and exploration to find new paths – these Metroidvania hallmarks are all present within Illusion Island.
The player (or players, as Illusion Island allows for couch co-op with up to four players) begins by selecting one of the Fab Four. Note that the differences between these characters are purely aesthetic. They all play the exact same way and feature the same abilities – the only difference is that the form the abilities take corresponds to the personality of the character selected. Personally, I spent most of the game using Goofy as I felt his style was the most unique out of all four.
Once you select your character, you begin the game with the ability to run and jump. As the game progresses, the player also unlocks other abilities such as double jumping, rail-skating, hovering, ground-pounding and swinging. There are no ways to “attack” the enemies found on Monoth Island. Instead, the gameplay is made up of finding ways to platform around or avoid entirely the various enemies the player will encounter. Similarly, in the few boss fights that occur throughout the game, there are objectives that the player must complete opposed to directly “fighting” the various characters.
While Illusion Island falls squarely in the Metroidvania category (a subgenre often known for being challenging), this is most certainly a family friendly take on this style of gameplay. In fact, many parents or older siblings may find this to be a wonderful couch co-op experience to introduce younger gamers to this genre. Illusion Island will never be outright difficult or confusing for the seasoned gamer, but it does exist as an excellent entry point for younger players or those with no experience with Metroidvania style games.
From my limited video game experience, Illusion Island reminds me the most of the Rayman series of games. This includes gameplay, but also the visual style has a strong resemblance to the Rayman series. In fact, in my research for this review, I found out that Aj Grand-Scrutton, the creative director of Illusion Island and CEO of the game’s developer Dlala Studios, cited Rayman Legends and Ori and The Blind Forest as inspirations for Illusion Island. I would describe the art style for Illusion Island as a cross between Rayman and the character designs for Mickey and friends that debuted in 2013 with Mickey Mouse Shorts. While not exactly the designs featured in Mickey Mouse Shorts and “Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway,” it falls closer to those designs than what some fans may expect as “classic” Mickey.
However, I think these designs in Illusion Island are an improvement over the often-controversial designs found in the previously mentioned projects. The Illusion Island team does a good job of taking what does work about the Mickey Mouse Shorts designs and making them feel a bit more classic (Goofy, in particular, gets an improved look). However, if fans are expecting a Mickey Mouse video game that explores iconic locations or side characters from Mickey’s 100 year history – they may be disappointed. Outside of the main four characters, all other characters are original creations for this game. In the same vein, the locations are new to both Mickey and the player. Some may be disappointed by this, but it allows Illusion Island to have an identity unique to itself. This does not mean, though, that the game is void of easter eggs and references to Mickey’s history.
On the topic of art direction and design, Illusion Island features eleven fully animated story cutscenes. These are a welcome addition to the final product. Whereas the developers could have simply put cutscenes at the beginning and end (or omitted them entirely), the animations being sprinkled throughout the game help bring it to life. It also helps that these cutscenes (and the writing in general) is often funny. Whoever wrote the interactions between the characters understood that the humor would need to appeal to families – meaning both the target demographic of younger players as well as something for parents or older siblings. This shines through in the cutscenes, with full voice acting from the Disney-approved voice actors, but comes through in the text-only scenes as well.
The value of collectibles in Illusion Island will depend on the player’s level of interest in Mickey Mouse’s film history. For me, this was the highlight of the game. The two noteworthy types of collectibles in Illusion Island are hidden Mickeys and Mickey Memorabilia. The hidden Mickeys are a fantastic, if not obvious, addition to the game. Made famous throughout the Disney Parks and a whole host of additional Disney media, Illusion Island sprinkles hidden Mickeys throughout Monoth Island as a motivator for players to find and photograph.
Beyond this, what I think made the exploration truly enjoyable, was the addition of Mickey Memorabilia. Pieces of Mickey’s long film history have been hidden across the island in gold bags. This covers a wide range of Mickey shorts from the 1930s all the way up to 2020. The memorabilia includes various props and trophies that are heavily featured in famous Mickey shorts and films like The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Mickey and the Beanstalk, The Three Musketeers, Potatoland and so many more. These additions to the game prove that the developers were not just simply making another licensed Disney game, but were folding in 100 years of storytelling from Disney.
Disney’s Illusion Island is not a perfect game. The backtracking can often get tiring, experienced players may find the game too simple, and if you are not already a fan of Mickey or Disney in general you likely won’t find much value here. However, if one is looking for an entry-level Metroidvania game on the shorter side, it becomes very easy to recommend Illusion Island. This sentiment is increased infinitely more if you or those in your family are dedicated Mickey fans. While most are likely to see an okay platformer starring Mickey Mouse, I can’t help but see something we do not get much anymore. In an era where Disney has focused mostly on mobile phone games for its licensed properties (especially Mickey) that are designed to have the user continuously dump small amounts of money into the app, Illusion Island is an original story Mickey Mouse game released for a console. It is a fully finished product that a talented team of developers put time and care into. If you are at all nostalgic for the Disney game era of entries like Epic Mickey, Illusion Island might fill that Mickey-shaped void.
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Jonathan Keating is a contributing writer and photographer to DisneyBizJournal.
