2023 has seen a nonstop flow of heavyhitting megaton releases so far, and it looks like that’s going to continue in the months ahead, but Disney Illusion Island is looking like a nice, pleasant stopgap for those who want a breather and are looking for something that may not be the most high profile upcoming release but is still looking promising. Developed by Dlala Studios of Battletoads fame, the Switch-exclusive 2D platformer’s launch is right around the corner now, and ahead of its release, here, we’re going to go over a few key details you should know about the game.
SETUP
Disney Illusion Island is set on the mystical and mysterious island of Monoth, where the game’s main heroes find themselves transported, only to quickly realize that there’s trouble afoot. Three magical books, referred to as Tomes, have been the vehicles for the island’s protection for a long time, but now those Tomes have been stolen, which means it falls to our heroes to explore Monoth Island and recover the books.
PLAYABLE CHARACTERS
Disney Illusion Island is looking to make use of several legendary Disney characters in its bid to attract a crowd, with thee being four playable characters in the game in total. These four are the ever-so-brave Mickey Mouse himself, the calm and resourceful Minnie Mouse, the troublemaker Donald Duck, and the clumsy and innocent Goofy. That said, in terms of actual gameplay, all four characters will play and move the exact same way, so which of them you choose to play as will be an entirely cosmetic decision, effectively.
CO-OP
Disney Illusion Island is promising Metroidvania sidescrolling platform action (more on that in a bit), and not just as a solo experience. The game will be playable in four player co-op, as you may have guessed from there being four playable characters. That said, those looking for an exclusively solo experience need not fret, because you’ll be able to play through the entire game by yourself if you so wish.
SKILLS
Regardless of which character you’re playing as, gameplay won’t change in Disney Illusion Island, but all four characters will, of course, have access to a pool of abilities that you’ll unlock throughout your journey. Some of these include rope drop, where you can drop a rope to a friend from a higher elevation; hug, where you hug a friend to grant them additional health; and leap frog, where you can play leap frog with a friend to jump across larger gaps.
OTHER CHARACTERS
As Mickey and co make their way through the island of Monoth, they’ll be crossing paths with plenty of personalities, some of whom we already have a few details on. There are the Hokuns, which are furry and loyal creatures charged with protecting the Tomes; the Sharpiks, which are slow moving slugs covered in spikes; the Boomrogs, who’re bulbuous creatures that are capable of releasing toxic gases; Toku, a trombone player and the leader of the Hokuns; Mazzy, who creates crazy contraptions using magic and science; and Jido, a scout who knows every inch of the island.
METROIDVANIA
Last time Dlala Studios released a game, the developer tried its hand at the beat ’em up genre with Battletoads, but its next title is going in a very different direction. Disney Illusion Island will, of course, be a sidescrolling 2D platformer where its moment-to-moment gameplay and core mechanics are concerned, but in terms of actual level design, it’s not going to be a very linear affair. As a Metroidvania game, it’s promising plenty of freedom in nonlinear exploration and an emphasis on ability-gated progression and backtracking.
NO COMBAT
One area where Disney Illusion Island is promising a different experience from what you might be expecting, especially for a game that’s billing itself as a Metroidvania, is the combat- in that it has none. According to its developers, this is an experience that’ll focus purely and exclusively on platforming and movement mechanics, which means if you run into enemies in the world, you’ll be tasked with avoiding and getting past them rather than taking them on in combat.
BIOMES
Outside of the combat and platforming, when it comes to the island itself, the game is promising a fair bit of variety in the locations that you’ll be traversing and exploring. In total, there are three main biomes in the island of Monoth, each hiding one of the Tomes. There’s Pavonia, a fruitful and prosperous area that’s rich in flora and fauna. Then there’s Gizmopolis, a hub of engineering, clockwork, robots, and what have you. Finally, there’s Astrono, which is all about astronomy, where even gravity is different. On top of those three main biomes, players will also explore the Library, an old and abandoned hub that’s filled with dusty old tomes and manuscripts.
SECRETS AND COLLECTIBLES
As a Metroidvania game, Disney Illusion Island will, of course, place its fair share of emphasis on exploration, which means there will also be secrets and collectibles to track down. For starters, there are Glimts, which are wisp-like things scattered throughout the map that you can collect and spend on unlocking upgrades, from additional health to concept art. Mickey Memorablia will cover a variety of items from the character’s long and stories legacy that you can find hidden in different places. There are also Tokuns, which are essentially in-game trading cards featuring a variety of in-game characters.
DIFFICULTY
Metroidvania games love to put up a challenge across everything from combat to traversal, though Disney Illusion Island is taking a different approach in this area. This is, after all, a Disney game with characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck front and center, which means the goal for Dlala Studios has been to cast as wide a net as possible. Speaking in an interview with Game Informer, creative director AJ Grand-Scrutton said, “It’s not a kids’ game. It’s a family game. What that means is it is difficult at times. There’s some complicated platforming. But then we give people the tools to be able to customize the experience. Every time you start the game on the character select screen, each player can individually set their starting health. For those players who just want to enjoy a story, or for younger players, you can actually set yourself to infinite health from the beginning.”
ANIMATIONS
Disney Illusion Island’s undeniably pleasant art style is clearly one of its bigger highlights from what we’ve seen of it so far, and it looks like the game is going to be just as striking when viewed in motion, if not more. Dlala Studios is promising gorgeous and detailed hand-drawn animations, with a great deal of detail crammd into every movement. Given the property that it’s based on, it should be interesting to see just how much the game impresses in that area.
MUSIC AND VOICE ACTING
In addition to its visual strengths with the art style and hand-drawn animations, Disney Illusion Island is also promising a strong aural experience. Dlala Studios has confirmed that the game features fully orchestrated original score, as well as voice over performances from “authentic voice talents”, as the developer describes them.
INSPIRATIONS
It seems Dlala Studios has taken inspiration from a great deal of sources for Disney Illusion Island’s development, beyond even the obvious ones. Visually and from an art perspective, the game has taken a leaf out of the Rayman games’ book, while the studio is also describing it as an homage to Castle of Illusion, World of Illusion, and Magical Quest, rather than a direct sequel. Meanwhile, in its level design and focus on traversal and platforming, you’ll also find similarities with the Ori games.
PRICE
Disney Illusion Island is being billed as a family friendly, relatively small-scale experience, so it’s no surprise that, happily enough, it won’t be a full-priced game. When it launches exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on July 28, it will be available for purchase for a price of $39.99.
FILE SIZE
The game’s smaller-scale nature and relatively compact scope will be reflected in its file size as well. According to the Switch eShop, Disney Illusion Island has a file size of 6.6 GB, which is pretty much par for the course for most games on the Switch, especially if it’s sidescrolling platformers you’re talking about.
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