Review: DISNEY ILLUSION ISLAND is a fun and casual family game

At the end of July, Dlala Studios and Disney Electronic Content released Disney’s Island of Illusions on the Nintendo Switch. The game looked like a fun platformer with Mickey Mouse and his friends. However, this ends up being only partially true. The teams were kind enough to provide me with a code to review the game, but all thoughts are mine. You can purchase your copy of Disney’s Island of Illusions from your favorite retailers, including GameStop (affiliate link).

Join Mickey and his friends on an all-new adventure at Disney Illusion Island

Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy embark on a new adventure to find three magical books and save the mysterious island of Monoth. You’ll encounter unusual allies and dangerous enemies as you play alone 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 an all-new Mickey and Friends adventure with hand-drawn animation, a fully orchestrated original soundtrack, and performances by authentic vocal talent.

So what did I mean by saying my above statement is partially true? For starters, it’s technically a platformer, but I’d put it more in the camp of a metroidvania since you’re not completing levels like a traditional platformer. Instead, you travel through a fairly open world and unlock abilities to allow for further exploration as you play. A very interesting aspect is the fact that there are no fights. You can only avoid enemies. This is not in itself a problem as it adds a different kind of challenge for you.

I also really like the art style and writing. Both fall into the familiar category, yet modern and fun for everyone. By the way, this game is fun for the whole family. It’s simple enough for kids to pick up and play with, but still fun for adults. The boss battles in particular might be a bit tricky for younger children. Each player can adjust their difficulty as they select their character determined by the starting number of hearts. You can choose 1-3 hearts or an invincible metal heart. I really liked the way they allow each player to set their own level of difficulty. It’s also funny how each character has the same skills, but the items they use for those skills are unique. For example, for the double jump, Donald uses a rocket, but Minnie uses a paper plane.

There are other ways to adjust difficulty, such as turning off hints, movement aids, and even the speed of timed elements.

The story for Disney’s Island of Illusions it’s okay based on my experience so far. I haven’t finished it and I like writing the characters (there are some really funny jokes), but the story overall feels very secondary. In short, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy were tricked into this place and then asked to recover some stolen tomes.

There are other complaints I have against Disney’s Island of Illusions Although. It’s a lot of fun to play with friends and family, but it’s a hassle to add or delete players. The only way I’ve found to change the number of players or change your character is to go back to the main menu. It would be much nicer, especially since this is a more casual game in my opinion, to have quick 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 don’t feel sucked into the game all the time.

Overall, if you are looking for a game to play with the family and you like platformers, Disney’s Island of Illusions it’s a solid choice. The story isn’t bad, but I wish it had a little more grip. However, art and writing are still fun. The ability for each player to adjust their own difficulty is also a nice touch.