Developer Dlala Studios knew that titling its new game Disney Illusion Island would conjure a certain feeling in older gamers. The Castle of Illusion game, in particular, is an emblematic example of the classic platformers that marked the 8-bit era and Dlala’s team is filled with fans of that game and others in the Illusion series. However, Disney Illusion Island isn’t another entry in that series but rather a title might evoke the same feelings in contemporary gamers that the original Illusion games did in older ones.
Disney Illusion Island was first introduced at D23 last year with a brief trailer highlighting some of the platforming gameplay in the title. But with the game just a few months away, Dlala wants to give Disney fans, and gamers in general, a sense of what its game has to offer. To that end, Game ZXC was treated to a hands-off preview of the game that, if nothing else, has us convinced that a wide swath of gamers should keep an eye out for this game.
Disney Illusion Island is Legitimately Funny
Before jumping into the gameplay, three members of Dlala Studios - CEO and Creative Director AJ Grand-Scrutton, Lead Designer Grant Allen, and Marketing Manager Charlotte Nangle - showed off an introductory cutscene that set the tone for Disney Illusion Island. Although this game is likely to skew younger than Dlala’s previous game, the 2020 Battletoads reboot, the sense of humor on display is undeniably similar. That is to say, the cutscene was funny in a way that works on multiple levels. Younger gamers will find the slapstick nature of the interactions between the “Fab Four” (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy) and other characters funny but the gags should work for adults as well.
While more modern iterations of Mickey have sought to entertain and educate, Disney Illusion Island isn’t afraid to acknowledge the character’s roots as a cartoon. In the scene on display, which sees the Fab Four being recruited by the denizens of Monoth to reclaim stolen tomes, the jokes and gags ran a mile a minute. The overwhelming focus in the full release will be on the platforming gameplay, but these story bits are sure to be a real highlight for how well-written and genuinely funny they are. It also can’t be understated how crucial the performances of the voice actors are, who Dlala says brought the characters to life in ways they never could have predicted.
Part and parcel with the writing, the design of the cutscenes is charming and carries a personality all its own. What we saw throughout the demo is still distinctly Disney but Dlala has made sure that the look is fresh. Platformers have a lot of moving parts – from the character animations to the background to the enemies – and it all looks stunning in Illusion Island.
Classic Platforming is on the Menu
Disney Illusion Island is a platformer with one large interconnected map. Players will head to different biomes in search of those stolen tomes, but getting there is easier said than done. What’s immediately apparent in the game is that there is no combat - everything is about the flow of movement. As any member of the Fab Four (or multiple in co-op), the player will be jumping, swinging, dashing, and floating their way through the environment, trying to get from point A to point B while simultaneously avoiding obstacles and enemy attacks.
To start, the player will only have access to a few traversal abilities, but Dlala says the arsenal will expand as they go along. At the point in the game where our demo took place, Minnie had a pretty solid kit for moving around and the kinetic motion of the game was evident. It might not have the combat that Ori and the Blind Forest does, but there were a lot of similarities in the precision of movement required to navigate the map.
Boss fights are also a key component of the genre – they guard the tomes in Monoth – but again, there is no combat. Instead, players will attack by using platforming which Dlala says preserves the flow of movement that is essential to the game. In a sequence we saw, Minnie needed to swing from a series of points in order to damage the boss indirectly while simultaneously avoiding its attacks and other platforming obstacles.
Something for Every Gamer
Of course, with a game featuring Mickey & Co., Disney Illusion Island wants to have a wide appeal. So although the Metroidvania hints and the Ori comparisons are undeniably there, Dlala has designed the game to be approachable. When asked about how they accounted for gamers of all ages, the devs explained that the game has a few settings that can be tweaked to help each player. For example, the player can set their starting health higher or increase the timing windows for specific actions. Or in co-op, there are options like sending down ropes to give teammates easier routes through a platforming section. Dlala has also included a hug mechanic whereby one teammate can help another generate health.
Although there are options for the more casual gamer, Disney Illusion Island should satisfy the hardcore as well. When asked, the Dlala devs said that they were excited to see how speedrunners will “break” the game and find skips that their team never did. On top of that, they hope to see players take advantage of those same settings that were meant for accessibility and tune them in the opposite direction. Specifically, the devs can’t wait to see who will be the first to beat the game with only one heart.
Don’t let the art style fool you: Disney Illusion Island will offer a challenge for those who go out of their way to find it.
Disney Illusion Island releases July 28, 2023 for Nintendo Switch.
