Disney Illusion Island Nintendo Switch Review
Summary: Illusion Island is a gorgeous platforming game for all ages.
4.2
It's a me, MICKEY!
Hey there Gang! Disney illusion Island is the latest offering from the House of Mouse for the Nintendo Switch and let me tell you, it’s a blast for players of all ages.
From the very beginning, we are presented with an absolute visual feast. The game is presented in 2D, and is a platformer in nature with hand drawn graphics that really give me early Disney vibes. Mickey and his friends, Mini Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck are invited to the island of Monoth under the pretence of having a picnic together, but it turns out they have been fooled into arriving to assist retrieving magical books that have been stolen from the islands library and sent to 3 different parts of the island.
Of course the gang are delighted to help retrieve the books and help the citizens of the island, with the exception of Donald who make some funny quips, but of course gets in and does the hard work. Playing through the game is so much fun, and you can adjust the difficulty and enjoy it as a carefree experience with a fun little story, or a much harder, challenging game that can sometimes be quite unforgiving. How you want to take on the game is up to you. I played the game on a medium difficulty and still found it challenging at times.
The map layout is fantastic and kind of reminded me of those ant colonies that you can see all their tunnels through glass. The areas are connected and your progress is marked by areas of the map becoming clear. You can choose who you wish to play as, and from that point it lends itself to fantastic multiplayer fun. I played as Mickey and enjoyed the experience.
When playing in single player, the other players, or should I say characters are not visible, except for during story driven cinematics. I think this is a small blessing as the characters would end up becoming annoying. I hate to say this, but it is the truth. Despite the size of the map being substantial, it is very well thought out with multiple save points. Also, to cut down on annoying travel time they have thoughtfully put in teleportation devices that let you get to previously visited areas with a greater degree of ease. This was certainly a relief as initially I thought I may have to play my way back through substantial levels that I’d already emptied out.
As mentioned earlier, graphically the game is a joy and harkens back to old animations done by Disney. However, this is beautifully counterpointed by a more contemporary sense of humour that modernises what could otherwise be a somewhat Ye Olde experience. The soundtrack to the game is gorgeous and suits the mood beautifully. For the most part, the characters do not talk that much, they tend to make noises more in the tone of what you would expect them to make, which certainly helps with making sure that repetition is not your enemy whilst playing. There is nothing worse than a whole heap of the same soundbites being played ad nauseam throughout a game and this approach negates that.
Illusion Island invites the player to go back and enjoy levels that have previously been attempted by allowing access through given abilities to get to the items you may have missed the first time around, and obtain collectables that you could not grab on other occasions. It certainly adds to just how long the game takes to play and complete which I found to be approximately 10 hours, though I must admit I am a slow coach and others may be able to do it a bit faster. I do strongly suggest that you make sure you check all parts of the map as there are power ups and other fun things to collect in the game that add to your overall experience.
All the characters are essentially given the same power up to allow them to traverse the world, although they may look slightly different. The fact that the abilities are the same allows you to comfortably make your way through the game in the same manner, regardless of who you are playing as. The control system is well balanced with just enough time for you to change direction in mid air if you need to or pull off some fun manoeuvres.
In fact, and I do mean this as a compliment, the title feels very Mario-esque, though none of your moves relay as well into combat like the intrepid plumber. Showdowns with boss levels are a little bit repetitive where you make your way around the level, pushing levers and the like in order to facilitate an attack on said boss. There will be several iterations of the combat, and I did find that it was quite rewarding when you finally made it past a challenging opponent.
Something that I found very sweet was the fact that in multiplayer mode, your characters could hug each other to give hearts if you are taking damage during the game. It was really cute, and the emphasis on teamwork was quite charming. You collect a currency in the game called Glimt which can be used in increasing the number of hearts the players can have for their health. There are a number of other collectables as well including really neat looks at the history of Disney with lots of information to be had from these. It did make it a game that I would like to complete 100%, though as of this time of writing I have not done so. It is cool enough that I will go back and give it a good try.
I have no problem, recommending this game to players of all ages regardless of your challenge level and think it offers something for everyone to give a shot. Based on my gameplay, I’ve had fun and I truly do think that you will as well. This would be a great family game or on the right setting, a good bit of multiplayer fun for the little ones whose parents who are worried about combat in a game. You pretty much have to dodge enemies rather than hurt them which is a nice refreshing approach to an over-saturated fighting type gaming world which is the current norm.
Final Thoughts?
Disney illusion Island is an absolute success and a worthy addition to your gaming library.
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