Disney Illusion Island review - Shallow, flawed, and entertaining

Disney Illusion Island has to be one of the most confusing, polarizing, and odd gaming experiences I've had this year. Considering how I've played some offerings that are far from perfect in 2023 — including but not limited to Redfall, Wanted Dead, Forspoken, and even Everybody 1-2 Switch — that's really saying something.

The game does present some really cool ideas that could've been expanded upon to deliver a rather compelling title with tight platforming. However, the developers seem to have played it safe, choosing not to innovate on those concepts, making this title feel creatively bankrupt past its first few levels.

Moreover, despite it being a shallow and ultimately flawed video game, I never felt bored playing Disney Illusion Island, which is where my confusion lies.

---

Disney Illusion Island is a rather fun party game, with a charming art style

Disney Illusion Island can be really fun when played in co-op (Image via Disney Interactive Studios)

At its core, Disney Illusion Island is a rather entertaining party game, one that's bound to keep you and your friends glued to the screen for a couple of hours at the least. However, as a single-player-adventure title, with a narrative that's blatant nostalgia bait, this game falls hard and flat.

That said, let's first focus on the positive. This game features a charming cell-shaded art style, which seems like a modern take on classic Disney art, with characters being over-expressive yet not uncanny. Even the voice acting in this title is top-notch, which makes it come across as a genuinely quality product instead of a cash grab.

I also really liked the way its story is structured. The way it delves right into the heat of things, giving players control, is something I really appreciate. Don't get me wrong, its story is still far from something like the original Disney cartoons.

Nevertheless, this game is a good showcase of what can still be squeezed out of the original Disney characters and how their classic animation style still holds up without being jarring for a video game.

---

The level design, or lack thereof

The biggest issue I had with Disney Illusion Island was its lack of diverse or interesting level design. Most of the levels that this title has to offer are nothing more than standard platforming levels you expect to find in free-to-play mobile games, not a triple-A release priced at $40 and coming from a renowned studio.

The levels, despite featuring some key visual differences, feel quite similar to one another (Image via Disney Interactive Studios)

While a few of them with challenging platforming sequences that did catch my eye, most are just bland asset flips of previous levels, with very little in the way of diversity. What also hurts is the lack of distinction between its earlier stages and final ones.

Although I really liked this title's different playable characters that the game has to offer, it did not make much of a difference when it came to the moment-to-moment gameplay. Apart from their voice, each character plays almost exactly the same, which feels like wasted potential.

---

Every playable character feels the same

Having varied characters could've easily made the game a whole lot more fun and added replayability to it. There are certain upgrades that you can unlock for each entity. However, the upgrades don't add anything unique apart from making the characters look different.

Goofy's jump boost ability (Image via Disney Interactive Studios)

For instance, take the jump boost ability, which you unlock fairly early in this game. The item each character gets to use it are unique to them, with Mickey getting a jetpack, Minnie getting an origami plane, Donald getting a rocket, and so on. However, the ability remains the same for all entities.

I personally would've liked a varied ability tree for each playable character, which would've given me a reason to switch between them to try out different ways of completing levels. This would've also made the title much more engaging as a co-op or party game.

---

The charm of simplicity

Disney Illusion Island is not a complex game by any metric. Being a fan of classic JRPGs as well as soulslike titles, the apparent lack of depth in a game that labels itself as a metroidvania felt quite underwhelming to me. However, I have to admit, there's something very charming about the simplicity of this game.

Despite the apparent lack of complexity and depth, Disney Illusion Island can be quite a charming game (Image via Disney Interactive Studios)

The way its levels are designed — with the simplified progression system and easy to pick-up and intuitive controls — makes for a fun game that I found myself playing almost regularly, albeit in short bursts. It also feels right at home on the Nintendo Switch Lite, where most of my time was spent playing it.

If you're looking for a simple metroidvania to play on the go, then you definitely can't go wrong with Disney Illusion Island.

---

In conclusion

Disney Illusion Island admittedly is a flawed puzzle platformer; however, it's one that looks really charming and can be a lot of fun when played with friends and even solo in short bursts. Its level design is lackluster, with the shallow metroidvania aspects making for a monotonous gameplay experience.

It sure isn't a title that competes against the behemoths of the metroidvania genre like Metroid Dread or even the 2D Mario titles on the Nintendo Switch. However, it is a polished and rather well-made game, which oftentimes, can be quite entertaining.

Disney Illusion Island is the perfect game to pick up if you're looking for a simple puzzle platformer that also doubles as a rather fun co-op game.

---

Disney Illusion Island

The Scorecard (Image via Sportskeeda)

Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch (Review copy provided by Disney Interactive Studios)

Platform(s): Nintendo Switch

Developer(s): Dlala Studios

Publisher(s): Disney Interactive Studios

Release date: July 28, 2023