The opening act of the game introduces us to the four Disney heroes (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald) who "accidentally" found themselves in the same destination, after they had all received an invitation for a picnic. The heroes initially believed that the invitations were sent by themselves, but they soon realize that they did not send them to each other. Trying to explore this mystery,
they find a library in the middle of the forest. There they are welcomed by Toku the leader of the Hokuns who live in the Monoth region.
Toku reveals to them that he himself sent them the invitations for a picnic in order to bring them to this specific island. The reason is simple, he needs brave heroes because his world is in danger and who better to help him than the famous heroes who fought giants, became bodyguards etc (known Disney stories such as Disney:Three Musketeers(2004), Disney Mickey and the Beanstalk(1947) and others).
With these words the three heroes except Donald who was very annoyed with the whole fake picnic "prank", took it upon themselves and wanted to help.
Toku then continues, revealing to them that in this library there were three mighty volumes that have magical powers. As long as the tomes are in the library the world of Monoth is peaceful and quiet, but if the tomes were ever to gone missing, great evil would fall upon the world spreading misery everywhere. He then reveals that three thieves from different areas of the island stole a book
and are keeping it in their area. After continuing to adorn them with various titles of honor, and promising Donald a large fee, the heroes begin their mission.
In the second game of Dlala studios, after you are done with the initial cutscenes, it allows you to move freely in the 2D world. While the game allows you to go wherever you want, there are some limits that will limit you initially, and this is due to the fact that the game is in the >Metroidvania category. That is, you will reach various points from which you cannot progress
until you find a skill that will allow you to overcome your obstacles. E.G. You've reached a point on the right of the map with water where a wall doesn't allow you to go over it and you have to swim under it which you can't. After progressing through the game (on the left of the map), you unlock the ability to swim underwater. This now means that when going back to the right side of the map you
will now be allowed to swim underwater and proceed to the right side.
An important decision of Dlala studios was to remove combat systems that Metroidvania are known for (hollow knight, Ori, Metroid etc.) and offer a mainly Platformer experience where you avoid obstacles and enemies. The only form of combat is in Boss battles which are also based on platforming. This decision can give an anti-escalation feeling as these battles are not head to head.
On the other hand, the platforming of the game is not difficult because it has too many checkpoints that hold your hand so you don't lose your progress. The checkpoints are depiction as mailboxes. To keep the game from getting boring the creators give you new abilities and introduce new type of enemies at a fast pace and keeps the game interesting as you unlock the map further.
The game allows you to explore the world through the beloved characters, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck. The character you play as doesn't add anything to the game as everyone is the same. They have the same abilities and the same power ups with the only difference being in the animations of the heroes. E.g. To jump from a wall Donad Duck uses a toilet plunger while Goofy
uses a giant fork. To fly in the air Donald uses two large feathers, Goofy a huge mayonnaise, Minnie an umbrella and Mickey a bicycle with a propeller. Finally, you have the option to choose how many lives you start the game with(1-3)(The number may increase based on the side content).
One message that Disney likes and wants to get across with their games is the power of friendship. With Disney Illusion island, Dlala studio allows you to play the game together with three friends through local coop NOT online. When playing with friends, you have access to some abilities that you wouldn't have in single player. "Hug" allows you to hug a player to give them an extra life.
The "leapfrog" ability allows you to jump with greater depth than normal. The "rope drop" technique allows a player on a high platform to drop a rope to the other player below in order to pull them up and bring them to the same platform. Finally the "water teleport" technique allows you to be transported to the area where your teammate placed your spawn.
The Monoth area has various treasures and collectibles that you will find during and after the story.
There are four types of collectibles:
With the goal of creating a TV-like experience, the team created the game with the art style of Disney: The wonderful adventures of Mickey Mouse (2020-Now). Of course, for the team to achieve this result, they combined computer made and hand made animations. During the game the graphics are clear and you can specify the hit-boxes of enemies and objects. The cut-scenes are full of life
and contain drawings that will have you hitting the screenshot button often. It is worth mentioning that each hero has his own unique idle animations that suit their personality. The only negative in the graphics is that some backgrounds are monotonous which tire the eye.
On the other hand, the sound department of the game is also based on various musical pieces from the series. The actors of the series return to reprice their roles with the exception of the voice of Mickey Mouse as he was voiced by Bret Iwan rather than Chris Diamantopoulos. Both actors have given their voice to the hero in various projects so the decision of who will give his voice to Mickey,
had to be made by Dlala studios. In addition to audio editing the creators hired David Housden whose CV contains other games including Dlala studio's first game Battletoads. Overall the sound department matches the quality of the graphics in order to deliver a satisfying outcome.
In conclusion, Disney illusion island is an enjoyable game whose plot may be simple, but this adventure will provide you with pleasant memories. The script includes various references to classic Disney fairy tales. The 2D platforming metroidvania gameplay is enjoyable as the creators add new elements and abilities at a frequent rate. Also the game offers four unique abilities if you decide to play it with 1-3 of your friends.
It also includes various collectibles that you can search for during and after the story.
On the other hand the game has some flaws. The fact that it does not have fighting mechanics is not a bad thing as the game emphasizes platforming but unlike other games it has so many checkpoints which make the game much easier. The only form of combat is in the boss fights which are generic and monotonous not to mention, technically they re still platforming. Furthermore the game has too many collectibles to the point where
you just walk around and find one. There is no sense of pleasure during exploration as there are at least 200+ collectibles not including the blue balls which alone are 2550. Finally the game could have had more cutscenes and voice acting which in 2023 should be solid unless you re selling the game as a wordless game.