Disney Illusion Island 1
Image: Disney Interactive Studios

Sitting down with Dlala Games’ (Battletoads) CEO AJ Grand-Scrutton at Summer Game Fest to play Disney’s Illusion Island, there’s an immediate sense that this might well be the developer’s most accomplished title yet. We spent 30 minutes playing a solid chunk of the game ahead of its launch on July 28th, 2023, and we can confidently confirm that with its slick gameplay, stunning handcrafted visuals, and thoughtful approach to multiplayer, this spiritual addition to Mickey's 'Illusion' series has the potential to stand alongside modern platforming classics like Rayman Legends and Ori and the Blind Forest.

Getting the session set up alongside AJ, we immediately noticed that the game itself can be played with a single Joy-Con on its side. Accessibility is the name of the game here and Illusion Island refrains from making its controls too complicated, sticking with the face buttons for all of its mechanics. This was incredibly important for Dlala Studios, with AJ confirming that getting families and friends together to play the game locally was a key priority during the game’s development. That said, solo players can still experience the whole game start-to-finish, too.

Disney Illusion Island 2
Image: Disney Interactive Studios

Jumping into the session itself, our four characters (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy) are tasked with making their way through a winding environment to locate keys and reach the boss character. Moving around is remarkably smooth: you can wall jump with ease, leapfrog over one another to give your jumps a little extra oomph, and even provide your own makeshift ropes at the edge of platforms to give your buddies a helping hand. It's clear that the team drew a lot of inspiration from Rayman Legends for its core gameplay mechanics.

It became apparent during the demo that Disney Illusion Island is definitely more focused on platforming than it is on combat; in fact, it was confirmed that the game features absolutely no combat whatsoever. Instead, hazards and obstacles are your main point of concern in navigating the environment, and even the boss battles require your jumping abilities in order to succeed.

That isn't to say that the game is easy. There are plenty of moments that might catch you off guard and deplete your health at a moment's notice. However, Dlala wants players to enjoy a relatively stress-free experience, so you can completely customise how much health your character has before you dive into the game itself. You can choose to go in with only one heart for a more punishing time, two for a balanced challenge, and three for a more easygoing jaunt. If that's not enough, infinite hearts is also an option for complete newcomers.

Speaking of hearts, Disney Illusion Island also features one of the most heartwarming (pun intended) mechanics we've seen in a multiplayer game in quite some time. If you're getting low on hearts or simply need a bit of a boost, you can hold down 'Y' next to one of your buddies and they will actually hug one another, granting you one additional heart on top of your chosen amount. This is great if you're attempting to go through the game with just one core heart but feel you need a bit of a helping hand during more difficult segments.

Disney Illusion Island 5
Image: Disney Interactive Studios

Coming off the back of the most recent Battletoads, we knew the folks at Dlala had it in them to create a beautiful-looking game, but we weren't quite prepared for just how incredible the animation is here. Everything has been painstakingly crafted by hand to look like a modern Mickey Mouse cartoon, and we constantly found ourselves just stopping to appreciate the finer details. Watching Mickey pull out a huge pencil to lodge in the wall as he's sliding down, or Goofy breaking out a giant hotdog to help boost his jump was wonderful to behold. It's a stunning-looking game.

It's clear that Disney Illusion Island has been crafted with immense care, then. The team at Dlala has gone to extreme lengths to make sure that the game feels authentically 'Disney' while also making sure that it can appeal to platforming fans of all skill levels. There's no shortage of great co-op games on Switch, but for anyone who first played Sega's Castle of Illusion or World of Illusion back on the Mega Drive — and perhaps now has small gamers of their own — this new Mickey platformer could be a particular platforming heartwarmer.

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Disney Illusion Island
Disney Illusion Island

Disney Illusion Island is out on 28th July. Think it'll prove to be a true platforming gem in the Switch catalogue? Let us know if you're looking forward to this one.