Posted in: Disney Interactive Studios, Games, Video Games | Tagged: disney, Disney Illusion Island, Disney Interactive Studios, Dlala Studios

We Got To See A Special Presentation Of Disney Illusion Island

We visited Disney Interactive Studios in California as we got an early look at Disney Illusion Island before it is released this Summer.

About a week ago, we were given a special chance to go check out some brand-new game footage for the game Disney Illusion Island. Dlala Studios and Disney Interactive Studios announced the game back in September 2022, revealing an action platformer featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy as they find themselves in a strange land trying to help the locals in a dire time of need. We had a chance to go to Disney Interactive Studios for a brief presentation of the game, where they showed us live gameplay and explained more about what's to come before it's released this Summer.

For starters, the story has all four characters summoned to this new land of Monoth, where three mystical books have been stolen from a local civilization that needs your help getting them back. You will travel to neighboring lands where you'll traverse the levels and eventually find your way to guardians who are keeping the books for themselves, on orders from a bigger threat who intends to use them for evil. The game is primarily designed to be a co-op title, but if you're playing single-player, you can choose any of the four characters. Each one comes with their own attributes and personality, but in general, they all operate the same way. So there's no advantage or disadvantage in who you pick, its more for personal fun and laughs. Along the way, you'll also be able to unlock special abilities and powers each one can use, giving you more versatility in every level, which you'll need to traverse different sections and unlock hidden areas.

Disney Illusion Island has a nice flow to it where you enter an area and can grasp the concept of what you need to do pretty easily. If you decide to speedrun the game, you can do it pretty easily, as it takes less than a moment to figure out where you're going. Each zone comes with its own challenges that will keep you thinking, but whether you do this as a team or solo, you'll have fun figuring it out and making your way throughout the game. It should be pointed out that there is no online mode for this; the game was designed to have local co-op only as a way for you and your friends to get together on the couch and have an adventure in person. Or, more to the point, to be a family game that everyone can play together regardless of skill level. Based on what we were able to see, the gameplay is so simple, a 4-year-old could pick up on it in a couple of miniutes.

Some of the best parts of the game were discovering hidden areas and taking part in what are essentially small challenges to pick up items in each biome. You find them throughout different levels by locating small pieces of the map that have notches cut out. Like a small piece of the world is missing, which you can then use to uncover a hidden area. Most of the time, these areas take a skill you already know and put you to the test for a brief moment to see if you can master using it. Other times it's just a simple challenge, like swinging around in a particular pattern to pick up the items in the correct order. Finding these will actually help ou out a lot, not just for the items but when you encounter bosses. The bosses at each stage present their own unique challenge that, if you're clever, you will have already run across something similar and will have an idea of what to do in short order. We won't give anything away, but there's some clever work being done to make it fun while also challenging.

Ultimately, we had a lot of fun checking out Disney Illusion Island. There's a lot here for Disney fans of any level, whether you're just here for a game, looking to experience an interactive film, or are a hardcore Disney nut who can recognize every reference you'll discover along the way. The animation style, the mechanics, the challenges; it all makes for a great time. We hope to experience more when the game is released exclusively for Nintendo Switch on July 28th, 2023.

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