Despite the title, Disney Illusion Island has little in common with SEGA's legendary Castle of Illusion and its spiritual sequels: the new game Play Studios It is more than a simple tribute to the past. It surprised even us, who thought we were facing the usual nostalgia operation. A recycling of assets disguised as inspiration, a mix of ideas that go beyond fashion, a clear graphic style in keeping with the times... In short, it is worth knowing the formula. Instead, it surprised us precisely because the British developer found its own identity, just as it did with his first project, the Battletoads revival released a few years ago.
The result is a surprising metroidvania that, as we explain in our Disney Illusion Island Review, has the potential to entertain fans young and old of the world's most famous mouse.
A scary quiet picnic
The long animated introductory sequence, completely dubbed into Spanish, tells us how our four heroes find themselves on the island of monoth, convinced that they had invited each other to a big picnic: instead it was the inhabitants who called them by deception to help them recover the three magical tomes that keep their world in balance. Dlala Studios could have limited itself to establishing a simple pretext, instead it invested in new imagery, describing it through hilarious dialogues and very funny characters in the style of The wonderful world of Mickey Mouse, the latest animated series inspired by the most famous pet in the world. The sharp, stylized character designs may not be to everyone's taste, but it's an homage to Disney's roots and has allowed the developer to create a video game that feels like a perfect mix between a comic book and a cartoon.
The protagonists are Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck, the irresistible Disney characters that we all know, and who express their whole personality even just by moving. The player can choose who to impersonate in the main menu - unfortunately it is not possible to change characters during the game - and there is no difference between the four heroes, except in aesthetics: each one is played in the same way and the control system is incredibly intuitive. One button to jump, one to interact and the stick to move.
On this basis Dlala Studios has designed a title that is only marginally inspired by Castle of Illusion and much more by Rayman Legends or Hollow Knight, with the necessary differences. First, the focus shifts completely to theplatform action and not to fight. There are enemies, they wander around the screens and can even be annoying, but neither Mickey nor his friends are warriors and it would have been unorthodox for them to fight in a title suitable for the whole family. So most enemies are dodged and most of the difficulty is represented by a level design which may initially seem uninspired, but as the adventure progresses, especially after having already unlocked the first objects, it becomes more and more interesting.
La difficulties default is deliberately medium/low, but it is possible to adjust some parameters - such as the number of total hearts - to slightly complicate things: the game is stingy with chests or regenerating pools, but it is much more generous in terms of checkpoints, the letters scattered everywhere, and there is no Game Over. Once you run out of hearts, you return to the last checkpoint you passed with your life energy fully restored.
The other feature of Disney Illusion Island that you should keep in mind is its nature. It is not a platform game divided into levels or missions, but a real one Metroidvania Set in a structured world: Monoth is made up of different biomes connected in continuity and the game is designed to send us from one end of the map to the other, making us explore new areas with the new skills learned while we glimpse others that are temporarily unreachable. There map It records everything in the form of clear and intuitive icons that remind us where we have to go, where we cannot go yet and where a new path has been opened, even memorizing secret areas - there are many - and points of interest.
It's not that the developer takes the player by the hand; he simply eliminates any frustration or disorientation by providing him with all the means to continue playing without wasting time navigating the map in vain. Also because you move very slowly through Monoth. The most unequivocal problem lies in the slowness of movements of Mickey Mouse and friends, and although it has little weight when you are busy learning new paths or overcoming the current platform challenges, in the frequent recoil - at least until the shortcuts are unlocked - there is some discomfort in manual movements.
Dlala Studios makes up for the lack of combat with a good variety of "powers" that allow our four heroes to break new ground. Usually provided by the brilliant and dazed Mazzy, the devices take a different form depending on the character controlled, which then appears to be a joke entirely built around the character of Donald Duck, who is always found drawing the short straw: for example, when he learns to glide using the updrafts scattered around Monoth, Mickey uses a kind of miniature helicopter, Minnie a polka dot umbrella, Goofy a fun mustard bottle, and the unfortunate Sailor Duck. .. a couple of feathers to wave like crazy. It doesn't really make any difference on a practical level since you always press the same button and the result does not change, since the character we control will meekly slide towards new objectives.
The slide is just one of seven objects that give the protagonists additional movement capabilities, and which include the inevitable double jump, the wall jump, the hit to the ground to cross cracked floors, the rope to hang from handholds, etc. Over time, the places to reach multiply, not only to advance the story and find the lost tomes, but also to collect the numerous collectibles scattered throughout every corner of Monoth.
A Mickey Vania for everyone
Disney Illusion Island is not a particularly long or challenging title, and is played in multiplayer It becomes even simpler: as in World of Illusion (1992) it is possible to lower a rope to the other players - a maximum of four in total - to help them reach the elevated platforms, using them as springboards to overcome obstacles and large spaces. or share the remaining hearts. However, the quantity and variety of collectable and impressive, and the real challenge is to explore every corner of Monoth, using the map, the tokens and the powers acquired to collect all the Glimt, which allow you to buy the pieces of some illustrations, or the Tickets, which represent the characters. and enemies, and the Memorabilia that, three by three, unlock small tributes to the historical shorts of Mickey Mouse's long animated career.
even the boss They were designed to test the player's skill with movement and stage reading. They are not real fights but environmental puzzles in which you will have to jump, dodge and step on switches in the correct order to inflict indirect damage on the enemy. He control system it does its duty, but at times there is a very small delay in responding to inputs which translates into jumps or movements that are more rigid than normal. It's sporadic, but sometimes you have the distinct sensation of missing a jump or a grab because the game didn't interpret the commands correctly.
As we said, however, we are not facing a ruthless Hollow Knight, in which absolute precision is required in the advanced phases of the game, nor is we facing a title in which something is lost by even failing repeatedly in a complicated passage. Even the fact that the game records all the possible paths, suggesting the location of one or more collectible objects, confirms the type of audience it is aimed at: not only the little ones, but also those players who are looking for a happy and non-stop game. particularly arduous. , title and above all it can be completed 100% without resorting to any guide on the web. We're more or less in line with Nintendo's Kirby games, although Disney Illusion Island seemed noticeably more complicated in places, especially towards the end of the adventure.
Without a doubt, Dlala Studios deserves praise for the technical sector, stylized but never essential, always readable and colorful. The game performs very well both on television and in portability, offering a fluid and very clean image on both screens, without contaminating the gameplay with the slightest slowdown. We appreciate the decidedly unusual character design by Disney video game standards, but above all the music by David Housden that literally look like something out of a short film or an Uncle Walt cartoon: in this sense, Disney Illusion Island truly captures the sparkling spirit of Disney imagery.
Conclusions
digital delivery Nintendo eShop Price 39,99 € Holygamerz.com 7.5 Readers (22) 7.1 your voteDisney Illusion Island is a competent metroidvania aimed at a wide audience, made up of both children who will love to play as Mickey Mouse and the others, perhaps together with their families, and all those looking for a joyful, colorful and challenging experience. property right, which is completed without too much paranoia. It is not the heir to the legendary Castle of Illusion as we thought, but that's what it is: what it does it does well and we are happy that Dlala Studios has tried a new, risky but promising path.
PRO
- The sympathy of the Disney protagonists
- Competent and more frustrating level design
- Lots of collectibles to find
AGAINST
- The slowness of the movements.
- Medium/low difficulty and too many visual cues
- The control system does not always respond very well.
