The premise for Illusion Island reminds me of the Sega Genesis-era Mickey games like Castle of Illusion. ![]() This is 2D Metroid made gentle or maybe more apt for the year it comes out: this is to Metroid what Super Mario RPG is to Final Fantasy. Illusion Island bucks that trend, and after spending a number of hours with it both by myself and with my family, I’m ready to be signed up as a Mouseketeer because Disney and developer Dlala Studios have made a game that takes the paramount concepts of a Metroidvania platformer and distilled them into a form that is fun for all ages while not being a pushover. I love me some Metroid and all of the indie games it inspired, but the majority of those skew more difficult or at the very least require knowledge of the genre. However, after hearing the developers call it a “Mickeyvania” and talk passionately about how this is an exploration-heavy platformer made for the whole family, my ears perked up. When it showed up at various showcases later on, I enjoyed seeing the cartoony animation but aside from that, I didn’t have high hopes that this would be anything more than a nice-looking generic licensed platformer. This is a great game.When Disney Illusion Island was revealed at D23 in 2022, I didn’t pay much attention to it. If you and your kids are fans of Mickey Mouse, then this is a must play.įrankly, the only reason I can see why you WOULDN’T need to play it is if you have some weird moral issue with Disney. This might be frustrating to children who aren’t very good with patterns yet, but this is a great way to practice. Each time you manage to jump on a bosses head the pattern changes slightly. The boss fights at the end of each level are built around pattern recognition. For example, in one level you will be traveling along in a level that is not unlike any Mario or Mega Man game that you have seen, until the game shifts perspectives to 3D and gives Mickey more freedom to move. The game does, however, regularly shift perspectives in the middle of levels which can be very difficult for even the most experienced players. So children will have no problem figuring out how to move around. ![]() Kids may enjoy themselves while they play, but this is definitely a challenging game. If they can watch that, then they should have no trouble playing this game. Some of the masters of illusion are a little intense, but this is as tame as your average Mickey Mouse cartoon. Everything felt new and interesting throughout.Ĭastle of Illusion is completely safe for kids. The game is a bit on the short side, but I never felt like I was being rushed to the end, or held back by repetitive levels. It felt like I was playing inside a living storybook. ![]() The game is fully voice acted, and the narrator is amazing. You control Mickey as he tries to rescue her. She kidnaps Minnie and brings her to the titular Castle of Illusion. Mickey and Minnie go for a picnic only to be waylaid by the evil witch Mizrabel. I caught myself smiling more than once even while I was struggling with some of the more challenging parts of the game. The developers managed to capture the essence of the original (that was published on the Sega Genesis) and breathed new life into it through updated visuals and modern level design.Ĭastle of Illusion’s greatest strength comes from pure whimsy. Reviewed on PS3, also available on Xbox 360 (check other availability) and Windowsĭisney’s Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse is a stunning recreation of an amazing game.
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