Disney Illusion Island review – immune to its own charm

Nintendo Switch; Dlala Studios/Disney Interactive
With the sweetness and delight associated with Disney absent, this new platform game is a strangely cynical waste of potential

Disney Illusion Island initially feels as though it is going to be a bright romp through a magical landscape, starring the beloved quartet of Disney mainstays – Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. Surely we would follow them anywhere, iconic as they are. However, from the opening scene, it’s clear that the sweetness and delight associated with Disney stories is strangely absent. The writing is immediately off-putting: dry, cynical remarks pepper the dialogue, seemingly intended as ironic, but coming across as jaded and undercutting any sense of playfulness or wonder.

This jarring tone is disappointing: from the outset the game is operating at a distance from itself. For example, the magic words Mickey et al must use to defeat the end of level bosses are “Tee Be Dee” – to be determined. Even the heroes themselves clock this as arbitrary. It might be a funny jab if it was a one-off joke, but the whole narrative is hung around an overwrought self-awareness that we are on a constructed mission with conveniently placed help – and peril – set up along the way. Some games manage this ironic distance elegantly and with heart – Paper Mario: The Origami King comes to mind – but in this instance, it becomes tiresome quite quickly.