Disney Illusion Island is a magical Mickey world of platforming

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I’m as much a fan of Disney as I am of gaming. Yes, I am one of those heinous “Disney adults” that the news warned you about. But before I was a Disney adult, I was a Disney kid. I grew up playing amazing 8-bit and 16-bit games licensed from the Mouse House like DuckTales for the NES and QuackShot for the Sega Genesis.

Disney has gone hot and cold for gaming in waves over the decades. Right now, we are in something of a heatwave. We’re actually getting fun, new games again like Disney Dreamlight Valley. And now we have Disney Illusion Island, a new 2D platformer starring Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy.

Disney Illusion Island is launching on July 28 as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Although its 2D mechanics might make you think that it’s something of a throwback, Illusion Island also looks modern.

I had a chance to watch a good chunk of Illusion Island gameplay during a presentation helmed by AJ Grand-Scrutton, the title’s lead developer and CEO/creative director at Dlala Studios, the company behind the project.

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The first time I saw Disney Illusion Island, it reminded me of the last couple Rayman games. Like those, this a 2D platformer with colorful hand-drawn art and four-player co-op. Illusion Island does stand out in a couple of ways. First off, it focuses entirely on platforming. During the off-hands demo, I did not see any attacks or combat, not even of the Mario-style jumping-on-enemies variety.

Instead, gameplay focuses