Disney Illusion Island (PS5) Review – Charming But Devoid of Disney Magic

Disney Illusion Island (PS5) Review

In the lineage of Disney video games, there has been a long history of darker-themed platformers. Some could argue this began with the Capcom games on the NES, but most would say the OG is The Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse for the Sega Genesis. It had three direct sequels called Land of Illusion, World of Illusion and Legend of Illusion. The two Genesis games (Castle and World) are 16-bit platforming classics. Several series have continued the lineage of quality Disney platformers with darker tones, mainly the SNES Magical Quest trilogy, and Wii Epic Mickey games. We now have a new entry in this loose line of Disney Illusion games: Disney Illusion Island.

Disney Illusion Island was originally released as a Switch exclusive in 2023. On May 30 2025 it released for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Giving it the “Illusion” moniker implies that it’s going to be a quality platformer that calls back to all those darker retro classics. In COGconnected’s review of the Switch version, the reviewer really enjoyed it. They found Disney Illusion Island to be an accessible, polished 2D Metroidvania platformer. That’s true. This review will be a companion piece to the original. I will look at it through the lens of someone looking for a Castle of Illusion sequel, as opposed to a modern Disney game for young kids.

Where’s the Disney?

Our original review of Disney Illusion Island does a great job of summarizing the story. What that review doesn’t touch upon is that there are barely any Disney elements in this “Disney” game. The player does use Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy as playable characters. There are collectables that, when opened in the menu, are things from Disney shorts. But that’s it. The island, (almost) all of its inhabitants, and every enemy are original creations. Disney Illusion Island could just as easily been a Cool Spot or Bubsy game.

For example, there was one section where there were large flowers with faces in the background. I immediately wondered why they couldn’t be “The Golden Afternoon” flowers from Alice in Wonderland. There are also no elements of Disney illusion or darkness. No magic mirrors. There weren’t any medieval castles, or recognizable villains. There were plenty of purple thorns in the environments, but there was no attempt to make them the thorns from Sleeping Beauty. Enemies are things like cacti, or spiked blobs with beaks. They’re all generic, original creations that make the “Disney” label feel like an afterthought. And every environment looks similar to every other environment. The assets stay very similar, just the color changes. Everything will be purple instead of yellow, but it’s still the same cacti running around.

No Challenge Whatsoever 

One of the strongest aspects of Disney Illusion Island is that it makes a great game for very young children. And it’s entirely playable as co-op! The game is completely devoid of challenge. There is no combat, just simple platforming. It’s also a Metroidvania which really holds the player’s hand. There’s almost no exploration. Progress is extremely linear. The classic Disney platformers are all extremely difficult. Disney Illusion Island has difficulty options, but they just change the amount of hits a player can take before getting sent back to a (generously placed) check point. They don’t change the challenge-less gameplay at all. While this makes the game great for very young players, it besmirches the retro fans who want any kind of challenge. Recent games like Super Mario Bros. Wonder do a great job of balancing accessibility and challenge.

This next section is incredibly subjective, but I hate the art style in Disney Illusion Island. I don’t know if there’s a modern Mickey Mouse TV series the game is copying, but the angular character designs are a huge turn off. Some could argue Mickey looks like his original pre-Steamboat Willie design. But he doesn’t look like the Mickey Mouse we all know and love. I do remember seeing a fairly recent DuckTales cartoon with similar modern angular character art. Disney Illusion Island is well-animated, but the art style and graphics make it look like a flash or mobile game. The collectables that open in the menu also have this modern art style applied to them. So the giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk doesn’t look like the giant from Mickey and the Beanstalk.

Exactly the Same on PS5

Disney Illusion Island is the exact same experience on PS5 as it was on Switch. There are no extra features, and it still looks crisp and plays tight. But I have to ask the question “Who was Disney Illusion Island made for?” It fails as a Disney-themed game, as a retro 2D platformer, and as a continuation of the Disney “Illusion” series. It absolutely succeeds as baby’s first Metroidvania. This would make a great game for a parent to introduce a young child how to play platformers and Metroidvanias. I can’t imagine an adult playing this and not getting bored after a couple hours though. And if young kids can figure out Minecraft, they can just play a classic Metroidvania instead. A co-op Metroidvania is an enticing idea, but this one is only for newbees.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher***