Disney has announced Illusion Island, a four-player platformer based on the Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse that's exclusive to the Nintendo Switch and releasing in 2023.
Disney and Marvel are currently holding a gaming showcase at D23, revealing brand new games and giving more detail on some that were already announced. One of the early surprises was Illusion Island, a four-player platformer that's based on the most recent animated Mickey Mouse series, the Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse.
The short trailer showed off the four-player platformer in action and it's strikingly similar to Ubisoft's Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends, with all four-players adventuring across distinct worlds with a unique art style. Although there's a clear focus on cooperative gameplay, we also get to see that each of the characters can be played on their own and that four-player isn't required.
Although the short trailer didn't reveal too much gameplay, it looks like each of the four characters has the same set of moves, but with different animations that set them apart, such as Goofy using a mustard bottle to glide, Donald swimming by angrily swinging his fist, and Mickey using a pencil to cling to a wall. It seems that all four can also use a grappling hook to get across short distances.
The end of the trailer also revealed that Illusion Island will be exclusive to Nintendo Switch at some point in 2023. Considering the platform exclusivity, it might be more apt to compare Illusion Island to New Super Mario Brothers, as that also has a four-player platforming focus. Thankfully, it doesn't seem that players will be bouncing off of one another here.
Interestingly, Illusion Island actually leaked a few months ago on Reddit, with several pieces of concept art showing the same art style and worlds that were featured in the reveal trailer. The initial leak didn't reveal the name as Illusion Island, but the unique art style and clear inspiration from the Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse make it clear that the two games are one and the same.