Disney has announced a new 2D platformer called Disney Illusion Island that is clearly inspired by Ubisoft's Rayman Legends. The first-ever Disney and Marvel Games event featured a number of new game announcements, as well as updates on games that fans already about. One of the new game announcements was for Disney Illusion Island, which is a Nintendo Switch exclusive that is expected to launch at some point in 2023.
Disney Illusion Island was announced with a trailer that set up the basic concept of the game. It's a 2D platformer that supports up to 4-player co-op, with players taking on the roles of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. As shown in the trailer, players will have to overcome a variety of platforming challenges, fight bosses, and explore hand-drawn levels. Disney Illusion Island basically looks like Rayman Legends with a Disney-inspired makeover, but there's nothing wrong with that.
Rayman Legends is one of the most critically-acclaimed platformers of all time. It earned near-universal acclaim when it first launched a decade ago, and is still remembered fondly to this day. Fans have been calling on Ubisoft to make a new Rayman game in the same vein as Rayman Legends for years now, but with the company seemingly uninterested in doing so, it looks like Disney is stepping up to fill that void.
Little else is known about Disney Illusion Island beyond what was shown in the announcement trailer, however, we do know that the game is being developed by Dlala Studios. For those who may be unfamiliar with the developer, Dlala Studios made the 2020 Battletoads reboot, which admittedly earned somewhat mixed reviews, but still had its fans. Based on what's been shown so far, it looks like Disney Illusion Island could be more universally-liked than Battletoads, but it's too early to know for sure.
Fans won't know how Disney Illusion Island stacks up to Battletoads or its inspirations until they play the game for themselves. Right now, Disney Illusion Island is stuck with a vague 2023 release window, and so far it's only in development for the Nintendo Switch. It's possible more platforms could be added down the line, but plans to that effect have not been announced at the time of this writing. For now, fans of co-op platformers can look forward to checking out Disney Illusion Island when the game launches exclusively for the Switch at some point next year.
Disney Illusion Island will launch in 2023 for the Switch.