Disney Illusion Island Starring Mickey & Friends is a platformer from developer Diala Studios, the team behind the 2020 Battletoads reboot. Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, platformers were a staple of my childhood, and I was excited to play this multiplayer platformer by publisher Disney.

A Nostalgic Journey

The game was a Nintendo Switch timed exclusive, and it received a decent reception from several outlets with an average Metacritic score of 73. After 2 years, it has finally come to PC, Xbox and PlayStation. The game only has local multiplayer, but using Remote Play on Steam, I had some help completing this one.

Before this release, the game had enjoyed two free content updates. These came in the form of time trial and mystery solving modes. Keeper Up and Mystery of Monoth are unlocked as you play the story. This version of the game includes Diala Studios’ third update titled Cave Adventuring Scavenger Hunt, or C.A.S.H. for short.

Once you complete the main campaign, you will need to go back to the main menu and reload your save. This will prompt a cutscene where a question mark will appear on your map. Luckily, there is a mailbox right next to it so you can go ahead and teleport right by it. What you will find is a little hut in the middle of Monoth wearing a Scrooge McDuck top hat.

Inside this hut, you will find good old Scrooge himself in the feather, and Mickey and his friends are super excited to see Donald’s Uncle. As players we were excited as well, especially because he supplied us with a shovel and unlocked a roguelike coin collecting mode.

Get Gold, Get Upgrades

C.A.S.H. is broken into vertical levels. Each level has its own levels, so you will be digging in every direction. You dig to uncover and collect coins, jewels and more, and this is done while avoiding obstacles. Many of these will be recognizable from the main game, and you also have to make sure you get to an exit point which appear on every other level. If you do not make it to one, you lose all the money you have collected except for money earned via tasks. These tasks are challenges for your run, and the few we have encountered were ones like getting so many levels deep, collecting so many coins or even digging so many blocks of dirt.

Rewards from successful runs and tasks can be used to upgrade multiple aspects of your run. As you get deeper, you there you start to see three or four different colored dirt blocks that require an upgraded shovel. To get that deep though, you will most certainly need to upgrade your time. Fans of platformers and roguelikes will appreciate all the elements of these features.

Final Reaction

It is great to see a good end game mode that has a high replay value. Disney Illusion Island Starring Mickey & Friends is a fantastic addition to the multiplayer Metroidvania collection. Bringing Cave Adventuring Scavenger Hunt to the mix adds a layer to the game that will keep players coming back for a long while. With 2 players it was fast chaotic fun, so one can only imagine what it would be like adding that third or fourth player.

Whether you are enjoying the game and the new mode solo, locally with friends, or via remote play, you are guaranteed for some good Disney platforming action. It is reminiscent of the genre’s great games that came before it.

Disney Illusion Island Starring Mickey & Friends is available on Steam, GOG, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch.