When a recreation like Disney Phantasm Island places “Phantasm” in its title, it instantly evokes a wealthy legacy of Disney platformers.

Rising up, I wasn’t precisely a Disney child. I had nothing towards the mouse’s home, I used to be simply extra concerned about mascot platformers with tragic backstories. Regardless, I cherished the heck out of so many 16-bit Disney platformers. Video games like Sega’s Fortress of Phantasm didn’t interact me due to the license, however as a result of they provided their very own distinctive spin on the world of Mickey Mouse. I nonetheless bear in mind how Fortress of Phantasm may effortlessly transition from feeling whimsical, to mysterious, to sort of ominous when it needed. Heck, it did all of that within the first world!

To its credit score, Disney Phantasm Island doesn’t put on the “Phantasm” model evenly. Although it bares little similarity to Sega’s seminal title, I may inform how a lot the builders at DLALA Studios needed to create a recreation that would sit alongside the greats in Disney’s online game canon. In some respects, Phantasm Island accomplishes this aim. I simply don’t assume I’ll reminisce about it 30 years from now.

Disney Phantasm Island (Swap)
Developer: DLALA Studios, Disney Video games
Writer: Disney Digital Content material
Launched: July 28, 2023
MSRP: $39.99

All people’s busy bringing you a Disney Afternoon

Phantasm Island begins on an surprising excessive notice. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy meet up for a picnic on the titular island, every believing the occasion was deliberate by another person of their crew. However simply as many afternoon outings go, the picnic was not deliberate by mates, however by a race of hamster people who find themselves in determined want of assist. It seems that calamity is imminent for mentioned hamsters in the event that they don’t gather some magic books, they usually need assistance from heroes who can do the job for them.

Naturally they flip to Mickey and mates to deal with that adventuring. And I imply, as somebody who grew up enjoying The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse, I need to admit the mouse does have some heroic chops.

As primary as this plot sounds, it’s instructed in a completely voiced, absolutely animated scene that I discovered charming. It has a Disney XD vibe, however I genuinely laughed at some strains right here. Sadly, exterior of the ultimate act of the sport, most story bits don’t make use of this stage of manufacturing. You’ll principally stare at voiceless dialogue bins that lean heavier on fourth-wall breaking jokes that simply don’t land fairly as nicely, whether or not you’re a Disney fan or not.

It is a small, arguably inessential disappointment. The story clearly isn’t the main focus right here, I simply preferred the absolutely animated stuff a lot that almost all every little thing after it felt disappointing. It’s a bummer for youthful audiences, however I get the vibe that Phantasm Island caters extra to Disney adults. Particularly once you understand what sort of recreation it’s.

Mouse-troidvania

Disney Phantasm Island is technically a Metroidvania. In the event you instructed me 15 years in the past that the exploratory platformer style would turn into so fashionable that Mickey Mouse would throw his hat into the ring, I might have referred to as you loopy. Regardless, right here we’re. Mickey and mates will traverse interconnected biomes throughout the island to recuperate the lacking tomes, incomes useful motion upgrades alongside the way in which. Initially, the mouse’s occasion can do little greater than run and leap. By the tip of the sport, they’ll double leap, wall leap, and even floor pound to entry new areas.

Management and motion lay the muse for any good platformer, and by chance Disney Phantasm Island nails this. It doesn’t lock off your greatest motion choices for lengthy, and every little thing from leap arcs to motion velocity really feel nice. The sport lacks any fight mechanics, so a surprisingly nimble transfer set retains the expertise feeling contemporary. I actually loved the sport when it merely focuses on testing your platforming prowess.

At its greatest, the extent design throws you at problem rooms that make the most of all of your talents. Whereas the sport’s hardest is perhaps 1/10^th of what one thing like Celeste throws at you, the issue can ramp up properly within the second half. Platforming newbies might select to play with infinite well being, so nobody ought to count on to get caught essentially. However as somebody who as soon as spent a summer time enjoying Ninja Gaiden to see if I may beat it with none continues, I used to be shocked that I died in sure sections of the sport. Granted, this was principally resulting from my very own impatience, however extra on that in a bit.

Whereas swimming within the latter a part of the sport can really feel somewhat unfastened, I felt stunned by how tight Phantasm Island managed. Motion simply feels good, with a stage of polish usually reserved for top-shelf platformers. That is lucky, since this counteracts a number of small stumbles that Phantasm Island makes alongside the way in which.

Bouncing right here and there and in all places

The most important, most substantial query that would not go away my head throughout the entirety of Phantasm Island’s runtime was one I’d by no means thought I’d ask: why is that this a Metroidvania?

Look, I grew up on sufficient Metroid and Castlevania to utterly love this style. I’ve additionally loved non-violent exploratory platformers too. The factor is, these video games solely work if they offer you incentive to discover, and Phantasm Island simply… doesn’t have that. Don’t get me incorrect, there’s a lot of stuff to gather right here. I’d go as far as to name Phantasm Island a collect-athon. It’s simply that the belongings you hunt for don’t actually matter.

You could have Tokuns, a primary compendium of characters and enemies within the recreation with some banal taste textual content. There’s Mickey Memorabilia, which is actually simply Disney references drawn by the artwork crew. Hidden Mickeys are, once more, simply small items of artwork you will discover by recognizing Mickey Mouse icons within the wild. And at last we have now Glimts, the sport’s equal of cash which unlock well being upgrades. Whereas I’m glad one thing impacts the play expertise, these really feel comparatively insignificant because the recreation’s issue settings already decide how a lot well being you begin with.

I don’t assume Phantasm Island wants a strong RPG system to encourage exploration. However in a recreation that has treasured few quick journey choices till criminally late into the sport, why would I wish to backtrack simply to unlock an image of the wheel from Steamboat Willie? Actually, that’s all this format actually provides to the sport: backtracking. Contemplating you’ll be able to’t even gather one class of unlockables till you’ve already explored the primary few areas, I did sometimes really feel that the sport was simply making an attempt to pad its runtime.

To be clear, I didn’t assume the backtracking was essentially egregious. However I did want the sport would have gone with a easy level-to-level development as an alternative.

D-d-d-danger! Watch behind you!

I even have to debate the enemy design, which turned an increasing number of of a sticking level as I progressed.

As talked about above, Phantasm Island is a nonviolent platformer. I’m cool with this resolution, however you’ll nonetheless discover loads of enemies decided to smack you. And with out fight, the sport’s solely option to escalate problem from enemies entails making you wait. Within the late recreation, I felt an alarming quantity of enemies merely existed to interrupt a participant’s pure ahead trajectory. You should use acrobatics to dodge some foes, however many simply need you to attend till they transfer or end attacking. No platforming, no technique, simply ready.

Like the extent design, this isn’t recreation breaking. Nevertheless, I ultimately reached some extent the place I racked up deaths simply because I used to be bored with ready for enemies to maneuver and tried to cheese my well beyond them. Certain, dying time and again to restart on the frequent checkpoints isn’t an environment friendly option to progress. However I’d moderately die alone phrases than let Walt Disney’s grunts management how I stay.

After a sure level, I felt Phantasm Island wasn’t essentially getting tougher as a lot because it was making it simpler to get hit. I’m positive if I didn’t play on the toughest issue setting, I most likely may brute drive via all these obstacles. I simply would have preferred to have seen extra exploration of the core controls over abrasive enemy placement. The builders put all this work into making motion enjoyable, so why would they need gamers to not transfer?

Facet by aspect wherever we go

I do wish to contact on the multiplayer in Phantasm Island. Whereas main platforming collection like Rayman and Tremendous Mario have embraced native multiplayer, I used to be nonetheless excited to check out the way it handles right here.

I had my girlfriend be part of my practically full playthrough for a session, and the outcomes stunned me. Although she’s usually unfamiliar with 2D platformers, she was capable of wall leap and twine swing at my tempo inside minutes. This actually is a testomony to how pure Phantasm Island feels to play, and we had a whole lot of enjoyable operating round collectively.

The issue, once more, is that I don’t know why that is an exploratory platformer. Whereas I don’t assume something of ceaselessly opening and shutting my map to trace the place I’m going, that fixed pausing actually disrupts multiplayer. Phantasm Island doesn’t have a mini-map both, so even small forks within the street really feel extra troublesome than crucial. I imply, at a number of factors within the recreation, you’ll discover a number of branching paths. However three paths will result in keys, all of which you’ll have to unlock a door blocking the important path. Our takeaway joke whereas we performed was “in Phantasm Island, the one phantasm is that we have now any freedom.”

I did like that every participant may specify their very own issue stage by way of the well being they begin with. It makes Phantasm Island straightforward to play with much less skilled gamers after they can simply activate infinite well being for themselves. However past that, I don’t assume Phantasm Island stands out as a multiplayer expertise until you particularly wish to get somebody into platformers. My associate and I loved our session, however we didn’t speak about it after we put our controllers down. And that sort of sums up the sport typically.

I’m Timothy Monbleau from Destructoid, and also you’re studying a Disney overview

As a lot as I’ve targeted on nitpicks, I may overlook all of them if Phantasm Island provided a captivating, distinctive expertise just like the 16-bit Disney classics. However exterior these enjoyable animated scenes, I by no means noticed something within the recreation that basically caught with me. All of the biomes within the recreation simply sort of blur collectively, with considerably differentiated however in the end unremarkable visuals separating them. Exterior of a water zone, the entire thing simply appears like one lengthy stage.

But regardless of every little thing, I nonetheless performed Phantasm Island to 100% completion (which took me slightly below ten hours). And even after I used to be left with one small incentive to replay the sport, I began a second save file. Phantasm Island is undoubtedly a enjoyable recreation. It performs very nicely at its core, which is difficult for me to wax poetic about. However the recreation does ship on that, particularly when its stage design lets these core mechanics shine.

I’d evaluate my expertise to getting a burger from a pleasant quick informal restaurant. It’s not the most effective you’ve had, nevertheless it’s good in a pinch and also you’re glad you had it. And typically you want a diversion to entertain you and presumably a member of the family for a weekend.

Disney Phantasm Island gained’t go down in historical past like the most effective Disney platformer classics have. However it’s nonetheless a enjoyable, if not forgettable, romp starring Mickey and mates. Those that are newer to platformers or wish to get somebody in on the style can be primed to take pleasure in this title. Additionally, whereas I don’t assume the exploratory angle does the sport any favors, it might attraction to collect-athon followers. In any other case, Phantasm Island is only a dependable recreation for a wet day. An ideal seven if there ever was one.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}