“Mousetroidvania”
There is something to be said for art that offers little resistance. There’s a reason why we have The Office on as we fall asleep, why we return to Gilmore Girls in the fall, why we’ve seen Jurassic Park so many times. We appreciate being challenged and engaged, but there is also comforting reward in the elegantly simplistic experience.
Illusion Island is shocking in its effortlessness. Sure, it comes from a lineage of the combat-light and polish-heavy Disney games of the 90s, but there is a breeziness and fluidity here that those games were never interested in. The Metroidvania of it all — huge sprawling maps full of twists and switchbacks — highlights the wonderful locomotion and the understated precision of the level design. It feels like you could traverse the world in one fluid path of speedrun-esque movement as you lazily wall and double jump your way at a blissful pace. Add the stupendous and ethereal music, the classic Disney bouncing animated works, and you have a panacea for high strung gamers everywhere.
There is something to be said for art that offers little resistance. There’s a reason why we have The Office on as we fall asleep, why we return to Gilmore Girls in the fall, why we’ve seen Jurassic Park so many times. We appreciate being challenged and engaged, but there is also comforting reward in the elegantly simplistic experience.
Illusion Island is shocking in its effortlessness. Sure, it comes from a lineage of the combat-light and polish-heavy Disney games of the 90s, but there is a breeziness and fluidity here that those games were never interested in. The Metroidvania of it all — huge sprawling maps full of twists and switchbacks — highlights the wonderful locomotion and the understated precision of the level design. It feels like you could traverse the world in one fluid path of speedrun-esque movement as you lazily wall and double jump your way at a blissful pace. Add the stupendous and ethereal music, the classic Disney bouncing animated works, and you have a panacea for high strung gamers everywhere.