Disney unleashes its magic on the city building genre

Disney Magic Kingdoms sprinkles a little bit of childlike joy into the city building formula by letting you reclaim Disney Land from Maleficent and rebuild it to its former glory. With beautiful visuals, and some of the planets most recognizable characters, this is one for fans of all ages.

A magical land

Developed by Gameloft, Disney Magic Kingdoms instantly roots itself in the Disney and Pixar universe. The Magical Kingdom has been invaded and plunged into darkness by the evil Witch Maleficent… or if you are less up on your fiction “the nasty one from Sleeping Beauty”. Now it’s up to a handful of heroes to rescue the land from this evil.

Starting with Mickey Mouse, you slowly fight back the darkness that the evil queen has spread over the land. Lifting the grim fog, you gain access to new areas, allowing you to rebuild the devastated land with all manner of attractions.

These constructions range from simple Ferris Wheels to more particular constructions like Wall-E’s House. All of these look wonderfully toy-like as you place them in the world, and serve to generate additional Magic to purchase items and Stars to level-up – which in turn unlocks more buildings and more characters.

Cast members

Ah yes, characters – playing also gives you access to more of Mickey’s friends like Goofy and Buzz Lightyear. Like the famous mouse, once unlocked these beautifully animated characters wonder the world to help with the cleanup.

When they have a task available a little icon appears above their head, and tapping them opens up a menu of tasks they can perform. Then, tapping on an activity, sends them off to the relevant spot to carry it out for a prescribed set of time.

For most of the game, that is it. Just tap around the park to perform tasks and collect items, clean areas of the park, level up, and purchase new items to help you return the world to its former glories. While it may not be revolutionary, it is all it needs thanks to the wonderful audio and visual presentation setting the scene well, and its light story providing a nice excuse for the games progression.

Fun for all

Yes, it could just as easily be called Disney’s City Builder 101, but Disney Magic Kingdoms is an attractive game that should appeal to all fans of the animated universe. As always, with younger players, be sure to keep an eye on those in-app purchases – but otherwise a great choice.