D23 Expo 2022: Disney & Marvel Games Showcase Recap

D23 Expo 2022 continued on Friday with another major panel with the Disney & Marvel Games Showcase. I was very excited about this panel as I was expecting an update on the previously announced Marvel game from Skydance New Media that was announced almost a year ago, with Uncharted creator Amy Hennig set to helm the title. That was one of the games showcased last Friday.

Disney & Marvel Games Showcase

In the first part of the panel, Kinda Funny’s Blessing Adeoye Jr. ran through a number of titles on the video screen. These including Disney Illusion, a new action-adventure platform game coming to the Nintendo Switch. This looks like a fun throwback game to the old Disney 16-bit console games. Players get to control Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy on an adventure to help save a mysterious island.

Illusion Island looks like a solid platformer. I like that the animated style, and they used the designs for the latest Disney Mickey Mouse shorts. It’s also fully voiced. This looks like a good game that old-school Disney fans can enjoy, along with kids and families.

A new trailer for Marvel and 2K Games’ Midnight Suns was also shown. The trailer announced that there will be animated prequel shorts for the game debuting later in October. It looks like the shorts will be presented in classic, traditional 2D animation. The showcase also announced an upcoming remastered release of Disney’s Gargoyles, which was first released on the SEGA Genesis in 1995, based on the hit animated series.

A new mobile MMO FPS shooter was also revealed for the Avatar franchise called Avatar: Reckoning. It looks like players will be able to create their own Na’vi Avatars and explore the world of Pandora.

Disney also debuted a new CG trailer for the mobile-action RPG Disney Mirrorverse game during the showcase. The CG trailer had updated versions of Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas and Ursula from The Little Mermaid. The game has a Haunted Hallows event coming up next month, just in time for Halloween. It starts on October 6. Here’s the latest trailer below:

The showcase finally offered up the first reveal for the upcoming Marvel Skydance New Media game. This is a new narrative, story-driven action-adventure game that will have four playable characters. It’s set in World War II and features Captain America, a previous generation Black Panther (Azzuri, T’Challa’s grandfather), Howling Commandoes member Gabriel Jones, and Nanali, a Wakandan spy. Amy Hennig, a trailblazing game creator of such iconic series as Uncharted and Legacy of Kain, is helming the title as lead writer and director. While game was showcased and announced, it’s still currently untitled. You can check out the teaser trailer revealed during the showcase below:

Followed by the WWII Marvel game, the showcase also announced a new mobile Marvel-themed game called Marvel World of Heroes, which comes from Pokemon Go creators Niantic.

Followed by the game previews and announcements, Blessing Adeoye Jr. took the stage with some more in-depth chats with the dev teams for Disney Illusion Island, the Marvel WWII game, Midnight Suns, and Tron: Identity. Disney Illusion Island was up first. The game will have local co-op, and it looks like it will be exclusive to the Nintendo Switch. It definitely appears the Mickey Mouse Illusion series was a big inspiration for the team, and this looks like a fun title.

Amy Hennig was live in attendance to talk about the upcoming Marvel WWII game. I assume Skydance New Media is still hashing out a title because they still didn’t have one ready for the show. They talked about using some more obscure characters in the comics and the WWII setting. Hennig talked about creating a game that was immersive and wanting controls that are “intuitive and contextual.”

D23 Disney & Marvel Games Showcase Marvel Skydance New Media team is here, including Amy Hennig. Talking about the WWII setting and comic inspirations for the game. #Marvel #MarvelGames #D23Expo #D23Expo2022 #SkydanceNewMedia pic.twitter.com/gRJH6g7nhh

— Jeffrey Harris (@Wheeljack83) September 9, 2022

Amy Hennig working on a Marvel game is a dream come true. I think the WWII setting is interesting, since it could offer up a lot of pulpy, serial-style action-adventure fun, similar to Indiana Jones, which was clearly a major inspiration for the Uncharted game series. I’m very glad she’s working on a new title such as this. There’s no release date yet for this one, and considering there is no title either, I expect we could still be waiting a while. Not to mention, Amy Hennig has a busy place since she’s also developing a new Star Wars video game with Skydance New Media and Lucasfilm Games.

The Firaxis Games devs from Marvel’s Midnight Suns were also on hand for the D23 Expo showcase to talk about the upcoming release. They talked about how players will be able to customize their player character, The Hunter, and the basic story of fighting the demon Lilith. They also revealed that players will get their own hideout called The Abbey, which they will also be able to customize.

D23 Disney & Marvel Games Showcase: Blessing Adeoye Jr. chats with the Firaxis Games team Marvel Midnight Suns. This is a strategy RPG. Players take the role of their own customized hero called the Hunter. #D23Expo2022 #D23Expo #MarvelStudios #MarvelGames pic.twitter.com/PHD0chdTwp

— Jeffrey Harris (@Wheeljack83) September 9, 2022

Mike Bithell was also in attendance to chat about Tron: Identity. Based on Tron franchise, Tron: Identity is a new game coming to computers next year. This looks like it will be a throwback to point-and-click style narrative games for computers, but there will also be a puzzle-solving element.

Conclusion

I think the D23 Expo Disney & Marvel Games Showcase was OK, but it felt a little on the rushed side. The big standout title was the reveal of the Marvel Skydance New Media title, which still has no official name. At the very least, it looks to be off to a promising start, and Amy Hennig and her team sound very passionate about what they are creating. Disney Illusion Island also looks like a lot of fun.

I do think they glossed over a few things like Gargoyles Remastered. Also, very little was shown in the way of Star Wars games. It would’ve been nice if something was set up for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor or some of the other upcoming Respawn Entertainment games that are being worked on. It felt like quite a few titles were held back here, including the Skydance New Media Star Wars title. On the other hand, that one could simply still be in its very early incubation stages, and they may not have been ready to present anything yet.

Hopefully, more on those other upcoming titles that weren’t showcased at the D23 Expo will be revealed later on by E3 2023.