There was a time when the toys-to-life genre was dominating the video game landscape, and some of the largest studios wanted to get a slice. Activision ran the very popularSkylandersseries, LEGO brought together all sorts of IPs throughLEGO Dimensions, Nintendo launchedthe collectibleAmiiboline, and even Disney had its hands in the genre withDisney Infinity. The trend has mostly died down, and most of these IPs have faded into obscurity with their figures filling used game stores. While the industry has moved past this era, some games could live on in a new genre.
One of the highlights of toys-to-life was the crossover potential that the games had.Disney Infinitywas one such crossover that brought together all sorts of Disney IP into one game. Players could play asStar Warscharacters, run around as Jack Sparrow fromPirates of the Caribbean, save the world asThe Avengers, or even attend college withMonsters University. It was a wild crossover, and the concept does not deserve to die with the toys-to-life genre.
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Disney Infinityfirst launched in 2013 and was developed by Avalanche Studios. The first iteration brought togetherPirates of the Caribbean, Monsters University, The Incredibles, Cars, The Lone Ranger, andToy Story. Just like every game in the toys-to-life genre, players would have to purchase plastic figurines of these characters if they wanted to play as them. The starter pack included Jack Sparrow, Mr. Incredible, and Sulley, while all the other characters were locked.
The game itself was nothing special, but it was definitely entertaining. The game offered two different modes called Play Set Mode and Toy Box Mode. Play Set Mode featured different campaigns based on stories likeThe IncrediblesandToy Story. Players had to own a figure from that IP before they could enter that themed playset, and then they could play through a story from that franchise. These campaigns could be played by two people, but they would have to own two figurines from that series to do so.
Toy Box Mode was where the crossover was, and it allowed players to run wild with their imagination. They could utilize all the different objects they unlocked in Play Set Mode to design their own worlds. They could play as whatever character they wanted and then design whatever they wanted, and these designs could then be shown off to other players via online multiplayer. This was where most of the fun was as it allowed players to mess around with all the different Disney IPs to design theirown perfect Disney world.
One of the biggest drawbacks toDisney infinitywas that the studio did not fully deliver on the crossover potential. All the different franchises were present, and players were able to explore worlds based on almost all of them. However, the worlds and characters could not interact with one another. There was never a time when Lightning McQueen had to race through Monsters University orJack Sparrow had to assistThe Incredibles. Instead, players were forced to play as characters from the same franchise if they wanted to experience that franchise’s world. This made it feel more like a self-contained video game rather than the crossover to end all crossovers.
Two more versions ofDisney Infinitylaunched that expanded the roster and improved the initial concept.Disney Infinity 2.0broughtThe Avengers,Spider-Man, andGuardians of the Galaxyto the toy box.Disney Infinity 3.0further expanded the roster withStar Wars,Inside Out, andFinding Dory.These additions were cool to see, but players who wanted to check out these new characters were forced to purchase a whole new starter kit each time. Couple that with the cost of the individual characters andDisney Infinitycould be pretty expensive. The series was retired after the third entry, and there have been no signs that Disney has plans to create a similar crossover adventure.
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The Infinity Concept Could Work Outside Toys-to-life
The toys-to-life genre may be dead, but that does not mean thatDisney Infinityneeds to be. Disney owns some of the largest IPs in the world, andInfinitywas able to bring a lot of them under the same roof. People love seeing characters from different franchises interact with each other, but that has mostly beenrelegated toSmash BrosorMario Kartclones.Disney Infinitytook a different approach through the action-adventure sandbox genre, and it needs to happen again.
After Disney endedDisney Infinity, it chose to release all three versions separately on Steam. These new versions are known as theGold Editions, which out the need for players to purchase individual plastic figures. These versions included the entire game and all the figures that had been released in one package, and they all have received overall very positive reviews. This has helped these games live on, but it has also shown that the concept could do pretty welloutside the toys-to-life genre.
Disney has experimented with other crossover games since, but it has not gone back to theDisney Infinityconcept. Players will be able to race against otherDisney characters inDisney Speedstorm,they can check out the mobile RPGDisney Mirrorverse, and they can build their own little village of Disney characters inDisney Dreamlight Valley. All these games provide a fun crossover for Disney fans, butDisney Infinitywas different. It provided players with a sandbox to construct their own Disney universe, and it allowed players to embark on stories involving some of their favorite franchises.
Disney’s slate of IPs has only grown since the end ofDisney Infinity, and the three games barely represented the expansive catalog it had to begin with. Crossovers are all the rage once again thanks to games likeMultiVersus, and Disney’s catalog is rife with crossover potential. Being able to play as Rey alongside Wall-E and Wolverine would be a joy for Disney fans, and revisiting theDisney Infinityconcept would be the best way to do that.
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