I’m definitely a huge Disney fan, so it’s kind of criminal that I haven’t played the original Epic Mickey. However, there is a very good reason for this. It is not that I did not want to, but simply that I never owned a Wii, which may be another crime for some of you, but that is the truth. Considering that, if Epic Mickey: Rebrushed was announced, it was as if the big mouse himself was smiling down on me – and after seeing the game in action, I can safely say that I think the 14 years of waiting were worth it.
The concept of Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is simple. Mickey is whisked away to the Wasteland, a place for forgotten characters ruled by the evil Blot. Armed with his magic paintbrush, it’s up to Mickey to secure the fate of this troubled and twisted realm.
What surprised me most Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is just how complex it is, and I mean that as a compliment. I had the opportunity to sit down with the game’s developers at this year’s Gamescom and watch about 30 minutes of gameplay. I wrongly assumed I was going to be watching a relatively simple platformer, and a simple platformer with Disney bells and whistles would certainly have been enough for me, but Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is so much more than that, featuring a morality system, tremendous player choice, and an appealing range of themed collectibles.
Check out Disney Mickey Epic: Re-Brushed in action below.
As with any other platform game, Mickey Mouse will do a lot of jumping and the like to traverse the game’s various levels, but the most important tool you’ll need is his trusty paintbrush. This is no ordinary paintbrush. As well as magically filling in objects, Mickey’s paintbrush can also strip paint off them. This allows the tool to be used in a variety of ways, from removing doors blocking your path to building much-needed bridges to cross ravines. It’s worth experimenting with the paintbrush, as your environment may be hiding paths and loot that could be revealed by simply stripping paint off.
I mentioned that Epic Mickey: Rebrushed offers a pretty wide range of choices, and the brush is a key part of that. I was shown an early boss level where players encounter an angry It’s A Small World ride that has somehow lost its mind after listening to the iconic Sherman Brothers song too many times. Listen, I love It’s A Small World, but we all know this. Anyway, the angry ride will try to push you away, so you’ll want to dodge its powerful fists, but there’s more to it than that.
Your first thought may be to remove the paint from the ride, rendering it immobile forever. While that is a viable option, refilling the ride’s missing paint to restore its balance is also a viable option. There are several instances for such decisions that allow the player to forge their own path, which is also reflected in the morality system.
Credit / THQ Nordic
This was shown to me during a scene at the entrance to the castle, an area overrun by evil. Mickey was given the option to open a treasure chest or rescue a character locked in a cage. You can only choose one of the options, with each offering its own unique reward. Perhaps you crave treasure, but perhaps rescuing a friend is the option that yields a nice little collectible. In my demo, we chose the option to rescue a trapped friend, which rewarded us with a pin.
Pins are just one of the game’s collectibles, inspired by the pins that Disney fans – like me – collect at the company’s theme parks. The developers told me that due to the morality system that affects the collection of such collectibles, it will likely take two playthroughs to reach 100%, but in a change to the original Epic Mickey release, Newly brushed will have a New Game Plus mode that makes this endeavor much easier.
That’s not all that’s been improved. The 2D projector levels have been completely revamped. Previously, players could simply traverse a series of automatically moving or stationary platforms. These levels have been redesigned with interactivity in mind. Your paintbrush will still be useful here, as you’ll need to figure out how to use the newly added mechanics, such as making platforms move to get you to your destination.
Credit / THQ Nordic
Epic Mickey: Rebrushedhas of course reprogrammed the controls of the original game since we are no longer dealing with a Wii Remote, so it plays much more like a third-person shooter and gives players control over Mickey’s movement, the camera and the brush. With this newly added camera control comes a much wider field of view and this is where I want to get into Epic Mickey: RebrushedThe stunning graphics. Technology has advanced a lot since the original game was released in 2010, so this time the developers were able to realize settings that might not have been possible before.
The castle entrance mentioned above is the perfect example. In the original version, when you arrived at Dark Beauty Castle, you couldn’t see the castle itself due to the limited field of view. This has been fixed here. If you look up in Newly brushedyou’ll see a beautiful, but slightly twisted version of Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant from Disneyland Paris looming before you. As a Disney fan, this collection of inspiration from across the company has filled my little heart with joy, and I’m sure other Disney fans will also enjoy picking out these Easter eggs – of which I’m assured there are many.
Epic Mickey: Rebrushed has completely exceeded my expectations based on what I’ve seen so far. This is much more than a simple remake of Purple Lamp. The studio has managed to weave a sense of magic and wonder into the game that goes beyond my expectations. This is sure to be a family favorite and a must-have for Disney fans as players move through a mega-mix of Disney’s greatest hits in what is sure to be a treasure trove of Easter eggs.
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed will be released on September 24th for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC. A free demo is available now.
