Even nearly 14 years after its initial release, it still hasn’t really sunk in that Deus Ex creator Warren Spector’s first game after a six-year hiatus was not only a Mickey Mouse platformer, but also a Nintendo Wii exclusive after years of being developed only for PC. To make matters even crazier, it was a pseudo-edgy reinterpretation of decades of Disney iconography, with forgotten mascot Oswald the Lucky Rabbit as the central antagonist.
And yet, Epic Mickey has arrived, and what’s perhaps even more incredible given the complications of re-releasing licensed games is that 14 years later, we’re getting a remake of the game. But after remaking the guaranteed smash SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, Purple Lamp now takes the helm of an updated edition of Mickey Mouse’s Wii adventure.
For those who don’t know the original story: Michael Theodore Rodent goes to the workshop of the great magician Yen Sid (the guy from fantasy), and instead of just being polite and not messing with someone’s stuff, he makes fun of them and comes across a magical paintbrush. This paintbrush awakens a demon made of paint thinner that drags Mickey to the Wasteland, a house built from broken versions of Disney park attractions, a home for old and forgotten Disney properties.
Of course, as this is a remake, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is miles ahead of the Wii original. The developers have told us that the animated cutscenes have been upscaled from 480p to 4K, and the game itself has been completely rebuilt and remastered in the Unreal Engine. We were shown the game on PC at 4K/60fps, but we were told that the Nintendo Switch version will run at 1080p/30fps docked and 720p/30fps on the handheld. It was mentioned that getting a version that does the remake justice on less powerful hardware was a top priority for the team, and while that remains to be seen, we were assured that it should be a looker by the system’s standards.
While improved graphics are all well and good, what really stood out about Epic Mickey: Rebrushed were the updated mechanics and gameplay improvements. One of the main points of contention with the original title was the fixed camera – as the Wii pointer control was the main input method – this has been changed to a standard third-person camera with a crosshair. Epic Mickey will support gyro controls on Switch, however, so those of you who like to wiggle can still do so. Plus, Mickey’s spin attack is now thankfully mapped to a button rather than a shake.
Even with this updated control system, the team has made changes to the game elsewhere so as not to compromise the balance and difficulty of the Wii controls. Boss fights, for example, continue to be played out in the classic fixed camera angle and instead have a (very generous) crosshair. There are also some interesting changes to the enemy AI, such as the paint-controlled enemies that fight in Mickey’s place, who can now infect other enemies and create an army of minions without having to use up all of your paint.
Another less well-received part of the original were the 2.5D sections that could generously be described as “interactive loading screens.” These introduced Mickey to classic short films such as Steamboat Willie, Watch cleanerAnd Mickey and the Beanstalkbut presented very little challenge. For the remake, these have become more interactive, stage elements (like the beanstalk leaves) now move, and there are new secret areas where you can collect additional concept art (up to three times as many pieces as in the original).
To be honest, we weren’t too excited when we saw Epic Mickey: Rebrushed. It looked good and it was nice to see the game again, but since it already has a certain notoriety, we weren’t expecting too much from it. But the enthusiasm that the team at Purple Lamp has for the original game won us over very quickly. The studio told us they were constantly chatting with Disney and Warren Spector to make sure the changes made didn’t take away from the identity of the original. Most interestingly, though, the team revealed that they’ve been scouring the internet, watching 100% playthroughs of the game, and diving deep into Epic Mickey fan wikis to see what people like, and even made some nods to community fan theories.
It was a rough experience playing some of the original Epic Mickey again before heading to Gamescom this year, but everything shown for this remake far exceeds our expectations. While it could have easily cashed in on a well-known IP, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed seems to be treated with the same care as a remake of a true classic, one that could turn the flawed cult classic that the original was into a solid platforming adventure starring the big rat in shorts.
Let’s just hope the Nintendo Switch version performs as well as promised.
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Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed will be released on Switch and other platforms on September 24th.
