Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed Review – Paint by Numbers

Back when it first launched in 2010, Epic Mickey caught the attention of many off the back of a number of actors, be that its director being Deus Ex mastermind Warren Spector, or the metacommentary laden narrative that it was promising to tell, or the surprisingly darker tone that it adopted in spite of being a Disney joint, or even the choice and consequence mechanics it was touting. The game itself, however, failed to deliver on its many promises, and after a notoriously difficult development cycle, ended up dividing opinion upon its actual release.

Now, THQ Nordic and Purple Lamp – a studio best known for its work on recent SpongeBob SquarePants platformers – are bringing Disney’s unique platformer back with an enhanced and expanded remaster dubbed Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, bringing the game forward into the modern era with a number of improvements and coats of polish applied. In many ways, those improvements work out great, allowing the game’s core strengths to shine brighter than they could in the flawed original release. At the same time, however, other deficiencies remain, some of which are a big part of the larger experience, making for a game that is a decidedly better version of this unique platformer, but perhaps still not one that is able to do full justice to its fascinating vision.

"This remaster is is a decidedly better version of this unique platformer, but perhaps still not one that is able to do full justice to its fascinating vision."

Epic Mickey’s story kicks off with the titular mouse finding himself in Yen Sid’s workshop one day, where he unwittingly causes a world created by the wizard to descend into utter chaos. A not-insignificant time jump later, Mickey is pulled into that world – now known as the Wasteland – himself, where it now falls to him to deal with the fallout of his actions. Narratively, what makes Epic Mickey stand out (at least on paper), is how it ropes in lesser known parts of Disney history that have been all but forgotten by everyone, with the Wasteland acting as a world where such characters can continue to exist peacefully. The primary villain, for instance, is Oswald, a rabbit that was once Disney’s mascot before Mickey was created to replace him, who now harbours a bitter and deep-seated resentment for his successor.

That self-referential metacommentary is certainly one of the more interesting aspects of Epic Mickey from a narrative and conceptual standpoint, but the game does let itself down in that area in other ways. One of its more obvious flaws is the lack of voice acting. The game’s animated cutscenes look charming for the most part, but when you see characters engaging in awkwardly silent exchanges while subtitles on the bottom of the screen do the heavy lifting, it’s hard not to feel disappointed in this remaster in particular, given how perfect of an opportunity it chooses to pass up in terms of adding in voice overs.

Another disappointing aspect of Epic Mickey’s narrative vision is how it executes its choice and consequence mechanics. The prospect of a platformer where your actions throughout the experience impact the story is certainly an intriguing one, especially given the fact that this is a Disney story with Disney characters (including the Disney character), but in Epic Mickey, things end up being too binary. Mickey is armed with a magical paintbrush, which he can either use with thinner to erase things out of existence, or with paint to paint them into existence. Which of the two methods you choose to employ in combat is essentially what ends up affecting the game’s choice and consequence mechanics, and not only does that feel just a little too simplistic, you also rarely feel lie your choices are having any actual, meaningful consequences, other than on some rare, smaller-scale occasions.

"That self-referential metacommentary is certainly one of the more interesting aspects of Epic Mickey from a narrative and conceptual standpoint, but the game does let itself down in that area in other ways."

Thankfully, it’s with the actual moment-to-moment gameplay that Epic Mickey: Rebrushed has seen the biggest improvements, chief among them being its new controls and camera. The original game was, of course, a Wii exclusive, which meant bizarre and clunky controls necessitated by the Wiimote and nunchuk combination. With Rebrushed, however, the game just adopts a standard dual-stick control scheme and camera method, which improves the experience significantly. Movement and even the simplest actions were often incredibly frustrating in the original game, but that is no longer the case in this remaster.

That means Epic Mickey’s design and mechanical strengths are able to shine much brighter. The game’s core hook of being able to paint things in and out of existence is one that very rarely feels like its losing its charm. From manipulating environments to find hidden alcoves and secret paths to using your magical paintbrush to solve inventive puzzles, Epic Mickey keeps finding fun ways to leverage its central gameplay hooks. It helps, of course, that the game boasts consistently strong design, while optional content in the form of side quests, collectibles, and what have you also encourage players to explore every nook and cranny. I will say that the movement felt a bit too floaty for my tastes at times, however- if you’re looking for a platformer where precise and immediate movement is emphasized above all else, Epic Mickey may leave you frustrated.

Then again, a handful of other, smaller improvements combine to uplift the experience in other ways. For instance, you now have the ability to sprint by clicking in the left analog stick, which makes exploration feel like much less of a slog than it so often could in the original game. There’s also a new dash move, as well as a new ground pound attack, while the 2D sidescrolling projector levels of the original have also been significantly fleshed out, feeling much more like standalone levels themselves, complete with more things to interact with, more collectibles to find, and what have you.

"It’s with the actual moment-to-moment gameplay that Epic Mickey: Rebrushed has seen the biggest improvements, chief among them being its new controls and camera."

Visually, too, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is a solid upgrade. Rebuilt entirely, the game touts new art and assets, but somehow still manages to retain the original game’s strong aesthetic. The result is a version of Epic Mickey that looks like your memory of the original game, but is actually a significant upgrade in more ways than one. From the level of detail that has been added in to the increase in fidelity, to the improved animations and performance, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed doesn’t skimp on technical and visual upgrades.

Ultimately, it’s fair to say that this is the closest this game has come to fulfilling Warren Spector’s bizarre yet fascinating promise of a dark and twisted 3D Mickey Mouse platformer, though it still doesn’t quite fully do what it should with that premise. Yes, the improved controls and camera allow the game’s core mechanics and design to flourish better than ever, but at the same time, issues with everything from the lax implementation of the choice and consequence mechanics to the floaty movement, among other things, do feel like they hold the game back in significant ways. Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed surely makes the platformer easier to recommend than ever, and undoubtedly, there are things to like and appreciate here- just don’t expect a game that’s going to knock your socks off with no caveats whatsoever.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.