GamerEscape

Say what you will about the towering monolith that is The Walt Disney Company and its interesting history in their early years (especially when you deep dive into EPCOT). But there’s a reason why their properties are so beloved, and studio after studio has tried to capture the same magic that’s captivated audiences for well over a century. It’s well documented how ambitious Walt Disney was and how his realized ambitions set the course for his namesake company to become the media, theme park, and (in some ways) gaming juggernaut it is today. While I do have my reservations about how monolithic the company is today, they really know how to keep you in their bubble and absolutely captivate you.

While there have been numerous Disney video games that are well-regarded and are absolute blasts to play (I’m still waiting on Quackshot to be re-released, even if it is just a port), nearly everyone was caught off guard when Epic Mickey was announced and subsequently released for the Wii. Folks were flabbergasted that the squeaky clean mascot of a multi-billion dollar company was the subject of a more dark and twisted take. Plus, they were working out a story centered around one of Walt Disney’s early major characters? Suffice it to say, fans of any age were excited to take a crack at this unique take on Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It’s an interesting piece of gaming and Disney history, so seeing it get a ground-up remake is surprising in its own right.

Considering my own personal affinity for keeping media of any sort as accessible as possible, the fact that Epic Mickey: Rebrushed even exists is a treat unto itself. It being available on current and prior gen hardware (PS4/PS5/Xbox One/Series X|S/Switch/PC via Steam) is a welcome sight as well, since the original was a Wii exclusive. Purple Lamp was tapped for developing this remake, with THQ Nordic handling publishing duties this time around. We’re covering the PS5 version, and all versions will drop on September 23rd, 2024. Let’s get this Mousercise started.

Nothing Grows in the Wasteland Now

Since we’re dealing with something aimed at a more casual audience, the story is nowhere near as complicated as something the likes of Suda 51 or Kojima would whip up. But we have a deep well of Mickey history to pull from, and boy does it get used heavily. The game opens up in a manner rather similar to the Mickey short Thru The Mirror, as he rouses from a slumber with a narration from Yen Sid from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Yen explains how he was working on a magical city for forgotten things with the assistance of a magical paintbrush that’s accompanied by equally magical paint and thinner. After entering through the mirror in his bedroom, Mickey sees him working on said city, and Yen Sid retires shortly after.

Naturally, the curious mouse approaches the creation and starts to mess with the equipment that was left there. This causes an accident that spills right into the created city, and Mickey does his best to salvage this mistake. He makes a run for the mirror once he hears the wizard approaching, and his history that we know and love of his causes a time skip.

Eventually, we catch up with Mickey in the same room we found him escaping to after his little mishap. Though, it doesn’t take long before a menacing blob pulls him through the mirror and into what’s now known as Wasteland. He ends up getting captured by the Mad Doctor and rescued in a way via some mysterious rabbit. After his escape, Mickey quickly finds out through some of the local gremlins (and eventually their leader, Gus) that his now decades-old mistake had a direct effect on the place. He quickly discovers that said city is now led by none other than the forgotten toon Oswald The Lucky Rabbit.

Most of the enjoyment I got out of this story often revolved around Mickey encountering characters he barely had any interaction with in the early years. With him trying to navigate the world that Oswald had to carve out for himself and the other early-era Disney characters, there are plenty of chances for him to reconcile with his past. While there are some developments with the blob that pulled Mickey through the mirror, much of the plot does revolve around Mickey simultaneously coming to terms with how much his fame has overshadowed others while also trying to escape Wasteland.

Oswald’s appearance in this game remains nothing short of a miracle, if I’m being honest. I’m not going to delve too deep into the history, but having him in the game at all was contingent on Disney having the rights to the character. This was crucial for Oswald’s presence in the game, and it does benefit from it. Since he does have this kind of history, it only made sense for Disney to flex their muscle for a character that Walt helped create and design himself. He’s nowhere near as madcap as that wascally wabbit from Warner Bros., but he’s definitely a bit of a troublemaker in this game. Once he’s able to confront Mickey proper for stealing his thunder for decades, it’s nice to see him shift his priorities as the plot progresses.

It’s not going to win any writing awards for anything deeper than what it is, but I did enjoy seeing so much Disney history played with in a plot that fit the tone and vibe of the environment it’s in. It’s above some of the company’s more low-budget and low-effort releases, for sure. But it’s certainly leaning into something that might give the more “mature” vibes of something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and its ilk, only with that family-friendly Disney sheen. While it is a more pronounced focus in comparison to earlier games in prior generations, it’s definitely about as complicated as something released on the Wii would get. Good enough, but not especially amazing in other ways.

Paint (and Thin) it Black

When most folks think of Wii 3D platformers, the first thing that usually pops into their mind are the mountain of shovelware titles, Nintendo’s offerings, or something that ends up being somewhere in between. Epic Mickey in general certainly falls in the “somewhere in between” category, because you can tell that Junction Point (the original developers) knew that they wanted to make a game that at least lived up to the Mickey name.

Functionally, the game has had some mechanical improvements. Yes, the paint and thinner mechanic from the original has been untouched. This is where it seems like a fair chunk of game design energy went to, because you do a fair amount of things with it. In an unsurprising balance, paint restores what was lost, while thinner takes it a way. Not much of a surprise there. Most of the time it finds itself being used in casual-friendly ways, but you can see some creative ways shine through at times. Some foes will require using thinner to take them down, while thinner can be used to your advantage in the environment with what little combat there is here.

I often find myself at odds with wishing that it was slightly more complicated at times with this, but I think I might be asking too much here. It’s used in creative ways, and that’s good enough for some. While motion controls did make the jump to modern platforms, it’s probably best played on the Switch if you’re looking to use paint and thinner as it was designed when it originally released. It’s not the worst thing on platforms like PlayStation, but swinging around a Joycon probably feels a lot more natural than twisting a DualShock 4 or DualSense around would be. Later on you’ll discover sketches, and those are fun in combat as well. Though most folks will enjoy trying to restore or remove things in the environment for the most part.

New to Rebrushed are a few more moves to Mickey’s repertoire. While he does sport a double jump and a spin attack (the latter being more of a waggle leftover from the Wii original), we’re treated to a dash and a ground pound as well. I found this to be a welcome addition to the gameplay, because I mostly like to have options in the middle of combat regardless of complexity. They’re helpful in the moment, and don’t really do too much to break what was originally created. It does help make the combat more varied, though it’s more of a “give you more to work with” angle than it is a “make the game easier” angle. The game is already pretty forgiving to begin with, as death is a slap on the wrist, but it’s nice to see that there was at least a little more flexibility present in this remake.

Platforming and level design is actually pretty good given the era it spawned from. The Wii was notorious for having mountains of shovelware 3D platformers with little to no thought to its quality, and this does stand out for having more thought in its design. It’s obviously not as bad as Ninjabread Man, nor does it hit the highs of Super Mario Galaxy/Galaxy 2. It’s somewhere in the middle, where you’re impressed that it’s as good as it is for a licensed game while also not being totally soulless. That’s a really easy pitfall for a Disney game to fall into, but Epic Mickey manages to avoid that with decent 3D and 2.5D stage design.

However, I’m sure some folks might get annoyed with the gameplay flow. Oftentimes, the game doesn’t seem to have a lot of confidence in the player (probably because of the target audience). So Gus and his Gremlins often tell you where to go next and if you’re ready to head to the next hub world or transition stage. You can even have one of your Guardians tell you where you need to go in certain places if you get stuck somewhere in a hub when they’re not assisting you in combat. But it often ends up moving from “complete objective in new area,” to “play 2.5D transition stage,” to “finish mission in hub area to progress.” Sometimes it gets monotonous, but the moment-to-moment gameplay breaks up the monotony just enough to forgive it sometimes.

But really, I think that the goal here was to touch up what was already present. In that regard, it does succeed. I can’t say that everything here blew my socks off, but the moment-to-moment gameplay is just good enough to keep my old adult brain entertained. It’s definitely accessible enough for the younger set, and I’m sure that they’ll enjoy playing with the mechanics that the original and now remake bring to the table. The best you can hope for with any remake is some kind of improvement over the original, and it’s safe to say that the new additions do enough to make the game more playable than it was when it initially dropped.

You Remind Me of the Mouse

Having a darker and gloomier vibe isn’t always the silver bullet some people think it might be, but sometimes it works out when you have a character like Mickey Mouse lean into it when he usually doesn’t. Wasteland definitely fits the bill, though. I’m sure a lot of people will get a kick out of the twisted versions of Disney Park attractions, discarded Mickey history, and glut of references to his shorts and other bits of media he’s appeared in. In fact, there’s a lot for hardcore Disney fans to find and appreciate when it comes to references to obscure Disney media.

Take, for example, Mickeyjunk Mountain. While you will find yourself navigating through classic shorts as stages, this area is chock full of references to so many things. Merchandise, discarded VHS cassettes of stuff life Fantasia, and even multiple copies of games like The Magical Quest are strewn all over the place. Depending on who you ask, this might be a little much. But for someone like a Disney Adult or someone who’s just a giant animation dork? It’s something worth enjoying and appreciating. It warms my dark and jaded millennial heart in several ways, as were many folks in my generation that were knee-deep in the Disney bubble in some way or another.

Seeing so many references in one concentrated stage was fun to see, and I’m sure those who may not get it will at least enjoy the aesthetics in general. Even though the game sports that dark and gloomy aesthetic, the characters themselves stay true to who they usually are. Mickey himself is still his chipper and upbeat self despite the environment, and most other Disney characters you encounter keep some semblance of an upbeat personality as you encounter them.

Cutscenes are generally pointed in a limited 2D animation aesthetic, and it does fit the vibe that it has. Given that the dialogue sort of leans in a Banjo-Kazooie-esque direction throughout, it sort of makes sense. However, it’s a design choice I don’t seem to mind too much. Since it seems like more effort was given to making the environments as rich as possible, it’s something I can let slide a little bit. They look great in action, and that’s all anyone can ask for. Never mind that most modern platforms will generally see a wonderful upscale and generally smooth performance with Rebrushed. It definitely doesn’t hurt, though!

Though looking at it from an audio perspective, it also leans pretty heavily into the deep well of Mickey’s history. If it isn’t something gloomy and somewhat whimsical, it’s leaning into the shorts they’re using in the transitional stages. Most of the time, they don’t play with those pieces too much, given that they’re showing players that they do hold some sort of regard for the source material they’re pulling from.

Overall, I really appreciate the amount of respect and reverence seen throughout the game despite the dark and gloomy aesthetic strewn throughout. You can tell that they were really enjoying playing with such a beloved property in a fresh-for-the-time kind of way, and the remake does enough to maintain that aesthetic in the best way possible.

Much like the gameplay additions, enough is added here to justify this game’s existence in a way that’s in line with a ground-up remake. That’s all some can hope for in the long run, but I think that Rebrushed‘s visuals and performance will hold up better than the Wii original’s in numerous ways. You can tell there’s a lot of love for the property and established vibe, and I really appreciate that.

Nothing Can Stop Us Now

Updated re-releases and ground-up remakes are a dime a dozen these days, and I don’t mind it from a preservation standpoint. The latter is a chance to help bring the game better visuals and quality of life improvements, and that can only do good things when done correctly. Thankfully, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is updated enough in the right kind of ways that it breaks free from the shackles of the dreaded “Wii game” moniker. It’s still a game from that era at its core, but it feels more accessible now than it did when it initially released.

You can tell that there was care and love put into this, and I’m rather thankful that something like this exists at all. Epic Mickey: Rebrushed does enough to justify being a worthy remake of a somewhat beloved game, though it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s a solid platformer in its own right, and the new additions are welcome ones.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar for The Power of Two on the way at some point. But it’s safe to say that its predecessor is a worthy pickup for those want something accessible for the younger set or just something breezy and offbeat to play. Rife with love and reverence for anything and everything Disney and Mickey Mouse, you couldn’t really ask for a more competent package than this.

~ Final Score: 7/10 ~

Review code provided by THQ Nordic for PS5. Screenshots taken by reviewer. Featured image courtesy of THQ Nordic.