Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed preview - A magical must-play of a reimagining

I’m most definitely a big Disney fan, so it’s somewhat criminal that I haven’t played the original Epic Mickey. There’s a very good reason as to why though. It’s not that I didn’t want to but simply that I never owned a Wii which, to some of you, may be yet another crime but there’s the truth of it. With that in mind, when Epic Mickey: Rebrushed was announced, it was as if the big mouse himself had smiled down upon me - and after seeing the game in action, I can safely say that I have a feeling it’s been worth the 14 year wait.

The concept of Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is simple. Mickey finds himself whisked away to the Wasteland, a place for forgotten characters ruled by the evil Blot. Armed with his magical paintbrush, it’s up to Mickey to secure the fate of this troubled and twisted realm.

What most surprised me about Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is just how complex it is, and I say that as a compliment. I had the opportunity to sit down with the game’s developers at this year's Gamescom, watching around 30-minutes of gameplay. I wrongly assumed that I’d be looking at a relatively simple platformer, and a basic platformer with Disney bells and whistles certainly would’ve been enough for me, but Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is so much more than that, boasting a morality system, an enormous amount of player choice, and a delightful array of themed collectibles.

Take a look at Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed in action below.

Like with any other platformer, Mickey Mouse will do his fair share of jumping and such to traverse the game’s various levels but the main tool you’ll need to take advantage of is his trusty paintbrush. This is no ordinary paintbrush. As well as magically filling in objects so too can Mickey’s paintbrush strip paint away. This gives the tool a variety of uses, from taking down doorways blocking your path, to creating much-needed bridges to cross canyons. It’s well worth experimenting with the paintbrush as your surroundings may be hiding paths and loot that a simple stripping of paint could reveal.

I mentioned that Epic Mickey: Rebrushed offers a fair amount of choice, and the paintbrush is a major part of that. I was shown an early boss level where players encounter an angered It’s A Small World ride which has lost its mind somewhat after hearing the iconic Sherman Brothers song one too many times. Look, I adore It’s A Small World but we’ve all been there. Anyway, the angry ride will try to knock you away so you’ll want to avoid its mighty fists but there’s more to it than that.

Your first thought is perhaps to strip the ride’s paint away, immobilising it for good and while that is a viable option, so too is filling in the ride's missing paint, restoring its sense of equilibrium. There are multiple instances of choices like this, allowing the player to carve out their own path which is further reflected in the morality system.

Credit / THQ Nordic

This was showcased to me during a scene set in the Castle Entrance, an area overrun with evil. Mickey had the option to unlock a treasure chest or save a character locked away in a cage. You can only choose one with each of the options offering its own unique reward. You may find yourself yearning for a treasure but actually, perhaps saving a friend might be the option that yields a nice little collectible. In my demo, we picked the option to save a trapped friend, rewarding us with a pin.

Pins are just one of the game’s collectibles, inspired by the pins Disney fans - like me - collect from the company’s theme parks. Developers informed me that due to the morality system affecting the collection of such collectibles, it’ll likely take two playthroughs to reach 100% completion but in a change to the original Epic Mickey release, Rebrushed will have a New Game Plus mode making that endeavour so much easier.

That’s far from being all that’s been upgraded. The 2D projector levels have been totally overhauled. Before, players would quite easily traverse a number of automatically moving or stationary platforms. Those levels have been redesigned with interactivity in mind. Your paintbrush will continue to come into play here as you’ll need to work out how to use the newly added mechanisms to get platforms moving, for example, to get to where you need to go.

Credit / THQ Nordic

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, of course, has reprogrammed the original game’s controls as we’re no longer dealing with a Wii remote so it plays much more like a third-person shooter, giving players control of 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 touch upon Epic Mickey: Rebrushed’s stunning visuals. Technology has advanced a lot since the original game launched in 2010 so this time around, developers were able to realise settings that previously might not have been possible.

The aforementioned Castle Entrance is the perfect example. In the original release, when you arrived at the Dark Beauty Castle, you couldn’t actually see the castle itself because of the limited field of view. That’s been rectified here. If you look up in Rebrushed, you’ll see a beautiful yet twisted take on Disneyland Paris’ Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant looming over you. As a Disney fan, this drawing of inspiration from across the company filled my little heart with joy, and I have no doubt that other Disney fans will also enjoy picking out these Easter eggs - of which I was assured there are many.

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed has, based on what I’ve seen so far, totally exceeded my expectations. This is much more than a straight-forward remake from Purple Lamp. The studio has managed to weave a sense of magic and wonderment into the game that goes beyond what I could have hoped for. This is sure to be a family-favourite and a must-play amongst Disney fans as players traverse their way through a mega-mix of Disney’s greatest hits in what I’m sure will be a treasure trove of Easter eggs.

Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is set to launch on 24 September on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A free demo is available now.