It was 2010 when the world was first introduced to Epic Mickey, an action-platformer that took Disney’s darling Mickey Mouse and painted him as a character capable of mayhem and mischief. While it was originally a Wii exclusive, in 2024 the game has been remade and remastered as Epic Mickey: Rebrushed – and will now be available on all current gen consoles. Jess and Paul have both been spending time with the game ahead of release and are here to answer the question – can this piece of art stand the test of time?
Jess: As a fan of the action-platformer collectathon gems of the early 2000s, I’m always excited when a game is released that even comes close to falling into that genre. Epic Mickey isn’t quite that – it’s a platformer with some light roleplaying elements – but it’s close enough that it scratches the itch. The story is simple, but strangely philosophical – after Mickey accidentally causes chaos in a fictional world created by the wizard Yen Sid, he is then faced with the consequences of his actions. The world is ravaged by a dark presence called ‘the Blot’, which has created creatures called Spatters that are terrorizing the residents of a once peaceful world. On top of that, you’ve got a Mad Doctor wreaking havoc and harvesting… organs?, some weird small town politics happening between old-timey Disney characters, and Mickey trapped in a world that isn’t his own. Honestly, Paul, this game had more going on than I was expecting.
Paul: It’s kinda what happens when you get industry legend Warren Spector involved right? So my history with this one goes back to the original version of the game on the Wii, and while I expected a darker tone than what I’d been used to from any previous Mickey product (that at least I had encountered up until that point), I hadn’t quite expected Epic Mickey to go as hard as it does! That all said, I was thoroughly ensnared by the plotline back in the day, and while we’ve seen more quirky takes on beloved family friendly icons over the years, and there’s the factor of having seen this one play out before, I was still quite hooked on it a second time. Despite the different tone of the plot, what Disney trades in with Mickey, no matter the form of media, is fun factor, and while the original version had some flaws, it was mostly a fun exercise then, and is again now. How did you find that moment-to-moment Jess?
Jess: I somehow managed to miss playing the original Wii release, despite being intrigued by the premise from the get-go, but I agree – it didn’t feel dated at all. There were moments of frustration, where I was forced to take on enemies in tight spaces that really needed to be attacked from a distance, but for the most part it was just some good, mostly mindless platforming fun. The game’s main mechanic revolves around using two liquids, Thinner and Paint, to either reconstruct or erase elements and setpieces from around the world. It sets up the base for a good/evil dichotomy, with choices that involve using Paint to fix things usually earning you the praise of the townspeople, and Thinner choices earning ire or contempt. In a lot of cases, the game will give you a choice between two approaches – paint things back together, or ‘destroy’ enemies or characters, but it can sometimes be a little unclear which option you’re taking when you make decisions around more minor quests. The reason this ties in so closely to that ‘fun’ of the gameplay for me, is that I reached an interesting point where I felt like I was just mindlessly running around smashing breakable objects but also trying to choose the ‘good’ path, and those two things were sometimes incompatible. It doesn’t always tell you when breaking something, or following a particular instruction, is going to cause you to make an ‘evil’ choice, even though at other times it aggressively holds your hand. It really relies on making you feel like an absolute jerk for making bad choices, even though it doesn’t always warn you that those choices are going to be bad.
Paul: Yes, the morality of the different choices you can make regarding paint and thinner was an aspect I had certainly not expected back in the day. You’re right, the game isn’t always being super clear regarding what decisions actually matter, and that does frustrate at times. A second time around, more than a decade removed, I was still a bit unclear as to what decisions carry weight. I’m not necessarily sure, given how faithful the team was wanting to be to the original title how much could have been done to readjust this, but some bending of the rules would have been okay with me here. One thing that I felt less hindered by (although it might just be my experience second time around) this time was the camera angle work. Camera angles drove me mad, to Super Mario Sunshine levels in the Wii version but I felt like a bit of work had been put into Rebrushed to ensure they wouldn’t hamper the experience as much. I know you don’t have the point of reference Jess but did you find that there were any technical issues, camera related or otherwise that got in the way of the fun?
Jess: Not really! There were a couple of moments where enemies glitched through doors or walls, but that was often due to them spawning just as I was painting over said wall and making it solid, so it didn’t really bother me too much. In order to travel between main levels, you enter into these stylised 2D platforming sections that can become a little repetitive, and which also contain enemies that have slightly weird hitboxes that cause some frustration, but once you’ve completed them the first time the game gives you the ability to skip them – so even that stopped being an issue after a while. Honestly, I didn’t find a whole lot to dislike about this game. It was a little janky in places, and there were times I absolutely didn’t follow the game’s intended path and instead just brute-force-jumped my way into new areas by using the scenery, but the ability to do that is part of the charm of this sort of game, I feel. It’s easy and whimsical enough, for the most part, that it can be a game for all ages. And in the sections where it gets a little harder, or more frustrating, the game gives you plenty of options for skipping sections or making things easier. I had a great time with this (quite frankly, stunning) version of the game, and already the completionist within me wants to go back and 100% the whole thing. How did you feel this reimagining compared to the original on the whole?
Paul: It’s a pretty great remaster of what was already a pretty solid game. Some of the imperfections have been cleaned up, there are numerous quality of life improvements including some new moves like the dash, ground-pound and sprinting mechanics – it’s a package that I can completely get around in 2024. I’m stoked that a new audience gets to experience this and that the game has been reworked to function without motion controls (just like the sequel), opening it up to an even wider number of potential players. It’s been a pleasure to go back to this and play Epic Mickey in its definitive form.
Jess: Agreed. Playing it in this form makes it hard to believe it was originally designed for motion controls. It’s a joyous experience from start to finish, and I’m glad I finally got a chance to experience it.
Player 2 reviewed Epic Mickey on PlayStation 5 using a code kindly provided by the publisher.
