Disney Epic Mickey remake gets September release date
On Xbox, Switch, PlayStation, and PC.
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed - THQ Nordic's promising remake of legendary designer Warren Spector's flawed but lovable 2010 platform adventure - launches for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC on 24th September this year.
The original Disney Epic Mickey, developed by Spector's Junction Point Studios, launched for Wii back in 2010 - plunging Mickey Mouse into a wonderfully inventive, and surprisingly dark, world of corrupted theme park attractions and long-forgotten Disney history.
Inevitably, it never quite lived up to its deliciously twisted concept art, but it did feature a unique magic paintbrush mechanic - enabling Mickey to paint and erase items in the world to solve puzzles and assist his traversal - plus surprisingly involved questing, including a lightweight morality system. Epic Mickey is arguably also single-handedly responsible for introducing Oswald the Lucky Rabbit back into the public consciousness, so it gets points there too.
Yes, it had its fair share of clumsy platforming segments, but I still loved it for all its weird, Defunctland vibes - and developer Purple Lamp's remake is the perfect opportunity to fix up some of those rough spots and let the rest of it shine. Whether that'll happen remains to be seen, but publisher THQ Nordic has now revealed more of Rebrushed's overhaul in a new release date trailer.
That fresh look at the remake comes alongside news of an $200 USD (around £160) Epic Mickey: Rebrushed Collector's Edition featuring the game, a 28cm Mickey Mouse statue, an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit keychain, a vintage Mickey Mouse tin sign ("adding a touch of nostalgia", says THQ Nordic as if desperately trying to justify the existence of this extraneous tat), six postcards, a steel-book case, and the Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed Costume Pack.
The latter includes Steam Boat Willie, Football, and Brave Little Tailor costumes, and is also being offered as a pre-order bonus for anyone purchasing the £50/$60 standard edition ahead of release. Pre-orders additionally come with 24 hours of "early access" to Rebrushed - a notion about as magical as a $25 Disney park queue-jump fast pass.
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed will be available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PS4, Switch, and PC when it launches on 24th September - and I'm genuinely looking forward to revisiting its wild, weird spin on Disney's lesser-remembered past.