Mirror's Edge Catalyst

With all the hype of last years news that this game was being made, I was sadly disappointed in how it turned out in the end.

This system works perfectly (and thematically) when you’re simply out to get past and away – a wall kick here, a shoulder-drop there, and on we go over the next railing without looking back. But too often, the campaign missions insist on dropping Faith into open areas filled with enemies and saying “Here, clear these guys out”.

The first Mirror’s Edge was a surprising risk with interesting gameplay that developed a niche audience, and its follow-up tries, mostly successfully, to recapture that same effect. There are stumbles with its open world, combat, and narrative, but Faith's freerunning world persists. Chasing after every red zipline, railing, and air duct is still fun eight years on.

An improvement in every way over the original, Catalyst is a solid offering that fills a major gap in EA’s portfolio, considering that the major publisher isn’t necessarily known for its open-world games. Bringing an IP back from the dead is always a risky proposition, but Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is a good example of how to mitigate that risk with an enjoyable title that succeeds in more ways than it fails.

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is a gorgeous game that nails the free-running experience that fans want, but lacks an interesting narrative, compelling combat, and a fast travel system that will likely leave many fans disappointed.

Catalyst would be an easier recommend even with the clunky controls if it had been sold cheaper, perhaps as episodic content. As it stands, this is mostly for fans, and even then, I caution the inevitable frustration that will surely come from running through a city literally made of glass.

Mirror's Edge Catalyst's unique take on first person parkour is something that no other game or series manages to deliver. Due to this, even when it stumbles, it's easy to look past its faults, simply because it's so damn unique and novel.

I was consistently wowed by the movement and everything that comes with it, so while it's a disappointing action game, it works wonderfully as a platformer, puzzler, and racing game. And for that reason, I can't wait to keep playing.

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is a good first person parkour game, provided you keep your momentum going. Chaining move after move while running across rooftops feels very satisfying, but putting the brakes on to fight or pick up collectibles grinds the fun to a halt. An okay storyline keeps you running, but ultimately, graphics that are above-average at best, and an open world that is essentially corridors stitched together means Mirror’s Edge Catalyst falls short of what we really want out of this franchise.

The staples of Mirror’s Edge remain refreshing and unique in the first-person genre in 2016, but Catalyst’s attempts to keep up with the open-world Joneses don’t always jive with its design strengths of movement and momentum. On top of that, muddy-looking console versions and a lame story filled with unlikable characters doom Mirror’s Edge’s return to fall short.

Mirror's Edge Catalyst fails in being the grand series return fans were hoping for, mainly due to a boring and frustrating combat system, a forgettable story and a lifeless city. What's left is a charismatic main character, great buildings architecture, a good traversal system and the hope for a more inspired and entertaining sequel.

Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is a curious beast. It’s more accessible and enjoyable than Mirror’s Edge, but alarmingly, there’s nothing spectacular nor overly memorable about it. Prettiness aside, it’s still short, has a sparse plot and doesn’t get you excited through its gameplay. It’s fun in spurts, but now I’m finished with the main plot and most of the character-driven side-missions, there’s no desire to go back for more.

Though the game is fine as a mediocre playable experience, many of the things that made the original so special have been neutered beyond repair.

Catalyst has some wonderful ideas and there are times where it’ll make you feel truly free, but it fails to maintain its momentum for more than a few minutes at time.

As you’ve probably already gathered, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is quite a disappointment, although that’s not to say that it can’t be highly enjoyable at times.

I wanted to get behind Faith and the story, but it seems that the game world oppression of the big corp that runs the city has permanently leaked into the personalities of the characters.

I’d still argue that Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is a failure, but it’s an interesting failure. It started from an idea that nobody’s been able to make work, and it still didn’t make it work, but an attempt was made. I’ll take that over a game that’s simply mediocre any day of the week.

Though there are many parts of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst that fail, when it manages to fire on all cylinders, the game works quite well. However, those moments are separated by dull stretches, frustrating bits that detract from the game’s greatest assets in order to focus on fighting and story conflicts, neither of which I cared about. I’ve dreamed about the many possibilities a next-gen, open-world Mirror’s Edge title could bring since Catalyst was announced back in 2015, but I never thought the end result would be so limiting.

I want to love Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, but the best I can manage is to appreciate its aspirations and intentions.

While Catalyst keeps up the great first-person parkour action of the first game, the awkward smashing of its parts into the ubiquitous, open-world model hasn't done Mirror's Edge any favors. The overall aesthetic and sense of momentum still have their charms, but it's disappointing to see EA Dice take such a safe, predictable approach with what once felt like a boldly unique property.

Mirror's Edge Catalyst is definitely efficient when it comes to free running and how it feels good to be Faith in a beautiful and vast city full of challenges. But its story, A.I. and some other details are really bringing it down.

Mirror's Edge: Catalyst rarely, if ever, makes as memorable an impression as its predecessor did. While it tries incredibly hard to do so, and succeeds in terms of world building and story development, it's all at the sake of nearly every other facet that players of the original may have held near and dear.