Game Review: Mirror's Edge - Catalyst

The image above belongs to its respective owner, not me

Hello Enthusiasts,

Today's review is going to be on the sequel to the 2008 title, Mirror's Edge. The sequel to be reviewed, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, was released in 2016, and is actually a prequel. As a head's up, as always, there will be some Spoilers Below.

So as mentioned, this title is a prequel to the original game. It still revolves around the same main character, Faith, and looks a little closer to her origins. The game isn't the origin of her being a runner in the city, though it does show some of that in cut-scenes. This is looking more at how she got herself in the position that she was in during the original game. The story opens up with Faith being released from prison, where she presumably been for some time. She immediately reunites with her old friends and colleagues, who are other runners. Runners are the couriers (and thieves) of the city. They are openly hated by the city, though the police generally turn a blind eye to them if they aren't currently committing a crime, despite knowing that most runners they see are probably criminals. That all changes in this game, when Faith steals something that she shouldn't have, and from then on the entire city seems to have turned against her and the other runners. All of this is stacked on top of the fact that Faith owes a series debt when she is released from prison and is working to get that paid off, and you have a pretty stressful experience.

The game still focuses heavily on parkour, although this game is actually a free-roam type of game instead of the more restricted level design that the original game had. This means that there are a lot more in terms of side missions and allows a player to get very familiar with parts of the city that they run through frequently. There are a few different gadgets that Faith gets in this game to help out as well, such as a grappling hook and a device hat can disrupt some electronics (like fan blades that block pipe entrances). There is more of a focus on fighting in this game then there was in the last one, though they have taken the entire element of firearms out of this title. There are different types of enemies now, and each one requires a slightly different approach in order to take them down.

This game did certainly improve on a few things from the last title. The running feels as smooth as ever, and the addition of running free throughout the city really capitalizes on this. Running, jumping, and sliding across a city has never felt so satisfying. It's also great having side missions like courier objectives and beating the running challenge that other players have posted to hone your skills. There are still puzzles to solve involving performing specific moves, but they are a little easier to figure out. While I am normally all for more difficult games, the puzzles from the last game brought the fast-paced game to a halt and ruined the experience a little, so I'm glad that the puzzles have been streamlined a little. The difficulty was instead shifted to evading/fighting enemies, which can be a task as the game goes on. With that, it's all about keeping up your movement and momentum in order to win; stop moving and you will stop living. The upgrade system has its merits in that none of the upgrades feel useless like you sometimes see with other games. All of the upgrades can really change the way the game is played and I found myself looking forward to each one of them to make things a little easier (and different). The controls can be a little difficult to get the hang of, but that doesn't mean they're bad, just different. Once you get used to the control scheme, it actually feels pretty natural. Part of this could be the elimination of the firearms, which I was all for, since they didn't feel like they belonged in the last game at all.

The game does have its flaws though, despite the improvements that it makes. I didn't like that there is a greater focus on the fighting, even if they did improve the mechanics of it. The first game would allow me to move past most enemies if I reacted fast enough; fighting was always a last resort. Most of the characters in this game are pretty bland and stock, not really worth noting, which is a shame. Because of this, it was a little difficult to get through the story at times. There were several times I found myself working more on the side missions than the main story because I really didn't care what happened to those characters. Speaking of the characters, there isn't a lot of information in the story about why Faith is in the prison at the beginning, it's all pretty vague. The game instead wants you to read outside material where they have released that story, which is annoying. It's not like they give the reasons and the story and you can go out and get more info if you want (See Injustice and the comics that went with that), but instead require that you read their other material to get anything that can be called details.  I also had a problem with the gadgets that Faith acquires in this game, since in the first game (the sequel to this, chronologically) she didn't have any of these things.

Overall, the game shines in it's main focus, the free-running, but it falls short in a couple of other areas.If another title like this comes out it should move back to the option of running past guards like you could do through most of the first game instead of making the fighting a key point to the game. If you liked the first game or want a fun game that allows you to roam some rooftops, this is a fun buy. However, it isn't exactly the best game of 2016 and isn't for everyone. If you pass it up you missed out on some cool moments of running, but not a whole lot else.

I give Mirror's Edge: Catalyst a 6.5 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast