First, I’d like to thank PeaceLeon for this amazing game! Now I wish you to order a white noblechair to match the Mirror’s Edge theme!
Second, I’d like to say that I finished Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst for the September Gamer Challenge. And I freaking enjoyed it. This game is absolutely beautiful and the devs crafted it so good! I honestly can’t see why the game received such bad critics. Some are saying that the storyline is completely “seen” and that the gameplay mechanics are clunky and whatnot. These people who are saying that kind of nonsense are usually the ones that like to hate games. And believe me, these people are currently the majority. Sad but true. Don’t listen to critics and don’t read the reviews. They are usually nonsense.
I believe a lot of you played the first Mirror’s Edge and I also believe a lot of you enjoyed it. Well, Catalyst is basically same as the first one, only better looking with better combat system and more stuff to do in the game. And not only that, it’s pretty much open “world”. Well, it’s not world, you are basically running through one city called Glass.
The main character, just like in the previous game, is Faith. You know she’s a runner and what she’s fighting for and against. And this time it’s no different. Kruger Sec is a conglomerate that aims to basically control every human being with a technology called Reflection. Faith and her fellow runners are trying to stop their plans and put the world into peace again.
Literally the only thing I don’t like in this game is that the story is short. I finished the game in 8 hours and I weren’t even rushing it. Luckily, to justify it’s price, there are tons of side missions and challenges to do in order to enhance Faith’s abilities so you can make the combat easier.
Everything else is simply top notch. The graphics are amazing, the cutscenes are beautiful and this game really feels like a good parkour action movie.
I tried the game with controller and keyboard + mouse and I have to say, it’s extremely easy to play with either of them. Everything was smooth and you can literally “feel” like you are running in the game.
I also like that the combat is quite challenging. The Sentinels (high trained unit) can bring you quite a punch.
There is a thing that I really liked in the game. And that’s the variety in how do you want to complete a run or a mission. Yes, there is that red floating thingy that indicates where you are supposed to run but that doesn’t mean you have to follow it. IF you learn the map of the city, you can easily get to one place to another faster without even following that red trail. And I find that really refreshing.
I find the game a bit overpriced because it’s not offering 100+ hours of playtime. So if it ever goes to sale, I’d recommend you to pick it up. I think 40 euros price tag would suit a bit better for this game.
To TL;DR it
Pros:
- Amazing visuals
- Amazing cutscenes
- Amazing world and character design
- Combat is fluid and feels real
- Parkour running thing feels really smooth
- Level and mission design is well made
- Extremely good soundtrack. One of the best I’ve ever heard. (listen to the ending soundtrack above)
- Voice acting is superb
- Mirror’s Edge Exordium (comic to explain what happened to Faith before the beginning of the game)
Cons:
- Main story is too short
- The price is a bit high for an 30 hours game (8 hours main story)
Overall score: 9/10
Definitely recommending it to everyone who wants to relax and have some fun rather than trying to survive that snipefest in Bugfield 1.