- Superior parkour mechanics enhance movement
- Visually stunning and timeless graphics
- Fun and addictive core gameplay loop
- Weak and predictable storytelling disappoints
- Downgraded from the original game
- Game-breaking technical issues persist
Emotions
Players frequently cite repetitive side quests, poorly designed combat mechanics, and forced open-world elements as major sources of frustration. Technical issues, such as server shutdowns, long loading times, and bugs (e.g., broken achievements, checkpoint failures), further exacerbate the experience, making the game unplayable or unnecessarily difficult for many.
The game failed to meet expectations as a sequel to the original *Mirror’s Edge*, with criticisms focused on its generic open-world design, weak story, and underdeveloped characters. Many players felt the game’s potential was squandered due to technical issues (e.g., server shutdowns, bugs) and corporate decisions (e.g., EA’s handling of online features), leaving the experience feeling incomplete or unpolished.
Players who enjoyed the game praised its refined movement and combat mechanics, improved open-world design, and visual upgrades over the original. Despite its flaws, the core gameplay loop—particularly parkour and exploration—provided a fulfilling experience, especially for those who appreciated its accessibility and aesthetic improvements.
The game’s parkour mechanics and city exploration were widely celebrated for their fluidity and immersive atmosphere. Players found joy in the dynamic movement, engaging side quests, and the overall sense of freedom, often highlighting the game’s ability to deliver a thrilling and visually appealing experience.
Fans of the original *Mirror’s Edge* expressed fondness for the sequel’s callbacks to the first game, including its minimalist design, atmospheric world, and soundtrack. Many revisited the game years later, reflecting on personal memories tied to the franchise, such as childhood playthroughs or shared experiences with others.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 71% · Negative 29%. Score: 29 / 100
Positives:
- The game is widely praised for its fluid, intuitive, and enhanced parkour system, including new moves like grappling hooks and dash mechanics. Players highlight its smooth animations and immersive movement physics, making it stand out as a parkour-focused experience.
- The game's graphics are consistently described as beautiful, minimalist, and visually striking, even years after release. Players appreciate the clean art style, high-quality environments, and how well the visuals have aged.
- Players describe the gameplay as snappy, satisfying, and addictive, with a strong emphasis on parkour and exploration. The core loop is engaging, offering hours of entertainment through side quests and traversal.
- The game's soundtrack is frequently highlighted for its adrenaline-pumping, action-based, and ambient tracks that adapt to gameplay. It enhances immersion and complements the fast-paced movement and visuals.
- While not overly complex, the story is praised for being engaging, emotionally layered, and well-integrated into the game's world. Characters are well-developed, and the narrative keeps players invested.
Negatives:
- The story and characters in *Mirror’s Edge Catalyst* are widely criticized for lacking depth, emotional connection, and originality. Many players found the narrative predictable, disjointed, and inferior to the first game, with underdeveloped characters and a rushed or unsatisfying ending.
- Many players felt *Catalyst* failed to evolve the franchise meaningfully, lacking the innovation, polish, and charm of the first game. Criticisms include inferior level design, movement mechanics, and a less immersive art style.
- Achievements in *Catalyst* are widely reported as bugged or unobtainable, often due to server shutdowns or inconsistent unlocking mechanics. This issue persists even with workarounds, frustrating players attempting completion.
- The open-world structure is described as forced, repetitive, and uninspired, with missions like timed deliveries and fetch quests becoming tedious. Players noted the world felt hollow, lacking meaningful side content or variety, which diminished replayability and enjoyment.
- Numerous technical problems plague the game, including stuttering, texture pop-in, freezing, and unplayable states due to server authentication failures. Some players reported being unable to launch the game entirely, especially after updates or server shutdowns.
Gameplay:
- Combat is designed around momentum and environmental interactions, with melee attacks and acrobatic evasions. While secondary to parkour, it is described as tolerable and mechanically engaging, though some find it simplistic.
- The open-world structure includes diverse side missions (e.g., timed deliveries, races, collectibles) and vertical traversal. Players appreciate the route variety and progression systems tied to exploration.
- A skill tree allows players to unlock new abilities and parkour moves, adding depth to traversal and combat. Progression is tied to mission completion and collectibles.
- The reboot expands on the original’s linear design, offering an open-world structure with side missions. Some players miss the methodical, hand-crafted levels of the first game.
- Side activities include offline tasks like delivery missions, time trials, and environmental puzzles (e.g., hacking billboards). These add replayability but may feel repetitive.
Performance:
- The game frequently fails to launch or experiences crashes due to server shutdowns, requiring workarounds for offline play. This affects both startup and in-game loading screens, causing softlocks and connectivity issues.
- Players encounter noticeable bugs, crashes, and freezes, with some reporting the game fails to launch 60% of the time. Manual fixes or mods are often needed to improve stability.
- Achievements often fail to unlock due to server shutdowns or EA App connectivity issues. Offline mode is unreliable, with crashes and launch failures tied to license authentication.
- Players report persistent loading screen issues, including infinite loops and extended wait times, particularly after death or during game startup. This disrupts gameplay flow and immersion.
- The game runs smoothly on high-end and mid-range hardware (e.g., 60 FPS on Ultra settings) but struggles on lower-end systems, with reports of 25 FPS on minimal settings. Optimization varies significantly.
Recommendations:
- The game is frequently recommended for fans of the original *Mirror’s Edge* or those deeply invested in the series, often as a one-time playthrough. Casual players are less likely to enjoy it.
- Players are divided on whether to buy the game, with some recommending it for fans or at a discount, while others advise against purchasing due to flaws or short story. This reflects polarized opinions on its value.
- The game’s story is frequently cited as weak or secondary to gameplay, with recommendations focusing on parkour and movement over narrative depth.
- The game is widely recommended for its free-running and parkour mechanics, appealing to fans of movement-focused gameplay and unique art styles. This is a standout feature for many players.
- Many players suggest buying the game only on sale, citing its price as a key factor in their recommendation. This indicates perceived value is tied to affordability.
Miscellaneous:
- Players rely on community mods to improve lighting, maps, skies, and quality-of-life features. A specific mod removes the persistent 'can't log in' notification, addressing a major pain point.
- Reviewers note the game's visuals feel reminiscent of 2016 standards, with some arguing that older titles from the same era look and play better than modern releases.
- Many reviewers recommend avoiding the game at full price, suggesting it lacks sufficient content or polish to warrant the expense.
- The Beat Revival project is highlighted as a community-driven effort to restore online functionality, reflecting player investment in the game's multiplayer potential.
- Players clarify that the game is a reboot rather than a sequel, which may influence expectations about narrative continuity or gameplay evolution.
