Mirrors Edge: Catalyst is a beautiful game, there is no doubt about that. I have yet to play a game that captured my attention so strongly purely through its art assets apart from its spiritual predecessor, the original Mirrors Edge. The Frostbite engine is used to startling effect and all the pictures you can see where taken on the Playstation 4 as I played through the game. This game, much like the original straddles the line between Art and interactive media fantastically and as a result produces something that is very visually unique.

The original Mirrors Edge was created and published by EA on a shoe string budget and was more of a labor of love than anything else. It was a first person free running game centralized around the character Faith a runner (the same character we play as in Catalyst albeit a reboot), an individual who transported goods between points by using the rooftops and her free running abilities. Effectively you run from one checkpoint to the next avoiding guards and navigating the map as best you can in order to reach the objective in the fastest time possible. This led to the growth of a budding speed running community surrounding the game. It was this fluidity of movement, mixed with the art style vibrant visuals, which were in complete contrast of the grey/brown/gun-metal palette at that time, aided it in gaining a cult status. Catalyst due to the unexpected success of the original game enjoyed the full scale budget that we have come to expect from EA and this shows. From the mind boggling set piece that is the final mission as well as the fully voiced and animated cut scenes that where lacking in the original, to the huge sprawling open world, this is a game that certainly benefits from the huge budget increase , but also ends up being hampered by it in some ways.

Before we get right into the review it should first be mentioned that Mirrors Edge Catalyst is not a direct sequel to the original, but is instead a spiritual successor and does not continue on from the original story.

I really enjoyed my time with Mirrors Edge: Catalyst. All the original elements that made me enjoy the original are still there such as the fluidity of motion and the art assets and this time around there is an actual tangible story which at its climax actually made me feel something towards Faith and the characters involved. The music is steller yet again, although I did have to turn it up in the options in order to hear it properly over dialogue and when I was traversing from mission to mission. The Free Roaming aspect is highly enjoyable and well implemented and it means you have more time to do what the game does best, and that is traverse from one place to the next, however if you follow the auto tracker religiously you’ll end up following the same routes every time, half the fun is discovering new and more efficient methods of getting to these places.

There are however, a few issues with Mirrors Edge: Catalyst that turned the game from a 9-10/10 to more of a 7/8. The two most important of these are the unlock progression system and the combat. The progression unlock system is completely redundant and does nothing but locks players out of abilities such as quick turn 180 degrees or roll upon impacting the ground in order to maintain speed. These are abilities that you had base line in the original game, so locking them away behind progression left a bad taste in my mouth. Luckily it took no longer than 30 minutes of game play in order to unlock them and I was soon traversing obstacles like in the original. Another issue I had was the introduction of the grappling hook into the franchise. Often incredibly cumbersome too use as it halts the entire flow of the game I was left scratching my head as too why it was even implemented in the first place, that is until the final mission. It seems as if it was included primarily for use in the final mission and not much else, as if they started there and worked there way backwards.

The other major issue I have with the game is the combat. I understand that they included combat in the game for those that want to partake in it, but I do not as in my mind the game is purely about infiltrating areas, stealing the material and escaping, without actually engaging in any fighting. I fully understand there are those out there that do not play the same way as I do but for the love of god don’t introduce areas where you are forced to fight the guards in order to progress. Two instances come to mind where you basically have to face a horde of guards and then what may as well be a boss battle, all with a combat system which frankly is terrible. I ended up doing nothing but dodging and spamming heavy attacks. A process that did not feel rewarding at all and instead felt purely time consuming.

In the End I recommend purchasing Mirrors Edge: Catalyst. The amount of content you get for your money is staggering, especially as the price has dropped recently. The story is entertaining with touching moments. The movement is as fluid and satisfying as ever once you’ve unlocked all the upgrades and the art is as astounding as ever. Whilst the combat is severely lacking and downright irritating at times, the overall package of the game and art alone propels it into a fantastic visual experience for anyone.

Below you will find more screenshots that I made during my time with the game, enjoy. Yet again all these screenshots where made in game with the Playstation 4 share feature and have not been edited in anyway. Enjoy.