Back when I first saw a glimpse of the original Mirror’s Edge, I always dreamt of it being an open world game that freed me to run from one rooftop to another at will. That wasn’t a vision that the original was able to deliver upon, but the remake/reboot/retelling/reimagining that is Mirror’s Edge Catalyst seems to manage it with aplomb. It just takes a while before you get to see it.
The first hour or so of playing last weekend’s closed beta – it finishes today, if you’ve a code that you’ve yet to make use of – quite necessarily goes through the rigmarole of teaching you to play the game. Faith steps out of juvenile detention for the first time in over a year, but within moments, she’s a fugitive once more and on the run. It’s a nice metaphor for those of us who last played the original over five years ago, but it’s an important tutorial to get you into the groove of vaulting, sliding, wall running, and more.
The problem is that it also delves into the combat options open to you. No, you won’t even have the option of picking up a gun here, but it still feels the need to go through teaching you the various moves and takedowns that you can perform. Except that it emphasises the more standoffish kicking and punching much more than the fast and fluid hit and run attacks. Those I can get behind, where I round a corner and have to react in a flash to shove a hired goon into a wall, but for a game that’s about free running and speed, the tutorial and the mission that had me dodging around an enemy, shoving them and kicking them was torturous at best.
Yet the actual free running is as glorious as ever. There’s such a satisfying heft to so many of Faith’s movements, whether wall running or using a railing as a launchpad to a higher point. Add to that the joy of perfecting a particular route, and it’s clear that DICE were onto something special back in 2008. Trying to shave a few seconds off a speed run with a subtle variation or the marked route, or potentially forging your own path across the city is just as good as ever.
The look and feel of this city has also stood the test of time. Its pristine white buildings under a glacially blue sky just feel so open and airy, but look beneath the surface and you can see the hints of the rotten core. The CCTV cameras that watch your every move, the people giving Faith small packages to have them delivered without government surveillance. These are topics more relevant than ever, and they’re embedded in everything around you.
So too are the relatively subtle hints of the runners network, with the dirty scuff marks from runners clambering up walls. Of course, most people will be playing with Runners Vision turned on, which is now explained via an augmented reality contact lens. It’s a lot more in your face than before, with shimmering highlights to the parts of the world being coloured red, as well as shadowy forms that try to show you the way or represent other players, which hooks neatly into the game’s social elements. I reverted back to the “classic” runners vision quite quickly, but the nice thing is that as I played, I came to learn some of the routes and paths as I ran across them a handful of times.
Interestingly, some of Faith’s parkour moves are held back from you though. A lot were already unlocked in the beta, with a surprisingly broad skill tree, but things like the forward roll to maintain momentum after a long drop, and even the 90º and 180º snaps when wall running and climbing were kept back and need to be unlocked. On the one hand, eking out the moves and unlocking them one by one is a good thing, but at the same time, it’s a shame that players are limited in the name of featuring some form of progression system. More important are the upgrades for combat, which could be spun to suggest that DICE want combat to be as brief as possible, as well as a gravity leash, that will open up the traversal possibilities even further, and let you swing across otherwise impassable gaps.
With all of this in mind, I’ve come away from the beta a little torn. On the one hand, there’s my delight at having another Mirror’s Edge game and being able to return to the world that I loved back in 2008, but on the other, there’s the drudgery of the enforced combat, which I really hope plays only a minor role in the final game.
But perhaps the worst thing about it is that Faith no longer wears tabi trainers…
MrYd
From what I played of the beta, it looks to be a fairly short game padded out with an enormous amount of extra nonsense. Presumably all those extra delivery bits and the 5000 collectibles (maybe not quite that many, but something ridiculous) are there to get you the XP you need to unlock all the moves.
The whole open world thing is understandable (everyone has to do it these days), but in this case it might turn out to be a massive mistake. And I don’t know quite what’s wrong with the combat. Taking down enemies as you run past is fun. Everything else isn’t. Needed a more interesting system there to give you a break from all the running. All that running _and_ a Batman style combat in a much more linear game would work for me.
homerjnick
I had a few issues with it and none were related to it being a beta…I think.
The NPC’s were awful…textures are that of a lastgen came…the city itself is very nice and very fluid as it seems to run at high FPS but the NPC’s looked dull and boring.
The other issue I had was where I had a mission to do like deliver something within a time limit but the runner vision didn’t indicate the way until about 5 seconds after the timer started…where am I supposed to go?
But I agree with the experience posted in this article, it was great to play ME again and I hope you are not forced into combat but can run!
Eldave0
For the most part I enjoyed the beta. I’m not big on open world hubs, so the side mission stuff didn’t grab me, but the actual gameplay seems great and I’m looking forward to playing through the campaign.
ron_mcphatty
I had a quick half an hour with the beta and enjoyed it, it’s very pretty and gameplay wise seems the same as the original. If all it ends up being is a shiny open world remake then I’d be happy, but I bet the internets wouldn’t.
The Lone Steven
Kinda hate that it is forcing in a skill system when the original managed fine without it. It kinda seems to me that it could ruin it for some people and i’m kinda errr…. about it.
However, it being an open world and seeming to be a big origin story is interesting.
EA, if you don’t mess it up, give us more unique games! FEED. US. MORE!
But if you somehow force in a crappy FPS section, to hell with you. Until i see a game out on PS3 that may be worth a try.
stueeeee
I quite liked the beta. Remember playing the first one with good memories as mentioned in this article and think it is unique. Not sure how the open world will go, liked the first one but I suppose they have to change it up a bit.
Hopefully based on beta feedback the combat will be more fluid in the main game!