Mirror’s Edge has managed to somehow maintain a cult following after EA saw little reason to keep it alive years ago, and it’s that dedication that has allowed developers DICE to give this parkour inspired action game another chance. Catalyst is aiming to breathe the sort of life into the franchise that the first one lacked. A massive open-world, less sluggish combat to worry about and hopefully a story that makes a little more sense.
And in truth, it’s looking a lot better already. With the closed beta incoming (yes, Mirror’s Edge is having a beta too), many media got the chance to go hands-on with Faith’s prequel. The opening minutes of Catalyst set the scene, with a rain soaked city becoming Faith playground for the night. And in motion, it’s quite spectacular. Check out some of the footage that Polygon managed to capture.
It’s helped a lot by a new type of Runner Vision, which aids you a little more in keeping on track and the momentum flowing. It also links up nicely with some of the hand to hand combat, which seeks to keep the pace high instead of bring things down to a crawl like the last title. All while the flat colour art direction maintains intact, and as gorgeous as ever.
Catalyst is still a month away, but the closed beta is kicking off next week. If you applied back before application closed in February, you could be getting an email soon for a chance to jump in early. The beta will feature some early story missions, side activities and tests for Catalyst’s more social features – which EA has only vaguely detailed.
Either way, it’s a good chance to get your bearings in Glass City before the game really gets up to speed in May. And I’m hoping Mirror’s Edge is here to stay this time around.
Last Updated: April 15, 2016
Alien Emperor Trevor
April 15, 2016 at 08:04
If Mirror’s Edge crashes while you’re playing it, who gets the bad luck?
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
April 15, 2016 at 08:08
Knowing EA the mirror will ship broken
konfab
April 15, 2016 at 08:52
This is more likely what EA would like the mirror to do:
http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view4/4909280/neo-touches-the-mirror-the-matrix-o.gif
HairyEwok
April 15, 2016 at 10:59
Should’ve taken the other pill bro….
Umar
April 15, 2016 at 08:09
Eh…Edgy douchebro with glasses. Characters in the game seem bland. Faith is cool though. Game looks fun but the combat seems like it might be a bit iffy
konfab
April 15, 2016 at 08:21
EA making a game about evil overbearing corporations… 0__o
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
April 15, 2016 at 08:21
hue hue hue
konfab
April 15, 2016 at 08:26
Also:
https://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/52340597.jpg
CypherGate
April 15, 2016 at 10:47
Hmmmm… this game in VR….
HairyEwok
April 15, 2016 at 11:00
In other news: Man jumps out of 20 storey building while playing Mirrors Edge: Catalyst, reasons for the jump is lead to believe he actually thought he was the character.
Brian
April 15, 2016 at 19:37
This may stem from my general dislike for FPS but I maintain that this game would be infinitely better from a 3rd person perspective.