First, it lets you challenge yourself to put together epic-length, perfect runs that span the entire city. Unlike the original MirrorвЂ™s Edge, CatalystвЂ™s version of the gleaming white city of Glass is an open world, and it offers a couple of advantages. Contrasted against the cityвЂ™s appealing use of primary colors вЂ“ a welcome reprieve from the grays and browns that drape many modern first-person games вЂ“ itвЂ™s a laudable substitute for the usual giant вЂњGO HEREвЂќ arrow that points to the next goal. Slow down or stop, however, and youвЂ™ll be more vulnerable to the attacks вЂ“ both melee and ranged вЂ“ of K-Sec guards.Д¬atalyst, like its predecessor, subtly but effectively guides you in the direction of your objective by turning a nearby interactable object red, indicating that you should jump, slide, mantle, or climb it in order to progress.

This makes it difficult for weapon-wielding enemies to hit her, and when you can dash around an area keeping your shield up, you can scan your environment relative to each bad guyвЂ™s location and plot each oneвЂ™s own unique, aggressive takedown: a chest-kick from above, a wallrun-fueled kick to the side of the head, etc. Speed and momentum are encouraged by the game design, in that Faith has both a health meter and a вЂњshieldвЂќ of sorts thatвЂ™s fueled by her continuous movement.

Perhaps no other game utilizes the LB/L1 button more than Catalyst вЂ“ itвЂ™s your jump button that leads into momentum jumps, mid-air attacks, and ziplines вЂ“ but it feels perfectly natural as you run and jump around Glass. The grappling hook youвЂ™ll pick up partway through the campaign helps sell the idea that Faith can traverse a city like you can tie your shoes. The crunch of gravel or the squeak of a glass floor under FaithвЂ™s feet, the heavy breaths she draws as she runs faster and longer вЂ“ itвЂ™s practically exhilarating to string moves together successfully as you move from one area of Glass to another across its rooftops. That perspective makes the simple act of running a thrill, just like in the original. Locomotion in Catalyst still feels as fresh and empowering as it did in 2008, with our viewpoint firmly fixed inside FaithвЂ™s noggin for every jump, slide, wallrun, and skill roll (save for the occasional finishing move that pulls the camera out to third-person). So letвЂ™s ignore the story and focus on what made MirrorвЂ™s Edge unique and exciting in the first place. It only reinforced the apathy I felt toward the characters the entire time. Given that this is a prequel, itвЂ™s not surprising (or a spoiler) when Catalyst more or less comes right out and says, вЂњWelp, youвЂ™d expect things to have changed after all this, but nope, everythingвЂ™s the sameвЂќ at the end of the campaign, but it is disappointing. You may not have liked the animated, eSurance-looking cutscenes that told the story of the original MirrorвЂ™s Edge, but the first gameвЂ™s simpler plot did a lot more with a lot less than Catalyst does with its convoluted, pointless mess. The main story arc is both thin and predictable, and FaithвЂ™s own flashback-fueled backstory is lifted almost directly out of the Bruce Wayne playbook. Character development is nonexistent, and worse, everyone вЂ“ including Faith herself вЂ“ is completely unlikable.

Fun fact: you wonвЂ™t see a single smile in this entire eight to 10-hour story campaign (more if you fill it out with sidequests) until Faith finally cracks a grin in the post-credits scene. Literally everyone in MirrorвЂ™s Edge Catalyst is sullen at best or angry at worst, and without a shred of humor or levity it becomes a huge downer. Running is supposed to release endorphins that make people happy, but Faith Connors and her friends donвЂ™t seem to take any joy in being off-the-grid mailmen in the city of GlassвЂ™ Big Brother-ruled future. Catalyst is hardly a bad game, thanks to the strength of its movement systems, but everything else about it is so uninspiring that I get sad when I recall my initial reaction to its announcement. ItвЂ™s one of the biggest letdowns of my gaming life, then, that playing through this half-prequel, half-reboot was an exercise in enthusiasm-draining disappointment. In fact, I was so excited for its revival I actually cheered when MirrorвЂ™s Edge Catalyst was confirmed by EA. The 2008 first-person parkour platformer struck me as bold as it was beautiful, and it remains a game I revisit every year or so. I consider myself one of the original MirrorвЂ™s EdgeвЂ™s biggest fans.

Mirrors edge 2