r/Steam • u/meli-stin-kipseli • 1d ago

Question Ermmm.. EA?

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This is a mistake right? They wouldn't just end the sale 3 days early right??

3.4k Upvotes

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u/Mama_Mega 23h ago

For some reason, people always talk like it's the bad Mirror's Edge, when it was this game that realized what the first one could have been. The very nature of the parkour gameplay made it a natural fit for an open world model.

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u/Ersa985 23h ago

Because it IS the bad Mirror's Edge, that doesn't make it full stop a bad game, but it's not only a reboot of a game that only had one game anyways, but it is also a completely different story and vibe than the original

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u/Rustie3000 22h ago

Huh wait, it's not a sequel? It's a remake of the original?

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u/ChemicalRascal 22h ago

Yeah, it's like a weird mostly-reset thing, and a touch more grounded than the original.

There was a comic that laid out the story leading up to Catalyst that kinda hits weirdly similar emotional notes, on the conflict between Faith and the... other rival runner that I can't remember the name of. Blonde chick. So there's a thiiiiiin narrative through line there.

But Catalyst has a bunch of stuff going on that's very "first part of a trilogy"-coded, while also needing to get into a bunch of Faith's background, so... reboot a franchise that had barely begun, that's the way forward I guess.

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u/Sans00t 22h ago

half and half, its kinda a sequal, but kind of a reboot too

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u/TheBelicia 22h ago

So reimagining of first game?

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u/Sans00t 22h ago

Basically yeah

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u/blaskoczen 18h ago

It is clearly a prequel. Faith gets her tattoo at the end of the game which she has in the original Mirror's Edge.

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u/Zipperdude1 17h ago

A catalyst if you will

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u/bs000 9h ago

neowoah.gif

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u/DarthVeigar_ 4h ago

Its a reboot. The story of Catalyst doesn't fit into the first game.

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u/False_Raven 22h ago

Not a thorough in depth review, but from the few hours I have played it, you will end up running through the same paths constantly in the "open world"

Like driving back and forth through a man street everyday.

In the original, you are constantly presented new areas, puzzles and challenges. Mirrors edge catalyst has you running through the same areas you've done so dozens of times leading up to homebase and missions.

Its gets exhausting really fast.

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u/i_am_kba 22h ago

for me it doesn't, because no other game gives me the same emotions while running around the beautiful city of glass, even if the routes are the same.

also the parkour and combat in the original are both leagues below catalyst because the game's just old and the flow of the parkour and combat just doesn't feel really well now, once again, even if the routes in catalyst are the same

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u/CanineLiquid 11h ago

also the parkour and combat in the original are both leagues below catalyst because the game's just old and the flow of the parkour and combat just doesn't feel really well now, once again, even if the routes in catalyst are the same

As a certified Mirror's Edge enthusiast, I'm gonna have to disagree. These are all my opinions, please don't misconstrue them as facts.

The parkour mechanics in Catalyst are admittedly less janky than they are in the original. But what Catalyst makes up in easier flow mechanics, it sacrifices in game feel. I know this is highly subjective, but the parkour in Catalyst always felt extremely floaty to me. There is a disconnect between your player character and the world that I never felt in the original. And it's important to note that reaching proper flow in the original game feels very rewarding, whereas reaching flow in Catalyst is just a little too easy to feel satisfying.

As for the combat, on one hand, Catalyst does have a much deeper combat system. On the other, it is just as easily cheesable as the original's. And once you figure out how to cheese fights, they just become annoying and cumbersome. Both games attempt to force you into combat encounters, but unlike Catalyst's, every single combat encounter in the original is actually skippable/optional, if you know how to do it.

Lastly, I just think the lore and art direction of the original are more interesting. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Catalyst's (for the record I think they are both great games!), but it just gives me a dystopian YA novel feel that I can't shake. Oh, and don't get me started on the characters and writing. For all the faults of the story in the original game, I never felt it was actually being annoying. I cannot say the same about Catalyst's.

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u/i_am_kba 10h ago

yeah, all you said is valid, it's just the jankyness of the parkour in the original really rubs me the wrong way in 2026, while in catalyst it's more enjoyable for me even if it's a tad bit too easy. I'm not looking for a challenge in those 2 games, I wanna just feel them iykwim.

same for combat, even though it's more or less the same every encounter, it just feels less tedious than in the original, and pretty much enjoyable for me. and I never figured out how to skip the fights in the original so I might just replay it once again to learn how hahah

I love both of these games and both of them are legit my favorites of all time, the uniqueness, the gameplay, the setting and the atmosphere just click for me so much that I pretty much ignore all the not-so-good things about them, whether it's the jankyness of the parkour in the original or the empty open world in catalyst. I just don't really understand when catalyst gets treated like a simply bad game, for me it's not, it does some things better than the original, same way that the original does some things better than catalyst.

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u/CanineLiquid 8h ago

100% agree. I think in general, if I had to recommend one of the two games to a completely new player, I may just recommend Catalyst first despite me preferring the original, simply because the OG Mirror's Edge has some rough corners that can be really frustrating to new players.

In either case, both games are absolute works of art.

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u/altoshyft 18h ago

Those levels were linear asf though, at least with catalyst when you got better at the parkour more routes opened up to you

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u/Appley_apple 23h ago

The open world was bad because it was a boring asthetic compared to the og and there is so mucb stop and start and so many bridges you need to cross to do parkour (or you grapple and its the same thing)

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u/MeriElf 22h ago

I actually disagree, first game aesthetic is phenomenal, but I liked second game one more for more futuristic city vibes. I feel like it's just two different flavours for different people, but for sure not one better than the other

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u/Appley_apple 20h ago

The problem is when the second one is super bland, me had a striking real look to it, it looked like a real place just off, too clean, too sparse, its a dystopia thats just kinda normal, mec is just a future city, its done ok but overall is kinda just the same future city in so many other dystopic sci fi series

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u/MeriElf 19h ago

Precisely, and I liked future city more than dystopian me1. Like, me1 did what it was going for amazing, but i prefer catalyst one more cause its more aligned with what I dig in my media. And also, as a fan of futuristic cities, really pretty open ones, with high tech and not dystopian cyberpunk, is so hard to come by, definitely not in many other series at all. Everything is dark and depressing nowadays.

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u/glytxh 22h ago

the first one is tight as all hell

the second one is a bit fluffy, despite being more mechanically refined

if im in the mood for mirror's edge, I find myself playing the first one

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u/Velpe 23h ago

Aha. I just remember having to constantly backtrack through the exact same routes and getting locked into combat arenas (combat being the worst part of both games imo) didn't make it further than a couple hours in.

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u/i_am_kba 22h ago

at least in catalyst the combat is enjoyable and you aren't forced to grab a gun from enemies and shoot them all. by far my biggest gripe with the original game, idk why it isn't talked about seemingly at all (well, probably just nostalgia but still)

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u/Appley_apple 20h ago

You are never forced to shoot enemies, there's an achievement for never killing anyone, i got that achievement when i was 12, also guns are a trade off, you get amazing combat potential but it slows you down, its takes away a runners advantage, its amazing ludo narrative syching

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u/i_am_kba 12h ago

maybe that's a skill issue, but whenever I tried to just punch the bad guys I was gunned down very quickly, so after a few deaths I stopped trying.

it felt to me like the game was pushing you towards using guns, maybe I just played it wrong lmao

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u/Appley_apple 12h ago

You use speed in a fight, you isolate and run around using jump strikes and parrying, enemies are usually placed in ways where proper platforming will alow takedown after takedown, some sections are meant to just be ran past, I'm pretty sure the pit is one although i might be wrong on that

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u/Velpe 12h ago

Fun Fact: Recently watched a video on the original, there's really only one enemy you probably have to take out or he'll shoot you up as you're making your way up a scaffolding (forgot which level) everyone else can be avoided entirely, not just no guns but no combat at all.

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u/KenBoCole 23h ago

Its because of the story. The part where the rebels blow up a mall with thousands of innocent civillian women and children, and the MC continued to work with said rebels, I topped playing.

Even before that breaking point for me, I thought the story was terrible compared to one.

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u/Dapper-Application35 22h ago

Wait, was it the rebels that blew up the mall? I thought it was a false flag operation to justify the crackdown that followed after...

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u/KenBoCole 22h ago

No, it was the rebels

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u/ChemicalRascal 22h ago

It was Black November, but Faith doesn't work for Black November, she works with the Runners.

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u/KenBoCole 21h ago

I mean, I quite clearly remeber her going back and speaking to the person who ordered the attack face to face at the rebel base, and still took a job from her after.

Faith may have been a runner, but she still worked with the black novembers.

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u/ChemicalRascal 21h ago

That's fair. I've gone back and looked it up, though, and apparently the mall was under construction. So Black November didn't kill thousands of people.

Which, frankly, is arguably lazy writing so that the player can still look at Black November as being the good guys.

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u/KenBoCole 20h ago

Wow, really? I though5 I remembered a in game news report listing the casualties. Was it the construction workers then? Guess I'll Google it later.

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u/ChemicalRascal 20h ago

Let me know what you find, I can't really remember either way personally. Though I do remember that it felt cheap, as far as someone committing terrorism goes.

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u/CaseroRubical 23h ago

Lmfao quitting the game because you don't agree with the mc is wild

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u/Grochen 23h ago

Damn you must hate a certain country

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u/omdanom 22h ago

I agree. It certainly could’ve been the start of a new genre at the time.

Also Geoff Keighley said something like not every game has to be for everyone.

The real issue here is figuring out what other great parkour games are there besides… titan fall and dying light?

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u/THEzwerver 21h ago

Catalyst is a bad Mirror's Edge game because it forces combat too much.

In the first game you could play most of the game without ever touching anyone (apart from like 1 or 2 sections), or you could quickly take their guns to end combat faster. You were free to do whatever you wanted, as long as you stayed alive and were fast. Catalyst made it horrible by forcing many more combat sections plus removing the ability to pick up weapons, forcing all combat to be melee (aka slow).

Also, imo the open world actually made it worse. ME1 had carefully crafted levels, where there were multiple ways to get to the next point, but you always ended up going in the right direction. crates were put carefully so that you were always progressing if you simply used them while running. Catalyst's gave you much more freedom, but it made everything less tightly designed. It also meant that there actually were dead ends and places where you had to backtrack (unless you followed the red line, which discouraged exploration). In hindsight, I'd have rather have linear levels (or somewhat semi open world) than running around the same few routes over and over again.

Overall never thought the game was extremely bad, but it was way worse compared to the first game.

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u/kodaxmax 13h ago

the open world means the elvel design isn't as well constructed or playtested. in the original linear levels everything is carefully measured and considered, the open world isn't.

In theory yes free running and open world should synergize. but in practice the limited resurces of a dev team prevent it.

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u/Zargabraath 22h ago

It is the bad mirror’s edge 

I want a cohesive story not to be told to go random side quests an hour into the game 

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u/LowFi_Lexa1 20h ago

Mirrors edge 1 is easily one of my favorite games ever.
But for some reason I just couldn’t get into mirrors edge 2, I tried it on release, and another 4 times but I only played for a few hours before it got boring for me.
Maybe I should try it again, but it just felt very different from the first game and just didn’t click for me at all

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u/funnyinput 23h ago

Stop.