Mirror's Edge Catalyst Reviews
Mirror's Edge Catalyst resolves the biggest issues of its forbearer and remains enjoyable thanks to strong core mechanics, and despite a weak narrative and uninteresting open world content.
Your enjoyment of Mirror's Edge: Catalyst will depend greatly on how willing you are to accept its flaws. The load times can be a pain to deal with, there's not much of an inclination to take on side-quests, and the combat doesn't seem to have improved much from the first game, despite the abandonment of firearms. At the same time, the idea of a platforming-heavy, first-person game remains intriguing, and your moves and the layout of the city make the running aspect one of the more legitimately enjoyable parts of the title. Though it may not appeal to all players, those looking for something a bit different will enjoy one more go-round in Faith's shoes.
Despite its flaws, Catalyst is a worthy concept of the game, and the improvement from the last one to this shows that it can mature into a quality game franchise, beyond its concept. The sense of scale and the way the world has been designed for travel makes for a fantastic experience.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a blast to play, but the story doesn't quite keep up
To be honest, I was disappointed shortly after I first started playing Mirror's Edge Catalyst as I was put off by the open world approach that quickly got boring and repetitive.
"I quite enjoyed my time with Mirror's Edge Catalyst, but the thin plot and uninspired world prevents it from becoming a cherished memory"
I want this franchise to excel, but just as the first game struggled to get off the ground, Catalyst struggles to soar as well. The core gameplay and artistic direction have vastly improved for this entry, and while it explores new territory with an open world and a grander narrative that act as solid foundations, they're squandered since little is built atop them to make this game tower above its peers. Despite these letdowns, DICE now has an even better framework to construct a phenomenal sequel, and I earnestly hope it will seize and run after this opportunity. I have faith in Faith's future, but her time to shine hasn't been struck just yet.
I simply didn't like this game. I went into it with high expectations, after having loved playing through the first game past its prime, and ended up being utterly disappointed. Between the numberous gameplay problems, between combat feeling weak and clunky, movement being gutted in favour of a progression system, and the open-world making the game repetitive, this was not something I found almost any fun playing. It's not the worst, but there are so many things done wrong, and so little done right, it just wasn't an experience I could personally enjoy, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're a die-hard fan of the series.
Mirror's Edge: Catalyst could easily be my favourite game of the year. The whole idea of the game is what captivates me, it's sleek, fast and immersive!
The overall rating might be harsh, it could have been a bit higher, but for a game that has "Mirror's Edge" in the title there must be consequences. The rating is more of a warning not to make the same mistakes again. ME deserves far more than average.
I think that there's the potential for a brilliant Mirror's Edge game in the future that has none of the flaws of Catalyst or its predecessor. Unfortunately, that isn't this game, and while I'm relatively satisfied with what's here, I will keep hoping for a genuinely great *Mirror's Edge* title.
A solid free running game that is bogged down by it’s own ambition into changing the formula, come the city but stay for the gameplay… But PLEASE just disregard the story.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst tries hard to engage players and develop the concept outlined in the original game further, but it doesn't completely succeed. It's a pity that the developers haven't put a a little more effort into it and it's kind of a missed opportunity. If you're a fan of the first game, Catalyst will surely delight you, but the rest of the players may not be interested.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Ultimately, Mirror's Edge Catalyst falls short of all our hopes and dashes what little faith I had in the series, pun intended. There are some truly brilliant moments and Mirror's Edge Catalyst looks gorgeous and feels brilliant to navigate once you finally get all the gadgets and extended slides etc. but forcing you through the campaign to get any real modicum of enjoyment hurts the experience drastically.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst had potential. The story was a big disappointment. Not recommended.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst is an exhilarating experience when you find yourself running in perfect harmony through the cityscape while knocking K-Sec around. Unfortunately all of that comes with a slightly confusing narrative.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst tries to improve on the good parts of its predecessor. Most of the time it fails to do so. The open world city is way to repetitive in many areas and fighting enemies just doesn't feel right.
Review in German | Read full review
Mirror's Edge Catalyst has some great concepts going for it that are ultimately being held back by technical issues. I can't help but feel these could have been worked out. With no real multiplayer component, the single player experience needs to be wholly satisfying. Unfortunately, this game is way more frustrating than fun.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst still feels like a lot of fun to play through, as the parkour system remains a really successful mechanic for navigating the game world. Dice have made a lot of changes that both hurt and harm the series, but at least you couldn't say that this is a lazy re-working of an eight-year old game.
A huge improvement over the first release in the franchise.