Mirror's Edge Catalyst Reviews
Despite clunky combat and an unremarkable story Mirror's Edge Catalyst star still shines thanks to excellent community features.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a blast to play, but the story doesn't quite keep up
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 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 is quite a good game, but not the exceptional one we were expecting and looking for. The new open world scheme is good, while the main campaign is nothing to cheer for.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Catalyst is as close to a definitive version of a Mirror's Edge game as we're likely to get, despite retaining some of the first game's issues.
When allowed composure, Mirror's Edge Catalyst becomes the colossal free running daydream that never seemed tenable. When pushed into conflict, either with its own systems or the demand of "content" in 2016, Mirror's Edge feels anxious and frenzied. Separating wondrous substance from obliged distractions isn't a distinction the game is capable of making, leaving gratification to the will of the player.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a fine successor to its 2008 predecessor in many regards, but a flat story makes for a significant stumbling block.
Mirror's Edge: Catalyst is an impressive action game when it finds its legs (sorry). Slow to start with a mediocre plot, this is a worthy sequel overall.
The exhilarating rush of running along walls, leaping across rooftops and hanging to the ledges of buildings are perfectly captured in Mirror's Edge Catalyst. Just don't expect too much from its non-existent plot.
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.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst schafft es weiterhin einer der besten Parkour-Titel zu sein, verschlechtert sich aber in vielen Bereichen zu sehr zum Vorgänger. Weder die Story noch die Gegner KI können irgendwie Spannung erzeugen und auch die angepriesene Open World, entpuppt sich als ein generischer Parkour-Spielplatz. Fans vom free-running Gameplay werden mit dem neuesten Mirror’s Edge aber dann am Ende des Tages doch ihren Spaß haben.
Review in German | Read full review
"I quite enjoyed my time with Mirror's Edge Catalyst, but the thin plot and uninspired world prevents it from becoming a cherished memory"
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.
I really, really wanted to like Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, and when the game lets me run wild and focus on building momentum and stringing together parkour moves, I genuinely do. Then I'll be forced into some mandatory combat section or forced to sit through a monotonous cutscene and the entire game just grinds to a halt.
Catalyst's combat stumbles, but the fluid freerunning and enticing open-world challenges overshadow most of its shortcomings.
Having more missions like that to look forward to ever since finishing the story and those frustrating 13 hours is a reward of sorts, right? If you're a fan of the original Mirrors' Edge, this will probably be a no-brainer, but Catalyst would be an easier recommend even with the clunky controls if it had been sold cheaper, perhaps as episodic content. As it stands, this is mostly for fans, and even then, I caution the inevitable frustration that will surely come from running through a city literally made of glass.
At its best, Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a joyous flight across the rooftops of a gorgeous city, with a grace that belies the weight to Faith's movement, but DICE seem to forget this on a few occasions, dragging it down with combat that brings the free running to a halt. It's a fantastic game at times, but just as with the utopian setting, there are problems that lie breath the surface.
Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a gorgeous game that nails the free-running experience that fans want, but lacks an interesting narrative, compelling combat, and a fast travel system that will likely leave many fans disappointed.
Mirror's Edge: Catalyst will likely make people feel the same as the original, it'll be a divisive game. The freedom of movement is excellent, vastly improved over the original, but it's let down by a poor story, unrelatable characters and an incredibly annoying combat system, which it forces you into all too frequently. Still an exciting game to explore and look around, it's hard not to recommend Mirror's Edge if you're looking for something different, which it still is.