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[orthodoxy1095]

Kotaku - No Score

Catalyst is at its fleet-footed best when it barrels forward and sticks to the rooftops, but it never manages to fully shake the cookie-cutter corporate nonsense its rebellious heroes claim to despise.

Action Trip - 6.5/10

Though the game is fine as a mediocre playable experience, many of the things that made the original so special have been neutered beyond repair. It is sad to see the game released in this state, especially when it has been so eagerly anticipated.

NZGamer - 6.9

An okay storyline keeps you running, but ultimately, graphics that are above-average at best, and an open world that is essentially corridors stitched together means Mirror’s Edge Catalyst falls short of what we really want out of this franchise.

 

[Lonely1]

This should send the message that not everything must be open world. But I worry that the actual message will be to focus less on single player experiences. :/

 

[TetraGenesis]

Mixed enough for me to still give it a try, but...damn. I was really hoping it'd be a home run.

 

[thumb]

It is frustrating to me how DICE really really "noobified" the entire game. I shut runners vision off from the get go because I liked trying to solve the parkour puzzles in the first Mirrors Edge without the correct paths being highlighted in red. Unfortunately in this game, even with runners vision disabled, the paths are still highlighted with black footstep marks everything, or different colors pieces of geometry that easily highlight that you need to go their. Not a single puzzle in the entire game has made me pause and think. I've just being running through room after room, following black footstep marks after black footstep marks, with the occasional janky combat (which is its own topic to discuss...).

Dice created an amazing atmosphere and world in the game, and beautiful scenery just like the first game. Unfortunately they lost their touch with gameplay, and it is a shame. This game is in no means a "bad game", but it just isn't the sequel I was hoping for.

How far are you? This does not describe my experience at all. Black scuff marks are sometimes present, but I don't see them as often as implied in your post. And there are definite puzzle rooms/levels with little to no black scuff marks.

 

[nOoblet16]

Another 8-9 years until the next comes out then.

 

[Crazymoogle]

I admit I'm only an hour or so in, but I honestly like this game more than the first one. The runner vision makes it far more of a racing game and less of a trial and error "reload" sim, and if I wanted Dark Souls difficulty I would just play that instead. Combat is not great, but at least has very simple and clearly defined rules. (light attacks for momentum, hard attacks off parkour)

Art complaints don't make any sense to me yet. Faith is so impeccable looking I'm confident she is the most photorealistic character in videogames yet. The other NPCs are on a sliding scale, but the art style lends well to everything looking good. They don't need super high res textures with so many flat and smooth surfaces.

The only thing I find bothersome is that "Assassin's Creed 1" feeling that they didn't nail the side missions. Very early on in the game there is a quest where if you screw up at any point, you get a loading screen for 5 seconds and then have to redo everything you did previously during the quest. For a game that is so much about parkour it's really, really rough to have those kind of interruptions. It needs more parkour methodology in the experience than in the game controls, so to speak.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Some rough reviews this morning, but some decent ones as well.

Digital Trends - 2.5/5

Catalyst will not make you feel the thrill of the original Mirror’s Edge, nor will it make you feel something new. The parkouring that Mirror’s Edge fans want is in Catalyst, but you’ll have to climb over a lot of steep problems to enjoy it.

CGMagazine - 7/10

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst represents a compromised vision. It’s one part exhilarating first-person platformer, one part bland open-world title. In a year crowded with great releases, not to mention last year’s Dying Light representing a much better open-world parkour experience, that’s a vision many people won’t want to put their money on the line for.

Pixel Dynamo - 7.5/10

Not only did Catalyst manage to capture the adrenaline rush that comes with performing parkour and unbelievable athletic stunts, it is able to do while surpassing the original Mirror’s Edge, which I felt is an enormous feat.

GameZone - 6/10

The only people I’d recommend Mirror’s Edge Catalyst to are newcomers to the franchise. The parkour, when it works, is still just as awesome, but the game has just too many detractors for the fans of the original.

EGM - 6/10

Though there are many parts of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst that fail, when it manages to fire on all cylinders, the game works quite well.

Atomix - 71/100

GRYOnline - 7.5/10

PCGamesN - 7/10

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is an exceptional sandbox. There’s nothing in the entire medium that feels quite as unique as being able to sprint, duck, and dive towards the horizon, making the most of the many varied paths on offer in this superbly sculpted playground.

Gaming Age - B

Overall, there is a lot to like with Mirror’s Edge and despite the bland story and characters, EA DICE gives you a large vibrant world with so much to do.

Game Over - 60%

I’d still argue that Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is a failure, but it’s an interesting failure. It started from an idea that nobody’s been able to make work, and it still didn’t make it work, but an attempt was made. I’ll take that over a game that’s simply mediocre any day of the week.

USGamer - 3/5

While it's great to see Mirror's Edge finally make a comeback after all these years, it seems the only way it can exist in the hands of a major publisher is to be just like everything else.

 

[Bloodporne]

Well...that's quite disappointing to say the least. The original had such a cool concept and so much potential that, in my opinion, it didn't live up to and I was hoping this would finally take it up there.

The actual scores don't put me off nearly as much as the respective reviewers' gripes. Pretty much sounds like what I was hoping this wouldn't turn into. Shame.

 

[Bikram]

Having fun with it so far. So far I have been ignoring the open world stuff so it doesn't bother me at all. I expected better graphics with DICE involved but it's clearly made on a smaller budget. Which is good if the game gets some moderate success. I don't see any reason to not like the game if you liked the first one.

 

[AutisticWonton]

Another 8-9 years until the next comes out then.

Maybe not! It seems 4 years on and we may be getting another one!

 

[Lionel Richie]

Oh my god I really hope we get another ME. Catalyst had some EA cancer, the story was LMAOtastic, the open world was stupid and the combat was atrocious. But movement was absolutely unreal, it looked fucking gorgeous and it played like a dream once you disable that red dot abomination. One of my favorite western games this gen for sure.

 

[IKSTUGA]

Catalyst was such a letdown, but I'm definitely down for another one if it's gonna be anything like the original game.

 

[JOEVIAL]

Maybe not! It seems 4 years on and we may be getting another one!

The heck this is a complete surprise! I mean, Catalyst did okay sales wise, but with EA's modern policies I never thought they would greenlight another Mirror's Edge. Here's hoping it's not filled with cosmetics, emotes, and atrocious microtransactions.

I really enjoyed Catalyst. Loved the super slick and clean visuals, the music, and just how chill it was. I also like how small it felt for an open world game. I beat it in only 18hrs or so, which is just at the perfect length for me.