Time has not been kind to Mirror's Edge. I've seen so much praise for this game over the years and in retrospect, I'm assuming most people have not replayed it since release. Most of the praise I've heard has been for the general aesthetic, the world, and the core traversal system. What was rarely talked about were the mountains of issues the game has -
The controls were incredibly unresponsive. I can't count the amount of times I'd jump to a ledge or wall run and the game would eat my input and I'd have to try again.
The gunplay felt like an addition specifically so EA could call this an FPS. Guns feel bad to use with terrible spread, no scoping, the movement speed penalty, and lackluster sound design. I know they're optional to use for most of/if not all of the game but it felt like several segments railroaded you into using them instead of bashing your head against a wall to get around enemies.
The hand-to-hand combat system felt completely worthless due to enemies blocking your attacks near constantly. The only useful move is the disarm which is incredibly inconsistent and would not work despite the enemy guns flashing red or refusing to flash at all. The combat issue is expounded upon when you're introduced to the parkour trained enemies since they have nothing to disarm (again I know they're optional but at least one segment feels like it's
the recommended method of progressing).
Soooo many boring hallways and maintenance rooms are repeated constantly through the campaign and they don't add anything to the game. Hell, I found most of the interior segments to be frustrating or bland and they never really got better especially when you combine it with the unresponsive controls.
The story does very little to give you any drive to progress. The plot doesn't take advantage of its setting and I think the familial connection isn't strong enough for it to give enough motivation for the player to care.
I think the game's strengths are still noteworthy. The overall aesthetic is great and for a 2008 game it still looks phenomenal (if you can get past the awful bloom or the grey filter as you're being hit). The movement system feels fantastic when you're on open rooftops with lots of options to get to your objective. I haven't heard the music talked about much but it's used well in the appropriate situations. One of these days I need to replay Catalyst since it's been ages but I definitely remember enjoying it much more than I liked the original. I'd say Mirror's Edge is worth playing as a time capsule as Mirror's Edge was definitely novel and fresh when it came out but you can't expect much out of it as a modern experience.
The controls were incredibly unresponsive. I can't count the amount of times I'd jump to a ledge or wall run and the game would eat my input and I'd have to try again.
The gunplay felt like an addition specifically so EA could call this an FPS. Guns feel bad to use with terrible spread, no scoping, the movement speed penalty, and lackluster sound design. I know they're optional to use for most of/if not all of the game but it felt like several segments railroaded you into using them instead of bashing your head against a wall to get around enemies.
The hand-to-hand combat system felt completely worthless due to enemies blocking your attacks near constantly. The only useful move is the disarm which is incredibly inconsistent and would not work despite the enemy guns flashing red or refusing to flash at all. The combat issue is expounded upon when you're introduced to the parkour trained enemies since they have nothing to disarm (again I know they're optional but at least one segment feels like it's
the recommended method of progressing).
Soooo many boring hallways and maintenance rooms are repeated constantly through the campaign and they don't add anything to the game. Hell, I found most of the interior segments to be frustrating or bland and they never really got better especially when you combine it with the unresponsive controls.
The story does very little to give you any drive to progress. The plot doesn't take advantage of its setting and I think the familial connection isn't strong enough for it to give enough motivation for the player to care.
I think the game's strengths are still noteworthy. The overall aesthetic is great and for a 2008 game it still looks phenomenal (if you can get past the awful bloom or the grey filter as you're being hit). The movement system feels fantastic when you're on open rooftops with lots of options to get to your objective. I haven't heard the music talked about much but it's used well in the appropriate situations. One of these days I need to replay Catalyst since it's been ages but I definitely remember enjoying it much more than I liked the original. I'd say Mirror's Edge is worth playing as a time capsule as Mirror's Edge was definitely novel and fresh when it came out but you can't expect much out of it as a modern experience.