Hey everyone! A lot of you were interested in my thoughts on Mirror's Edge Catalyst, so I made a video talking about it! Check it out: th-cam.com/video/gWOdBEqmI00/w-d-xo.html
While not grounded, play distance. Its basically car parkouring and like mirror's edge, is a game built on speedrunning. Literally the speedrun tactics that are used by speedrunners are the game's built in mechanics. Its very satisfying being able to skip large portions of the game's tracks or outright skip difficult parts since the car is so free in its movement. This ''racing'' game has player made levels that expand greatly upon the scope of the game. You've got zelda like puzzle maps, dark souls like bossbattles, challenge levels, etc. And then you've even got story focused levels with more cutscenes (which you can skip via parkouring). Trust me there's no other game like this one.
@@khoavo510 thế à dude, đúng là sáng thật nhưng mà nhiều game hiện giờ cũng khó mang lại cảm giác chân thực như các toà nhà bên ME, ME như 1 cái dystopia đích thực luôn ấy
@@khoavo510 depending on your monitor it might have been too bright, for sure. you can try lowering the brightness next time, i run 0 brightness all day
Mirror’s Edge was my favorite game growing up. Now as an adult, it’s aesthetics were a big inspiration for me when designing the interior of my apartment. It is by far not perfect but for some reason it always really stuck with me - just such a very special game and a breath of fresh air. Oh and “Still Alive” is a fantastic theme song too. Really enjoyed your video. Always makes me happy to see that I’m not the only one still thinking about this game :)
I always liked combat in Mirror's Edge though. I like the mechanic of treating guns as disposable objects that are not permanently glued to your inventory - you can grab one if you want to and throw it away when you're done. For me it only adds to the sense of flow and freedom
As a game that pretty much shaped me and my creativity, I'm really glad to see that there's a good bunch of people still there to love this game as much as I do, great video lad! Would definitely watch your Catalyst video, cheers
This game made me start doing parkour and get into architecture school to design such cities and buildings. I didn't end up sticking with architecture but my diploma and experience in the field got me to places even better. All thanks to this one amazing game!
The game aged fantastically, the graphics still hold up. The only weak parts of the graphics are occasional low-res pre-baked shadows and reflections on building windows but everthing else down to the texture quality still looks crisp and the lighting is phenomenal. The city is great and the art style is just *chef's kiss*, way to make a game look realistic and unique at the same time. Nobody else has done it as well since. BTW I've never played a full playthrough with Runner Vision on. I think the game is so linear there was never any need for it.
Yeah tbh I don't think I need runners vision either. I just don't feel the need to turn it off. I just go my own way and then use runners vision if I ever need to help orientate myself or find a quick path.
It doesn’t need it imo, but it really integrates well with the general aesthetics of the game. Its not a giant arrow pointing you to your next objective.
A lot of the story of Mirror’s Edge was told in the supplementary material that came out at the time, like the comic, trailers, and ARG. There was also a video with the developers where they specifically said “we wanted to make a game where it feels good to throw away the gun.”
The thing about mirrors edge is how far ahead it was in terms of its style. Nothing else like this had been tried properly before, the fact the game looks this good still is a testament the devs forward thinking
This game had me from the moment I played the demo. There are times where I really got stuck but eventually you can work through what you're supposed to do.
I remember getting this game for Christmas 14 years ago I've replayed it every Year since. One of my favorite games ever. I'm so glad people are still talking about all these years later.
The original Matrix soundtrack from don davis goes absolutely flawlessly with this game. Mirrors Edge always reminded me of the intensity Neo had running from Agents trying to reach an exit phone. The two combined is literally godlike.
Yeah same. As much as learning new moves could be justified with something like main story, making it a skill tree just... somehow doesn't work in that game. Also the aesthetic and music changed just enough that it's no longer as nice. I played around half or more of it but gave up, it never clicked for me.
@@tomclanys Damn I think the new city looks a lot better than in original, soundtrack and ambience was amazing too. The only thing that felt kind of unnecessary was open world, it was pretty empty
I actually really liked catalyst, definitely has different vibe to the original, but I think that was unavoidable with it trying to be more complex. I don't think I would have wanted to play another mirror's edge 1 as well since that would just be improved graphics and well... probably nothing more then that. I guess Catalyst is in a way sort of less unique then the og, but at the same time I feel like first person parkour games are still pretty unique and fresh so yeah
I've been in love with this game for years, people don't get why, but just look at it, it's minimalist, futuristic aesthetic and its flawless movement mechanics... damn.
I feel like everyone forgot this game existed. But seeing this game now it feels like it was ahead of it’s time, artistically and the concept is pretty cool.
There is one indeed, unintentionally bundled with the PC version of the game. You just need to look up a tutorial to know how to use it. There are a ton of custom maps made by the community.
14 years my goodness. This was my first ever PS3 game I owned and earned all the trophies for back in 2011/2012. Takes me back to good times doing those 3 star time trials and pulling my hair out during the process. I had got so addicted to this game that 12/13 year old me would contest for matching the world record times :)
If you are playing the reboot after the original game, you can read the comics (prequel to Catalyst) online so you can understand a bit of the story before hand. It can help you.
Mirror's Edge is amazing game, and it's similiar to Valve's Portal, Takes place in a future, playing as Asian girls protagonist (Faith & Chell), Electronic soundtrack, and both ended with a different song with the same name titled "Still Alive". The reason why I say this becaus I have beaten both games, and both are amazing.
This game have a special place in my heart, the song at the end of the game it's just soo memorable. Would love to hear you talk about the second game, the changes and improvements!
Playing this after school and watching the intro from Ghetto Gangz (Banllieu 13) with your school mates over and over again and trying to Wall run in PE class was my childhood for some time 😂😂😂
Yeah, i remember that pipe, that was like “nope, i wont let you climb”))) I was plaing the first game back in 2009, when it was released on pc. Yesterday downloaded mirrors edge catalyst to run through the campain in a third time i guess. That moment when the Catalyst part came out in 2016 - more than 6 years ago. Time runs even faster, than Faith..😅
Love to see this game still getting discussed so many years later. Also, has anyone else noticed just how strange it is that two first person games from 2008 had standout songs titled "Still Alive"?
"why are her shots laser accurate", I can easily answer that. It's not that they made that on purpose, they just didn't add features that make the shooting more advanced showing that they really didn't intend to put a lot of effort into shooting mechanics. Generally, there shouldn't be any shooting in that game.
It's crazy how good the first ME still looks! It is abs jaw dropping when cranking it up to 4K or even higher & fix the FOV and antialiasing a bit. The clever lighting with the Unreal Engine is also amazing. This game some of the best atmosphere i've felt in a game.
I still have the feeling that mirrors edge was just a Graphic Demo for Frostbite 😂😂😂 and they they where like „Yo let’s put combat in it and sell it as Full priced“
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I played this at the same time as Portal and it appealed to me for similar reasons. I chose to turn runners vision off so that it became a puzzle game. I also usually don't like fps games because momentum and movement are usually made intentionally stiff and boring, I also suck at them. When this game allowed me to retain full mobility with a handgun it really excited me. The sound design of this game is also thoroughly excellent. Guns are supposed to be sharp pops that create a diminishing echo and return to ambient noise. Few fps games allow this to happen, and also add lots of bass. For me this was one of the most immersive games I ever played.
The improvements in combat is why I love catalyst. It's still a little tedious at times, but they give you multiple tools for using parkour and the environment to quickly dispatch enemies without using guns.
The only real improvement of Catalyst. I disliked they changing the anesthetics of it instead developing it more. And the way they changed a lot of how the open world flow felt made the game weird. For me the worst part are the NPC not having even minimal scripting, they just stay there even after you give them something and also always there, even when not on a mission.
Thanks for the video, this game is certainly deserving of much more love and discussion than it gets. I'll be waiting for your opinion on Catalyst. And as of the other games in this genre? sub-genre? field? - you might want to check out Ghostrunner, it's some of the same philosophies of perfecting the runs and very little room for errors, just cranked up into some absurdly frenetic tempo and almost rhythm-game-like precision. Even the setting is similar, one being some futuristic cyberpunk metropolis. Either way, keep of the great work, and thanks for reminding me of this game!
Appreciate your kind words! I have seen Ghostrunner and it looks fun, if I get it I might end up doing a review on it, but who knows when, there's so many games and not enough time to make videos on them all XD
Together with the portal series, this is still my favourite game even years after I last played, visuals, gameplay, feeling, aesthetic, almost everything brings me back great memories, saying that, the cartoon story though not bad at telling it, the visuals are just like you said... weird, even at the time. The combat is literally poo poo, I still remember on my first play through (and subsequent others) my early teen reflexes got stuck on that dark garage/factory for hours and hours because the timings were awful to hit and incredibly inconsistent.
13 years ago, this dude made my absolute favorite gaming video on the internet. The mix of high level mirror's edge with the music is pure art. Look up "Mirror's Edge Speed Run - Heat 6:27:96"
01:34 every time I hear that soundtrack playing in the background there, I get thrown back into 2008 harder than with anything else. It feels like I'm back there. A weird sadness overcomes me, knowing that time has past. When I was still young without much concern, played on weekends where they felt like they were "so long" and nowadays a weekend is over in a blink. I remember my father showing me an article or something from this game in a newspaper and we later bought it for the PS3, later I even played it on PC with a friend. I remember everything so vividly. I think the soundtrack is also really specially. Giving a feeling/vibe of being free, dreamy and some type of melancholy. I have that "sad nostalgia" feeling but coupled with happy feelings, but it still feels weird, almost uncomfortable a little bit. I am happy though, that I can feel that feeling and remember these times. That I got to enjoy and play this amazing game... I miss these times... P.S. Oh god I just read in the video description that it has been 14 years since release... how does time fly so fast! AH
I love how contrast can actually be adjusted in this game. This settings feature feels so underrated personally, it just gives control on the colour which is the one of the main beauties for this game..
The sound track and aesthetic evoke a strange sense of nostalgia out of me even though I played it long after it was new. It reminds me of a Ghibli movie in that way
I remember the hype around ME2 being open-world before it was released. but throughout the playthrough of that game, I realized that it's exactly the opposite of what I loved about the first game. you don't often realize it, but in the first game there are different paths that all get funneled into the same direction, making it feel like you're always going in the right direction. this isn't the case with ME2, if you're going the not-intended way, you might be going all the way across the map before realizing that you need to back track a huge amount. this forces you to go to the mindset of "follow the intended path or you will be punished", which is exactly what ME1 was not. you can also notice the same sort of thing with prop placement, in ME1 every prop has a purpose and all paths are laid out carefully as to not generate frustration with the player and force him to back track (or worse, stop and think). this would be impossible to accomplish with the open world layout of ME2. ME2 has a lot of other flaws, but these are just the ones I noticed while interacting with the open world sections of the game. it made me realize that just cause I think it's better, doesn't automatically mean it actually is.
there are game similar to the feel which is cyber runners and neon white which i wouldnt be surprised if the devs said this game was one of the inspirations
I loved this game. I loved everything about this game. The visual style (the whole game only have white, black, blue, green, red and orange colour), the gameplay, the music etc.
Amazing timing on the video, I'm writing an analysis of level design on Mirror's Edge right now for a university assignment, I highly recommend Andrew Yoder's "The Good Sewer Level" videos for a good breakdown :)
I wish I could give you a double heart. This is a really interesting video series (although I think he could condense the videos more). Thanks for the resource, and I hope your assignment goes well! Wish I could have wrote about shit like this in university XD
@@Tymptra haha yes I'm very lucky I got to study games design in college and I'm pursuing it further, interactive mediums are special and this game definitely stands on it's own legs even with the test of time.
I just need to hear the first 2 Seconds of Still Alive to become full of happiness and Nostalgia, Played both Mirrors Edge's for multiple Hundred Hours.
I also played this game in 2012, I have a special nostalgia with it. I still listen to that theme song "Still Alive". Just bought it again on steam :). thanks for bringing it back
Although the combat can be frustrating, it feels amazing when you get the hang of it. I recommend that you try mastering the combat with one of the pursuer enemies in the game without taking them down from behind. Once you've mastered the side-jump, crouch punch, slide kick, and drop kick. In the game, you can pretty much successfully martial art any enemy flawlessly.
I remember I was so excited when I got this for Christmas in 2008. I think I was 15 at the time. It's tied for my favourite game of all time (the other is JSRF - both movement games with strong visual styles!). The sad truth though (I believe) as time passed waiting for a sequel is that the parkour craze of the early/mid 2000s ended - that's part of why I think Catalyst didn't really work (I also think the open world design was very flawed). The style of the original game continues to inspire me as a visual artist and musician all these years later. I love it so very dearly. This was a great video - thanks for bringing back good memories!
This game's graphics and aesthetics still amaze me. I mean, Catalyst was visually stunning and all, but it compared to how the first game felt, in almost every aspect, it doesn't hold a candle. EDIT: The backstory is explained in a prequel comic, as usual. But even though I read it, I can't remember a thing. Something like Faith's parents were betrayed by a friend or something? Catalyst has loooots of problems, there are plenty of videos that detail them. In fact, you can't fall of those pipes where you have to keep balance. Once I found out, I felt cheated. The combat system's much better, tho. I'm sure you'll like it; Faith can't use guns, so you'll have to rely on melee attacks. In fact, unlike the original, in Catalyst there were many times when I walked by security cameras so more and more enemies showed up and see how many of them I could deal with. And 9:23, I spent a whole damn day trying to pass that segment. It was a pain in the butt. And yes, I'm procrastinating, better go back to work. That code won't write itself.
Were there any balance beams at all in Catalyst? I remember narrow planks but Faith just simply ran over them without any kind of balance impairments nor challenges.
@@buttonasas Either they forgot to implement balance mechanics, or deliberately not included them to create a 'feeling' of danger without any actual danger.
I've first played it in 2010 and for a long time this was the best game I've played. As you said I still catch myself going back to it from time to time and even Mirrors Edge Catalyst just because it is such a unique experience without any real alternative (which i really don't mind)
Two of my absolute favourite games are Mirror's Edge and Mirror's Edge: Catalyst. I've played through both many times and beat the first one on the hardest difficulty without killing anyone, which is very challenging but satisfying. The second one goes deeper into the world and character backgrounds, and doesn't let you use weapons. Both games are excellent and, sadly, underrated. Great video.
yes, The Pipe. he made a showing. yes, that one. everyone thinks that Robert Pope is central to the story, but it's really Faith's arch nemesis, Robert Pipe
I played it for the first time in 2011, and boy I was addicted to that game, the campaign was short, ok, but I dump something like 40+ hours on it, thing is, when you play in the hardest difficulty is where the game shines, since you won't have runner's vision, I know some parts are linear, but it seems the game become way less linear without the vision, also, the combat becomes challenging, since if you got hit twice you are out, it could indeed be more smooth, I agree, the transition from enemy to enemy is quite tricky, and don't get me wrong, I love the minimalist combat, those combo buttons and stuff like that are terrible, I really like the idea that you could do the combos yourself, but it doesn't have any smooth transition, like using the parkour movement like you said.
I've been on a streak lately where I just encounter channels suggested through my home page (Using the algorithm to work for me) of video essayists. Some of them have garbage takes and cover nothing of tangible value. Or stuff like "Mirror's Edge was aight but why are we running and not shooting?". This guy, though? Man spits facts. Absolutely amazing. The OG Mirror's Edge is a game I come back to every couple of years just for the thrill and to remind myself I still got it. Subscribed, and I look forward to your thoughts on Catalyst my man.
I played this game this year for the first time and damn I was amazed. This game is almost 15 years old and it still looks simply beautiful! Basically everything about this game holds up in 2022, other than combat, which, as you mentioned, really sucks...
There is a very simple game called Celaria that is basically Trackmania, but parkour: the point is to go from point A to point B as fast as possible and you can make you own maps and play on other custom maps
Mirrors edge is up there in my top games of all time. I do wish that it would’ve been given a proper sequel instead of the reboot sequel prequel thing that is catalyst but you take what you can get. I also think that more small scale city exploring levels would’ve done some parts of the game really good, but too much openness can also ruin the creative flow. Really tough balancing act
@@Tymptra It was, yes. District 13 and Ultimatum. Lots of parkour, written and produced by Luc Besson and starring David Belle. If you do watch it, don't bother with the remake, lol.
I remember picking this game up on a Steam sale in the Spring of 2009. It was so refreshing to play it has become one of my favorite games ever since I have replayed it so many times I have 130 hours in it according to Steam. I have also played this game in VR which was awesome it was actually the first game I ever beat in VR I don't get motion sickness so it wasn't hard it was a dream to play in VR and feeling like I was almost in that world. There is just something magical about this game from the soundtrack to the art direction and the free flowing parkour. Also if you are interested in the art aesthetic of the game there's a name for it it's called Frutiger Aero there's a good video on TH-cam explaining it.
"The feds don't want to do know this, and about the giant mutant rats, but uhh... there's a side dodge, you can stun enemies with a low blow... Slide kick has a follow up. It can duck under enemy melees. Jump kick has a faster recovery. Alakazam, the game is deeper. And for my next trick: The wallrun kick... exists. Like the free stealth disarm if you hit the counter button immediately after" - Whitelight
That video was so on point! Watched it yesterday, and totally agree. The game does a shitty job at communicating how a lot of things work. Most of this stuff I knew, but I genuinely didn't think the wallrun kick was a thing until someone else in the comments corrected me. The game never gave me a chance to really try that for myself due to enemy placement and how fragile Faith is.
Some notes on how to improve audio quality - if you choose to use it Run a declicker on the audio to remove the sounds of lip smacks tame the low end with and EQ
Thanks, I do use an EQ and run a declicker if I notice mouth noises. I thought this was fine, but I'll keep in mind that you noticed things here for future videos maybe I need to test on different types of speakers.
Never actually bought the game but I used to play the demo. Super fun and amazing how good it still looks. I wonder if they'll make a new one. P.s. this video idea really paid off 👏
to expand on the point you made about the game feeling linear and not branching out from the path, i also feel like having it that way made it possible for them to really flesh out the intended path in a way that probably wouldnt have been possible had there been more exploration options just because of the extra time it would take.
Appreciate the complements. If I had to take a guess it is because I talk about a shitload of random games with usually no interconnection. So I can't really capture audiences from a specific genre. I am willing to accept this debuff though, I don't want to be shoehorned into any one game or genre - I love trying all types of games. Another thing I need to work on is consistency. I think this is probably my best video - and while I have made some good ones in the past - I've definitely made ones on less interesting topics, or wrote less engaging scripts. But I am confident that I'll keep improving in the future (this video has given me lots of feedback and data about what works).
It really sucks that this game lacks a good story, the thing keeping me playing was just how "free" I felt playing the game, the gameplay is top tier. I just with I could've immersed myself in the sotry more, to have a reason to keep running. It would push the game to another level
Yeah, i remember this game released and it was something new, parkour was known via Prince of Persia, but there is 1st person style and also graphics is great. It was very bright and light.
i just started replaying mirror's edge, and I love it, its so much better than catalyst, and i love the fact that the more (for the lack of a better word) intense the story gets the more color there is. also its kind of scary how much the city parodies modern day. (and that it was made by EA of all people)
![F.HERO Ft. JSPKK x ลำไย ไหทองคำ x M-PEE - ไม่สนิทบิดหมด (Thai Riders Anthem) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kPJZ0UihBfk/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey everyone! A lot of you were interested in my thoughts on Mirror's Edge Catalyst, so I made a video talking about it! Check it out: th-cam.com/video/gWOdBEqmI00/w-d-xo.html
While not grounded, play distance. Its basically car parkouring and like mirror's edge, is a game built on speedrunning. Literally the speedrun tactics that are used by speedrunners are the game's built in mechanics. Its very satisfying being able to skip large portions of the game's tracks or outright skip difficult parts since the car is so free in its movement.
This ''racing'' game has player made levels that expand greatly upon the scope of the game. You've got zelda like puzzle maps, dark souls like bossbattles, challenge levels, etc. And then you've even got story focused levels with more cutscenes (which you can skip via parkouring).
Trust me there's no other game like this one.
I really like this game's aesthetics such as building design and color combinations. I love this game.
It's beautiful and super nostalgic!
I love even more!
I used to become nauseous and had headaches when playing the game due to the overwhelming whites and reds. They went overboard with the bloom imo
@@khoavo510 thế à dude, đúng là sáng thật nhưng mà nhiều game hiện giờ cũng khó mang lại cảm giác chân thực như các toà nhà bên ME, ME như 1 cái dystopia đích thực luôn ấy
@@khoavo510 depending on your monitor it might have been too bright, for sure. you can try lowering the brightness next time, i run 0 brightness all day
Mirror’s Edge was my favorite game growing up. Now as an adult, it’s aesthetics were a big inspiration for me when designing the interior of my apartment.
It is by far not perfect but for some reason it always really stuck with me - just such a very special game and a breath of fresh air.
Oh and “Still Alive” is a fantastic theme song too.
Really enjoyed your video. Always makes me happy to see that I’m not the only one still thinking about this game :)
I listen to Still Alive a lot, and I've always been partial to minimalism, glad you liked the video :)
hey!!! i love your pfp :]
I always liked combat in Mirror's Edge though. I like the mechanic of treating guns as disposable objects that are not permanently glued to your inventory - you can grab one if you want to and throw it away when you're done. For me it only adds to the sense of flow and freedom
THIS
When I was a kid this game was a beautiful escape a breathtaking dream. Sweet nostalgia...
As a game that pretty much shaped me and my creativity, I'm really glad to see that there's a good bunch of people still there to love this game as much as I do, great video lad! Would definitely watch your Catalyst video, cheers
This game made me start doing parkour and get into architecture school to design such cities and buildings. I didn't end up sticking with architecture but my diploma and experience in the field got me to places even better. All thanks to this one amazing game!
Lol, same here. I was in college for graphic design at the time-a lot of my projects ended up being stark white with splashes of bright red. 😂
The game aged fantastically, the graphics still hold up. The only weak parts of the graphics are occasional low-res pre-baked shadows and reflections on building windows but everthing else down to the texture quality still looks crisp and the lighting is phenomenal. The city is great and the art style is just *chef's kiss*, way to make a game look realistic and unique at the same time. Nobody else has done it as well since.
BTW I've never played a full playthrough with Runner Vision on. I think the game is so linear there was never any need for it.
Yeah tbh I don't think I need runners vision either. I just don't feel the need to turn it off. I just go my own way and then use runners vision if I ever need to help orientate myself or find a quick path.
It doesn’t need it imo, but it really integrates well with the general aesthetics of the game. Its not a giant arrow pointing you to your next objective.
A lot of the story of Mirror’s Edge was told in the supplementary material that came out at the time, like the comic, trailers, and ARG. There was also a video with the developers where they specifically said “we wanted to make a game where it feels good to throw away the gun.”
The thing about mirrors edge is how far ahead it was in terms of its style. Nothing else like this had been tried properly before, the fact the game looks this good still is a testament the devs forward thinking
Actually it's November 2022 🤓🤓
ayo wtf I better return my movies to blockbuster they are really late!
@@Tymptra who's gonna tell him :(
@@WhiteBeansYT They rebranded to "the now defunct blockbuster" weird how they made their name longer.
How am I supposed to trust this guy about anything? I'm lied to from the very start 😢
👽🛸
This game had me from the moment I played the demo.
There are times where I really got stuck but eventually you can work through what you're supposed to do.
I remember getting this game for Christmas 14 years ago I've replayed it every Year since. One of my favorite games ever. I'm so glad people are still talking about all these years later.
The original Matrix soundtrack from don davis goes absolutely flawlessly with this game.
Mirrors Edge always reminded me of the intensity Neo had running from Agents trying to reach an exit phone.
The two combined is literally godlike.
Nice vid. I couldn't get into catalyst despite loving the original. I hated the skill tree locking out movement skills
Hmm yeah that doesn't sound too good, maybe I'll make a vid on the game when I've played it.
@@Tymptra definitely keen to hear your thoughts, might give it another try if you rate it highly
Yeah same. As much as learning new moves could be justified with something like main story, making it a skill tree just... somehow doesn't work in that game. Also the aesthetic and music changed just enough that it's no longer as nice. I played around half or more of it but gave up, it never clicked for me.
@@tomclanys Damn I think the new city looks a lot better than in original, soundtrack and ambience was amazing too. The only thing that felt kind of unnecessary was open world, it was pretty empty
I actually really liked catalyst, definitely has different vibe to the original, but I think that was unavoidable with it trying to be more complex.
I don't think I would have wanted to play another mirror's edge 1 as well since that would just be improved graphics and well... probably nothing more then that.
I guess Catalyst is in a way sort of less unique then the og, but at the same time I feel like first person parkour games are still pretty unique and fresh so yeah
I've been in love with this game for years, people don't get why, but just look at it, it's minimalist, futuristic aesthetic and its flawless movement mechanics... damn.
I feel like everyone forgot this game existed. But seeing this game now it feels like it was ahead of it’s time, artistically and the concept is pretty cool.
All this game needed to be perfect was an official map editor
That would have been so sick
There is one indeed, unintentionally bundled with the PC version of the game. You just need to look up a tutorial to know how to use it. There are a ton of custom maps made by the community.
@@mirrorsedgefan i know but it sucks
@@bsherman8236 It may be broken, but people have still created some incredible things with it, and it still fits your description
@@mirrorsedgefan i just meant it's not an "official" feature released for that purpose but thanks anyway, it's way too janky for normies imo
I think this game will always be amazing, still my favorite game of all time
14 years my goodness. This was my first ever PS3 game I owned and earned all the trophies for back in 2011/2012. Takes me back to good times doing those 3 star time trials and pulling my hair out during the process. I had got so addicted to this game that 12/13 year old me would contest for matching the world record times :)
Playing this on release… oh boy, that was such a breath of fresh air. Instantly fell in love with it.
4:50 good to hear that I'm not the only one that has a problem with this pipe. A super villain made this pipe.
Very special game. The first one I ever played for the Xbox 360 during Christmas 2008. The graphic leap from the PS2 was incredible.
If you are playing the reboot after the original game, you can read the comics (prequel to Catalyst) online so you can understand a bit of the story before hand. It can help you.
I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the tip :)
Same for the original game, too. That one is especially interesting to me.
Mirror's Edge is amazing game, and it's similiar to Valve's Portal,
Takes place in a future, playing as Asian girls protagonist (Faith & Chell), Electronic soundtrack, and both ended with a different song with the same name titled "Still Alive". The reason why I say this becaus I have beaten both games, and both are amazing.
Wow you're totally right, never really thought of it like that, those similarities are crazy!
@@Tymptra I really even wanted a crossover between both of the games, which that is a very Impossible dream to come true, but maybe I see that one day
This game have a special place in my heart, the song at the end of the game it's just soo memorable.
Would love to hear you talk about the second game, the changes and improvements!
I replay Mirror's Edge every so often. Gonna play it again tonight, thanks.
I love this game so much, one of my best game experiences. I really like your comments on it too. Good job!!
Thanks for the kind words 😊
I'm not a graphics guy, but the fact that the graphics are like this is really good. Looks very next generation
if i didn't see your subs i would've thought that you're a really famous youtuber. Hats off to the video quality bro, keep it up
Ay thanks :) that means a lot, I will!
Playing this after school and watching the intro from Ghetto Gangz (Banllieu 13) with your school mates over and over again and trying to Wall run in PE class was my childhood for some time 😂😂😂
Yeah, i remember that pipe, that was like “nope, i wont let you climb”)))
I was plaing the first game back in 2009, when it was released on pc.
Yesterday downloaded mirrors edge catalyst to run through the campain in a third time i guess.
That moment when the Catalyst part came out in 2016 - more than 6 years ago. Time runs even faster, than Faith..😅
ikr, I remember when catalyst came out, seems like only 2 years ago...but its 6! Crazy..
Love to see this game still getting discussed so many years later.
Also, has anyone else noticed just how strange it is that two first person games from 2008 had standout songs titled "Still Alive"?
What is the other one?
@@FrattaTV Portal
Portal was released in 2007 though. It’s still a great comparison.
"why are her shots laser accurate", I can easily answer that. It's not that they made that on purpose, they just didn't add features that make the shooting more advanced showing that they really didn't intend to put a lot of effort into shooting mechanics. Generally, there shouldn't be any shooting in that game.
Yeah that's what I was getting at, the combat is just kinda bad, its not intentionally bad as an artistic statement.
It's crazy how good the first ME still looks!
It is abs jaw dropping when cranking it up to 4K or even higher & fix the FOV and antialiasing a bit.
The clever lighting with the Unreal Engine is also amazing. This game some of the best atmosphere i've felt in a game.
I still have the feeling that mirrors edge was just a Graphic Demo for Frostbite 😂😂😂 and they they where like „Yo let’s put combat in it and sell it as Full priced“
F.y.i the first ME was made with unreal engine.
Great video! I'm really looking forward to your Mirror's edge catalyst video. Keep it up !
Thanks for the kind words
the visual and movement in Mirrors Edge is probably my favorite of any game.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I played this at the same time as Portal and it appealed to me for similar reasons. I chose to turn runners vision off so that it became a puzzle game. I also usually don't like fps games because momentum and movement are usually made intentionally stiff and boring, I also suck at them. When this game allowed me to retain full mobility with a handgun it really excited me. The sound design of this game is also thoroughly excellent. Guns are supposed to be sharp pops that create a diminishing echo and return to ambient noise. Few fps games allow this to happen, and also add lots of bass. For me this was one of the most immersive games I ever played.
The improvements in combat is why I love catalyst. It's still a little tedious at times, but they give you multiple tools for using parkour and the environment to quickly dispatch enemies without using guns.
The only real improvement of Catalyst. I disliked they changing the anesthetics of it instead developing it more. And the way they changed a lot of how the open world flow felt made the game weird. For me the worst part are the NPC not having even minimal scripting, they just stay there even after you give them something and also always there, even when not on a mission.
It's still an old favorite of mine, but I really couldn't get myself to work through the open world sequel.
I can only dream of a remaster. This is my favorite game of all times.
Thanks for the video, this game is certainly deserving of much more love and discussion than it gets. I'll be waiting for your opinion on Catalyst. And as of the other games in this genre? sub-genre? field? - you might want to check out Ghostrunner, it's some of the same philosophies of perfecting the runs and very little room for errors, just cranked up into some absurdly frenetic tempo and almost rhythm-game-like precision. Even the setting is similar, one being some futuristic cyberpunk metropolis. Either way, keep of the great work, and thanks for reminding me of this game!
Appreciate your kind words! I have seen Ghostrunner and it looks fun, if I get it I might end up doing a review on it, but who knows when, there's so many games and not enough time to make videos on them all XD
Together with the portal series, this is still my favourite game even years after I last played, visuals, gameplay, feeling, aesthetic, almost everything brings me back great memories, saying that, the cartoon story though not bad at telling it, the visuals are just like you said... weird, even at the time. The combat is literally poo poo, I still remember on my first play through (and subsequent others) my early teen reflexes got stuck on that dark garage/factory for hours and hours because the timings were awful to hit and incredibly inconsistent.
13 years ago, this dude made my absolute favorite gaming video on the internet. The mix of high level mirror's edge with the music is pure art. Look up "Mirror's Edge Speed Run - Heat 6:27:96"
01:34 every time I hear that soundtrack playing in the background there, I get thrown back into 2008 harder than with anything else.
It feels like I'm back there. A weird sadness overcomes me, knowing that time has past. When I was still young without much concern, played on weekends where they felt like they were "so long" and nowadays a weekend is over in a blink.
I remember my father showing me an article or something from this game in a newspaper and we later bought it for the PS3, later I even played it on PC with a friend. I remember everything so vividly.
I think the soundtrack is also really specially. Giving a feeling/vibe of being free, dreamy and some type of melancholy.
I have that "sad nostalgia" feeling but coupled with happy feelings, but it still feels weird, almost uncomfortable a little bit. I am happy though, that I can feel that feeling and remember these times. That I got to enjoy and play this amazing game...
I miss these times...
P.S. Oh god I just read in the video description that it has been 14 years since release... how does time fly so fast! AH
I love how contrast can actually be adjusted in this game. This settings feature feels so underrated personally, it just gives control on the colour which is the one of the main beauties for this game..
Mirror's edge is one of the licence that gets me into videogames, and omg these games are my favorites
Im very happy there are so many reviews and retrospections of Mirrors Edge recently
The sound track and aesthetic evoke a strange sense of nostalgia out of me even though I played it long after it was new. It reminds me of a Ghibli movie in that way
I remember the hype around ME2 being open-world before it was released. but throughout the playthrough of that game, I realized that it's exactly the opposite of what I loved about the first game. you don't often realize it, but in the first game there are different paths that all get funneled into the same direction, making it feel like you're always going in the right direction. this isn't the case with ME2, if you're going the not-intended way, you might be going all the way across the map before realizing that you need to back track a huge amount. this forces you to go to the mindset of "follow the intended path or you will be punished", which is exactly what ME1 was not.
you can also notice the same sort of thing with prop placement, in ME1 every prop has a purpose and all paths are laid out carefully as to not generate frustration with the player and force him to back track (or worse, stop and think). this would be impossible to accomplish with the open world layout of ME2.
ME2 has a lot of other flaws, but these are just the ones I noticed while interacting with the open world sections of the game. it made me realize that just cause I think it's better, doesn't automatically mean it actually is.
there are game similar to the feel which is cyber runners and neon white which i wouldnt be surprised if the devs said this game was one of the inspirations
Yeah came to the comments to say neon white, with the mostly-white-with-some-colour aesthetic it's gotta be so heavily inspired by this
My fav game by that time
I loved this game. I loved everything about this game. The visual style (the whole game only have white, black, blue, green, red and orange colour), the gameplay, the music etc.
Amazing timing on the video, I'm writing an analysis of level design on Mirror's Edge right now for a university assignment, I highly recommend Andrew Yoder's "The Good Sewer Level" videos for a good breakdown :)
I wish I could give you a double heart. This is a really interesting video series (although I think he could condense the videos more). Thanks for the resource, and I hope your assignment goes well! Wish I could have wrote about shit like this in university XD
@@Tymptra haha yes I'm very lucky I got to study games design in college and I'm pursuing it further, interactive mediums are special and this game definitely stands on it's own legs even with the test of time.
@@ytgumby Hopefully I get to review one of your games someday ;) Best of luck.
Great vid my friend. Mirror's Edge will never die. It's still alive.
I got motion sick trying to play this back in the day, looking forward to finally playing it when I get my steam deck.
Imagine this game in VR.
Well done for the vid - it appeared on my front page so you must be on the algorithms good books!
Praising Mirror’s Edge earns my subscription automatically, as is tradition
I just need to hear the first 2 Seconds of Still Alive to become full of happiness and Nostalgia, Played both Mirrors Edge's for multiple Hundred Hours.
I also played this game in 2012, I have a special nostalgia with it. I still listen to that theme song "Still Alive". Just bought it again on steam :). thanks for bringing it back
Thank you for this video. It always makes me happy to create awareness to the first game.
I remember that PIPE! 😂 I failed it so many times feeling completely sure it wasn't acting like the rest.
Although the combat can be frustrating, it feels amazing when you get the hang of it. I recommend that you try mastering the combat with one of the pursuer enemies in the game without taking them down from behind. Once you've mastered the side-jump, crouch punch, slide kick, and drop kick. In the game, you can pretty much successfully martial art any enemy flawlessly.
Both mirror's edge games are on sale on Steam in a bundle for $5. I got both. Played through the first game today. Awesome experience.
im addicted to it i replayed it like 4 times now in the matter of 4 days
I remember I was so excited when I got this for Christmas in 2008. I think I was 15 at the time.
It's tied for my favourite game of all time (the other is JSRF - both movement games with strong visual styles!). The sad truth though (I believe) as time passed waiting for a sequel is that the parkour craze of the early/mid 2000s ended - that's part of why I think Catalyst didn't really work (I also think the open world design was very flawed).
The style of the original game continues to inspire me as a visual artist and musician all these years later. I love it so very dearly. This was a great video - thanks for bringing back good memories!
This game's graphics and aesthetics still amaze me.
I mean, Catalyst was visually stunning and all, but it compared to how the first game felt, in almost every aspect, it doesn't hold a candle.
EDIT: The backstory is explained in a prequel comic, as usual. But even though I read it, I can't remember a thing. Something like Faith's parents were betrayed by a friend or something?
Catalyst has loooots of problems, there are plenty of videos that detail them. In fact, you can't fall of those pipes where you have to keep balance. Once I found out, I felt cheated. The combat system's much better, tho. I'm sure you'll like it; Faith can't use guns, so you'll have to rely on melee attacks. In fact, unlike the original, in Catalyst there were many times when I walked by security cameras so more and more enemies showed up and see how many of them I could deal with.
And 9:23, I spent a whole damn day trying to pass that segment. It was a pain in the butt.
And yes, I'm procrastinating, better go back to work. That code won't write itself.
Were there any balance beams at all in Catalyst? I remember narrow planks but Faith just simply ran over them without any kind of balance impairments nor challenges.
@@buttonasas Either they forgot to implement balance mechanics, or deliberately not included them to create a 'feeling' of danger without any actual danger.
@@DiestroCorleone What I meant is this: there didn't even seem to be any dangerous spots like that.
@@buttonasas Oh, yeah. Not at all.
Mirrors edge is one of those games wich just has a vibe … plus the Graphics are kinda timeless
I've first played it in 2010 and for a long time this was the best game I've played. As you said I still catch myself going back to it from time to time and even Mirrors Edge Catalyst just because it is such a unique experience without any real alternative (which i really don't mind)
Oh, and I still mash elevator buttons with the side of my fist because of this game.
Two of my absolute favourite games are Mirror's Edge and Mirror's Edge: Catalyst. I've played through both many times and beat the first one on the hardest difficulty without killing anyone, which is very challenging but satisfying. The second one goes deeper into the world and character backgrounds, and doesn't let you use weapons. Both games are excellent and, sadly, underrated. Great video.
That era of PS360 was special
Budgets were big even while devs and publishers still had cojones for such experimental games as Mirror's Edge
yes, The Pipe. he made a showing. yes, that one. everyone thinks that Robert Pope is central to the story, but it's really Faith's arch nemesis, Robert Pipe
Mirrors edge had a level of polish that always made me think of it alongside the classic valve games. its a shame the sequel didn't have any of that
You just brought back soo much nostalgia😭 i freaking love this game lol and that (if your procrastinating, get back to work) i needed that lmao
I'm procrastinating rn so you reminding me of my reminder just helped lol
I played it for the first time in 2011, and boy I was addicted to that game, the campaign was short, ok, but I dump something like 40+ hours on it, thing is, when you play in the hardest difficulty is where the game shines, since you won't have runner's vision, I know some parts are linear, but it seems the game become way less linear without the vision, also, the combat becomes challenging, since if you got hit twice you are out, it could indeed be more smooth, I agree, the transition from enemy to enemy is quite tricky, and don't get me wrong, I love the minimalist combat, those combo buttons and stuff like that are terrible, I really like the idea that you could do the combos yourself, but it doesn't have any smooth transition, like using the parkour movement like you said.
I've been on a streak lately where I just encounter channels suggested through my home page (Using the algorithm to work for me) of video essayists. Some of them have garbage takes and cover nothing of tangible value. Or stuff like "Mirror's Edge was aight but why are we running and not shooting?".
This guy, though? Man spits facts. Absolutely amazing. The OG Mirror's Edge is a game I come back to every couple of years just for the thrill and to remind myself I still got it. Subscribed, and I look forward to your thoughts on Catalyst my man.
Glad to hear the algo blessed (?) you! Planning on making a catalyst video sometime in the future :)
I played this game this year for the first time and damn I was amazed. This game is almost 15 years old and it still looks simply beautiful! Basically everything about this game holds up in 2022, other than combat, which, as you mentioned, really sucks...
There is a very simple game called Celaria that is basically Trackmania, but parkour: the point is to go from point A to point B as fast as possible and you can make you own maps and play on other custom maps
Looks interesting!
Mirrors edge is up there in my top games of all time. I do wish that it would’ve been given a proper sequel instead of the reboot sequel prequel thing that is catalyst but you take what you can get. I also think that more small scale city exploring levels would’ve done some parts of the game really good, but too much openness can also ruin the creative flow. Really tough balancing act
The algorithm has blessed you. Thank you for the Mirror's Edge and Banlieu 13 nostalgia.
Glad you enjoy it! Never heard of this movie before this video - must be a french thing?
@@Tymptra It was, yes. District 13 and Ultimatum. Lots of parkour, written and produced by Luc Besson and starring David Belle. If you do watch it, don't bother with the remake, lol.
I will always cherish this game and have a hope for a new one in the future.
I love this game!!
I remember picking this game up on a Steam sale in the Spring of 2009. It was so refreshing to play it has become one of my favorite games ever since I have replayed it so many times I have 130 hours in it according to Steam. I have also played this game in VR which was awesome it was actually the first game I ever beat in VR I don't get motion sickness so it wasn't hard it was a dream to play in VR and feeling like I was almost in that world. There is just something magical about this game from the soundtrack to the art direction and the free flowing parkour. Also if you are interested in the art aesthetic of the game there's a name for it it's called Frutiger Aero there's a good video on TH-cam explaining it.
“Still alive” is still my favorite song across all the years! Dammit so many memories OMG
"The feds don't want to do know this, and about the giant mutant rats, but uhh... there's a side dodge, you can stun enemies with a low blow... Slide kick has a follow up. It can duck under enemy melees. Jump kick has a faster recovery. Alakazam, the game is deeper. And for my next trick: The wallrun kick... exists. Like the free stealth disarm if you hit the counter button immediately after" - Whitelight
That video was so on point! Watched it yesterday, and totally agree. The game does a shitty job at communicating how a lot of things work. Most of this stuff I knew, but I genuinely didn't think the wallrun kick was a thing until someone else in the comments corrected me. The game never gave me a chance to really try that for myself due to enemy placement and how fragile Faith is.
Some notes on how to improve audio quality - if you choose to use it
Run a declicker on the audio to remove the sounds of lip smacks
tame the low end with and EQ
Thanks, I do use an EQ and run a declicker if I notice mouth noises. I thought this was fine, but I'll keep in mind that you noticed things here for future videos maybe I need to test on different types of speakers.
Never actually bought the game but I used to play the demo. Super fun and amazing how good it still looks. I wonder if they'll make a new one. P.s. this video idea really paid off 👏
Yeah it really did 😂
I always said to myself that I wish I could live in a city that looks like that. Calming and futuristic but not too futuristic.
The song Lisa Miskovsky "Still Alive" (Mirror's Edge theme) will forever be imprinted in my mind.
to expand on the point you made about the game feeling linear and not branching out from the path, i also feel like having it that way made it possible for them to really flesh out the intended path in a way that probably wouldnt have been possible had there been more exploration options just because of the extra time it would take.
This is one of my favorite games ever. A fantastic game with fantastic visuals and excelent gameplay.
dude you are really funny and your videos are such high quality, how do you not have more subs?
Appreciate the complements. If I had to take a guess it is because I talk about a shitload of random games with usually no interconnection. So I can't really capture audiences from a specific genre. I am willing to accept this debuff though, I don't want to be shoehorned into any one game or genre - I love trying all types of games.
Another thing I need to work on is consistency. I think this is probably my best video - and while I have made some good ones in the past - I've definitely made ones on less interesting topics, or wrote less engaging scripts. But I am confident that I'll keep improving in the future (this video has given me lots of feedback and data about what works).
No matter how many years it takes to play this game over again is still a masterpiece for me, oh and that ost of mirrors edge "still alive".. damn!
It really sucks that this game lacks a good story, the thing keeping me playing was just how "free" I felt playing the game, the gameplay is top tier. I just with I could've immersed myself in the sotry more, to have a reason to keep running. It would push the game to another level
Yeah, i remember this game released and it was something new, parkour was known via Prince of Persia, but there is 1st person style and also graphics is great. It was very bright and light.
i just started replaying mirror's edge, and I love it, its so much better than catalyst, and i love the fact that the more (for the lack of a better word) intense the story gets the more color there is. also its kind of scary how much the city parodies modern day. (and that it was made by EA of all people)
There's also Stride VR, which I see as an awesome reimagination of Mirror's Edge in VR
Yeah someone else mentioned it, I might check it out!