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.
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.”
@@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
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
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.
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 :)
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 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
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 :)
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 😂😂😂
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.
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
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..
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
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.
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
"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.
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.
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“
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"
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
Loved this game when it came out. Playing it on ps3 back in the day. Remember my Dad bought it off of ebay. Still a very crisp and clear memory of him getting it. Played this nonstop. Hope another Mirrors edge comes out. Would love to play this again.
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.
@@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.
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'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.
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.
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...
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.
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)
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.
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 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.
I was 8 years old when Mirror's Edge came out and according to my Dad and Grandma, after around 2 hours of playing it, I blacked out and literally went insane for about half an hour, jumping around the house, shouting and beating stuff up uncontrollably, to the point where my dad had to physically lay on top of me to get me to stop. It was as if someone gave me a thousand of the old blue Smarties. I was banned from playing it after that because everyone was genuinely concerned it was giving me seizures or something. I'm not epileptic at all as far as I know so it was completely unexplained, and has since become "That time Mirror's Edge made me freak out". I finally re-bought the game and completed it when I was like 14 and I was completely fine. Its now one of my all-time faves xD
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
I sometimes feel like I'm one of the few that actually likes how the combat was implemented, yes it breaks the parkour flow, but if you're like me and don't mind taking it slow for a couple of minutes to clear the room of enemies it's pretty straight forward to keep the cycle of stealing a gun, killing two or three cops, stealing another gun and repeating the process. BTW I find it so weird when adult people talk about playing this game while growing up, to me it still feels like something recently released, realizing that 2008 was a long time ago is scary.
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
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
05:09 you can jump to it but you have to jump to it as in you need to have your arm reach out and actually jump to it unlike the most other pipes where it gets your intent. it's amazing that this pipe shows people how much the game usually supports the player
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.
People seem to forget how heavy this game was to run back then, especially with PhysX features. I had a HD3850 and it ran like complete crap. This, combined with great lighting and aesthetics make it age gracefully. I replayed it a few years back and it looks stunning, even if the textures aged a bit.
Funnily enough there seems to be some bug or something on AMD cards so even today if I have the physx on it slows my game to a crawl whenever glass breaks. That almost made it in the review.
@@Tymptra PhysX only uses GPU on NVIDIA cards, AMD did the simulation on CPU, which was really slow, but with today's CPUs it shouldn't work that bad...
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)
theres a vr game called stride thats... "inspired" by mirrors edge and its great. never got around to playing mirrors edge itself, despite owning both lol
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 never played this game, but for some reason it popped in my head and I decided to look it up. I'm seriously impressed with how well the graphics held up. This easily could have been a game released in the mid 2010s. The only thing that gives it away is some of the textures (on close inspection) are lower quality compared to what you'd find today (some of the scaffolding grates and the green carpet for example). But a HD texture pack is probably all you would need to remaster it it seems. Maybe up the poly count and details on the hands, but I'm nitpicking.
I just played it earlier this month for the first time and it feels like a new game. It was aesthetically ahead, very innovative controls and interesting mechanics. It's a shame that falls a bit short.
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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.
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.”
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
When I was a kid this game was a beautiful escape a breathtaking dream. Sweet nostalgia...
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
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.
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 :]
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 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
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
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 😢
👽🛸
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 :)
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.
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.
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
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.
the visual and movement in Mirrors Edge is probably my favorite of any game.
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.
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.
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 replay Mirror's Edge every so often. Gonna play it again tonight, thanks.
Praising Mirror’s Edge earns my subscription automatically, as is tradition
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 😂😂😂
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.
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!
I'm not a graphics guy, but the fact that the graphics are like this is really good. Looks very next generation
Very special game. The first one I ever played for the Xbox 360 during Christmas 2008. The graphic leap from the PS2 was incredible.
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
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
Great video! I'm really looking forward to your Mirror's edge catalyst video. Keep it up !
Thanks for the kind words
Mirror's edge is one of the licence that gets me into videogames, and omg these games are my favorites
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..
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
It's still an old favorite of mine, but I really couldn't get myself to work through the open world sequel.
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.
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
im addicted to it i replayed it like 4 times now in the matter of 4 days
"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.
I can only dream of a remaster. This is my favorite game of all times.
Great vid my friend. Mirror's Edge will never die. It's still alive.
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.
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.
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"
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
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
Im very happy there are so many reviews and retrospections of Mirrors Edge recently
Loved this game when it came out. Playing it on ps3 back in the day. Remember my Dad bought it off of ebay. Still a very crisp and clear memory of him getting it. Played this nonstop. Hope another Mirrors edge comes out. Would love to play this again.
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.
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 always said to myself that I wish I could live in a city that looks like that. Calming and futuristic but not too futuristic.
Thank you for this video. It always makes me happy to create awareness to the first game.
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.
How does this video only have 400 views?
This is some good shit.
I remember that PIPE! 😂 I failed it so many times feeling completely sure it wasn't acting like the rest.
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 got motion sick trying to play this back in the day, looking forward to finally playing it when I get my steam deck.
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.
The song Lisa Miskovsky "Still Alive" (Mirror's Edge theme) will forever be imprinted in my mind.
I think this game will always be amazing, still my favorite game of all time
Oh, and I still mash elevator buttons with the side of my fist because of this game.
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!
The ending really called me out right there lmao
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...
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 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.
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)
I feel like 2007-2010 were bad years for people with actual investments and assets but, for us 90s kids, it felt like an absolute golden age.
Mirror's Edge is such a fucking good game. It looks so good and plays so nice.
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.
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.
I will always cherish this game and have a hope for a new one in the future.
I haven't played this game since it came out but I remember that pipe
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.
Such a fantastic game. For a while I held the 3rd fastest time on the first time trial level, until cheaters started popping-up...
The reason why they have you ride so many elevaters is so you can read the news updates so you can learn about the story more.
I was 8 years old when Mirror's Edge came out and according to my Dad and Grandma, after around 2 hours of playing it, I blacked out and literally went insane for about half an hour, jumping around the house, shouting and beating stuff up uncontrollably, to the point where my dad had to physically lay on top of me to get me to stop. It was as if someone gave me a thousand of the old blue Smarties. I was banned from playing it after that because everyone was genuinely concerned it was giving me seizures or something. I'm not epileptic at all as far as I know so it was completely unexplained, and has since become "That time Mirror's Edge made me freak out".
I finally re-bought the game and completed it when I was like 14 and I was completely fine. Its now one of my all-time faves xD
Man i wish a new mirror's edge game would come out.
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
insane content quality for a small channel,keep it up
Thanks buddy :)
I sometimes feel like I'm one of the few that actually likes how the combat was implemented, yes it breaks the parkour flow, but if you're like me and don't mind taking it slow for a couple of minutes to clear the room of enemies it's pretty straight forward to keep the cycle of stealing a gun, killing two or three cops, stealing another gun and repeating the process.
BTW I find it so weird when adult people talk about playing this game while growing up, to me it still feels like something recently released, realizing that 2008 was a long time ago is scary.
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
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
05:09 you can jump to it but you have to jump to it as in you need to have your arm reach out and actually jump to it unlike the most other pipes where it gets your intent. it's amazing that this pipe shows people how much the game usually supports the player
Nope, I tried that as well (not shown in video) and it still didn't work unless I was very high up and did the jump.
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.
Wow this game brings back memories one of my fav ever
I think what stings most is that Mirror's Edge was intended to be a trilogy, an actual second and then third game would've been awesome.
People seem to forget how heavy this game was to run back then, especially with PhysX features. I had a HD3850 and it ran like complete crap. This, combined with great lighting and aesthetics make it age gracefully. I replayed it a few years back and it looks stunning, even if the textures aged a bit.
Funnily enough there seems to be some bug or something on AMD cards so even today if I have the physx on it slows my game to a crawl whenever glass breaks. That almost made it in the review.
@@Tymptra PhysX only uses GPU on NVIDIA cards, AMD did the simulation on CPU, which was really slow, but with today's CPUs it shouldn't work that bad...
@@tomclanys I have a pretty old cpu lol
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)
My fav game by that time
This is one of my favorite games ever. A fantastic game with fantastic visuals and excelent gameplay.
theres a vr game called stride thats... "inspired" by mirrors edge and its great. never got around to playing mirrors edge itself, despite owning both lol
Looks interesting, might check it out if it goes on sale.
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.
Before this game all dice were known for were the battlefield games, so that might also explain why they felt the need to include the gunfights
“If your procrastinating get back to work” I feel attacked 😭
I never played this game, but for some reason it popped in my head and I decided to look it up. I'm seriously impressed with how well the graphics held up. This easily could have been a game released in the mid 2010s. The only thing that gives it away is some of the textures (on close inspection) are lower quality compared to what you'd find today (some of the scaffolding grates and the green carpet for example). But a HD texture pack is probably all you would need to remaster it it seems. Maybe up the poly count and details on the hands, but I'm nitpicking.
I just played it earlier this month for the first time and it feels like a new game. It was aesthetically ahead, very innovative controls and interesting mechanics. It's a shame that falls a bit short.
wait, I thought I was watching someone with 500k- a million subs, pretty professional. I wish you the best mate :D
I've learned from the best - hopefully I get there :) thanks bud!
@@Tymptra you deserve the best! keep it up, I'll be here for the ride haha! 😄