Positives:
- Retains a lot of the fast-paced adrenaline that made the first game so compelling.
- Movement feels just as fluid here (if not even better).
- Plenty of content for those that were looking forward to "more" out of the first game.
- Glass is a wonderfully designed City that feels really enticing to the eye.
- Overall graphical design is brilliant stuff.
- As a "reboot," the story works even despite not being the main focus of the game.
- Addition of user-generated content adds even more replayability.
Negatives:
- Combat is incredibly clunky, even after buying upgrades to help "improve" it.
- I'm sorry; "Mirror's Edge" COULD work as an open-world game, but this game's open-world was bland.
- Surprisingly buggy, even when played on an Xbox Series X (it crashed on me more than a few times).
Consensus: Does "Mirror's Edge Catalyst" live up to the cult-classic original's high standard? Nah, not really. There are a lot more frustrations here that make the first one a lot more attractive in hindsight. Hell, even some of the perceived "improvements" of the new game - particularly the open world - only make me appreciate the self-contained, linear and almost truncated feel of the original a lot more. That game felt so sure of itself, whereas "Mirror's Edge Catalyst" feels at times like it's chasing what was popular at the time of release. Nevertheless, there's still plenty of fun to be had with "Catalyst," and it still provides an incredible adrenaline burst during its duration. You'll still be floored by the stunning visuals and you'll definitely receive that sense of satisfaction when pulling off a perfect run. It may not have you saying "wow" as much as the first game did, but all in all, it's a fun enough game on its own.
Final rating: 7 out of 10 "Good"