The beautiful world of Mirror's Edge. (Warning: Image Heavy)

I am absolutely with you, OP. ME is my all time favourite series.
Plus, the Soundtrack is pure magic and makes me feel nostalgic.

I am still upset that we can't purchase this PS4 theme:

My favourite game of last gen. Just so goddamn wonderful is so many ways. I hope we get a sequel to it someday.

Mirror's Edge is definitely one of those games that earns my respect even if I have mixed feelings about it. It's goddamn gorgeous. I plan to play ME Catalyst one of these days (when it's on sale again and I got time), even though I'd expect to be disappointed.

Screenshots and game are so really pretty.

Absolutely, both Mirror's Edge games have such an unique style. Their vision of this pristine, stark future is something no piece of media have accurately represented, it's always something of a visual treat to run around and just take in the enviroment.

One of the coolest games of all time.

I replay Mirror's Edge 1 maybe once a year cause I just like the look and atmosphere of the game so much.
Love that game, even though it is terribly flawed

The Frostbite engine really helped making Mirror's Edge Catalyst's Glass city shine. Great (outdoor) lighting. But I personally found the art style a down grade compared to the original. Way too sterile.

The original Mirror's Edge looked like a high definition Dreamcast game. And I mean that in the most positive way possible. Absolutely wonderful aesthetic.

It's insane how much the overworld missed the mark in Catalyst. More ME1 next time, please.

Enjoyed the first game and loved Catalyst and would like to hold out some small hope that we see Faith again, and in another attempt at open world courier action done right.

Catalyst is also my pick for a game that got middling critical reception, but that I enjoyed to death. Its undercooked, but still worth it for first person parkour goodness.

Such an amazing artstyle,truly amazing. I remember that 'WOW' moment I had when I first saw the teaser for the first one,truly felt like a new generation of games was here.

Beautiful screenshots OP. I also adore the world of these games and have a ton of captures I took over my playthroughs. If I was a billionaire, I would pay to take over the IP and pour Rockstar level money into a new one.

The series is such a breath of fresh air. The aesthetic choices are so on-point, and I love just looking at the environments sometimes. Between that and the pretty great and refreshing gameplay I really hope we haven't seen the last of Mirror's Edge.

Arguably the best original art style from last generation. I'm definitely in the camp that enjoyed catalyst despite itself but I wish to death that EA hadn't (a) felt pressured to take the game open world and (b) fumbled the execution of said open world.

Still, it's worth a thread every year or so celebrating its wonderful art. Do we have a sense of a person who's chiefly responsible for it and what they've gone on to do

This thread needs some Xbox One X screenshots, and some PC PhysX gifs.

I love the really clean and almost sterile aesthetic of the Mirror's Edge games. Makes a refreshing change from the grimy cluttered environments usually held up as being the most graphically impressive. That's not to say they aren't, but they often lack a distinctive style and variety is always a plus.

Truly one of the best art styles out there. I also remember it being one of the first PhysX implementations under nVidia, and it had some really cool effects from that as well. It's a shame Catalyst missed the mark, but it's still damn gorgeous.

Such a beautiful setting that Catalyst couldn't even replicate although it got close. I think the issue with Catalyst was that it took place entirely on rooftops? I never beat it so I can't say for sure but I remember nothing but rooftops and office interiors. The first Mirror's Edge had more variety in the levels and it was shorter than Catalyst!

Also this makes me want to replay ME. I disliked how short it was originally, but I love that I can replay the entire thing in a couple hours now from time to time.

They really fucked up not making the cutscenes in-engine.

We need Mirror's Edge 3 for that artstyle alone, I don't even give a fuck about gameplay anymore as long as they don't completely ruin it which they won't.

The original Mirror's Edge was amazing. I enjoyed Catalyst, but it just did not have the same feeling. I would love to live in a future color city like this.

I'll never forget that feeling of just gliding gracefully over those pristine rooftops knowing that it only looks and feels that good because of your control input. It's the opposite of a game like Uncharted, that looks beautiful in motion but feels on rails during those moments. Also, for some reason it reminded me of Perfect Dark's opening level but during the day.

The original Mirror's Edge is brilliant, and possibly my most played game last gen. I played that game at least once a day for years, trying to beat my own Speedrun times. Good times.

Shortiloe said:

I am absolutely with you, OP. ME is my all time favourite series.
Plus, the Soundtrack is pure magic and makes me feel nostalgic.

I am still upset that we can't purchase this PS4 theme:

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I need this theme

You know I think Solar Fields deserve some credits as well. The world(s) of the Mirror's Edge games wouldn't be the same without the melodic ambient music.

Sinfamy said:

They really fucked up not making the cutscenes in-engine.

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They were in-engine, or at least they were rendered in-engine then exported and played as movies for the actual game. For development builds though we would just have the cutscene play completely in-engine. Did you encounter compression artifacts with the cutscenes?

Amazing, this thread will end up convincing me to reinstall it!

Some old Catalyst shots:

The most visually striking Mirror's edge levels were designed by Robert Briscoe. He's the same guy that designed the stunning environments of Dear Esther. His work is absolutely top notch:




There's more of his work on Mirror's Edge and Dear Ester here:https://robert-briscoe-th6h.squarespace.com/mirrors-edge-b/ incredible stuff.

I would pay big money and yank my kiddo out of her primary school to go live there.

The apartments in the VIEW area (I think it was called) are awe inspiring.

This and Alien Isolation are wonderful examples of coherent aesthetics and world design IMHO.

ME being quite beautiful in it's minimalist glory.

SeanBoocock said:

They were in-engine, or at least they were rendered in-engine then exported and played as movies for the actual game. For development builds though we would just have the cutscene play completely in-engine. Did you encounter compression artifacts with the cutscenes?

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Oh I was referring about the ones in this style:

Shortiloe said:

I am absolutely with you, OP. ME is my all time favourite series.
Plus, the Soundtrack is pure magic and makes me feel nostalgic.

I am still upset that we can't purchase this PS4 theme:

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Yeah I want that theme.

Shortiloe said:

I am absolutely with you, OP. ME is my all time favourite series.
Plus, the Soundtrack is pure magic and makes me feel nostalgic.

I am still upset that we can't purchase this PS4 theme:

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Dang, was this a preorder bonus?? Want.

Loved ME1. Gave up on Catalyst after a few hours of running through the same areas though. I'll go back and finish it some day.

Looks amazing, hope the people involved get other jobs to push design like that.

Holy shit those environments look gorgeous.

I've never touched this series but this convinced me to buy ME1 when I get the chance.

One of my fav game of last gen.

Acquiescence said:

My favourite game of last gen. Just so goddamn wonderful is so many ways. I hope we get a sequel to it someday.

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Can't tell if this is a joke, or not. There is a sequel, granted a flawed one.

I love the aesthetics, I don't think any game has this kind of style.

BTW, is Catalyst worth the purchase? I'm a huge fan of the first, but initial impressions deflated my hype. Worth it for the story levels at least?

Shortiloe said:

I am absolutely with you, OP. ME is my all time favourite series.
Plus, the Soundtrack is pure magic and makes me feel nostalgic.

I am still upset that we can't purchase this PS4 theme:

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Man, I want this. it'd replace my Life Is Strange theme.

Absolutely adore every single thing about this series. It just oozes excellent gameplay, art, and sound design that makes me wish DICE could have just one more shot without any EA meddling to get the plot and characters perfect.

I adore both opening themes (+ Solar Fields!), and it's a shame they didn't push Warning Call as hard as they did Still Alive. It got me on to CHVRCHES and is honestly one of their most underrated tracks.

Juan29.Zapata said:

BTW, is Catalyst worth the purchase? I'm a huge fan of the first, but initial impressions deflated my hype. Worth it for the story levels at least?

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I'd say so. It's no ME1, but it's as gorgeous as ever and the large majority of the story missions are linear and tight with great level design. The story is slightly more memorable and the open world really isn't that terrible, besides being kind of difficult to maneuver through sometimes. I'm a crazy guy who bought it at launch and I don't really regret it, so the $5 it frequently drops to is a steal imo.

Aaronsteel said:

Absolutely adore every single thing about this series. It just oozes excellent gameplay, art, and sound design that makes me wish DICE could have just one more shot without any EA meddling to get the plot and characters perfect.

I adore both opening themes (+ Solar Fields!), and it's a shame they didn't push Warning Call as hard as they did Still Alive. It got me on to CHVRCHES and is honestly one of their most underrated tracks.


I'd say so. It's no ME1, but it's as gorgeous as ever and the large majority of the story missions are linear and tight with great level design. The story is slightly more memorable and the open world really isn't that terrible, besides being kind of difficult to maneuver through sometimes. I'm a crazy guy who bought it at launch and I don't really regret it, so the $5 it frequently drops to is a steal imo.

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Came to ask this myself, so thanks for sharing your opinion.

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Mirrors Edge is a game that will hold up for a long ass time because of its art style.

And I'll defend Catalyst all day but one thing thats unequivocal, its that it absolutely nailed the style and made it feel like Mirrors Edge. Like if you liked Mirrors Edge 1's art, Catalyst is definitely worth getting for that aspect alone.

Would enjoy the world even more if they didn't shoehorn the crappy combat into the games and focused entirely on the platforming.

A shame we'll never get a X/Pro Patch for Catalyst.

I think it was a best friends play or from a Lp channel that no longer exists but they pointed out the funny irony in mirrors edge taking place in a authoritarian world yet the architecture is is an artist's dreamworld, so creative.

It's one of my most favourite games with a fantastic world.
I was trying it in 4k and it still looks gorgeous.
The simplicity of the graphics make it almost as timeless as a 2D game.
My desktop wallpaper is an animated shot from the first level of the game.

Mg. said:

The original Mirror's Edge looked like a high definition Dreamcast game. And I mean that in the most positive way possible. Absolutely wonderful aesthetic.

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I've always believed that they got inspired by 2000 aestethics, but in the future. You can see it in that white clean world, and the music.
Your Dreamcast comparison is actually quite perfect.

NullPointer said:

Some old Catalyst shots:

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While there's no doubt that catalyst is a beautiful game, I personally think that its environments are just a hair too far removed from reality and too futuristic to evoke that dreaminess brought by the real but not quite, ethereal look of the original.

We need ME3 with ray-tracing.

Menitta said:

Mirrors Edge is a game that will hold up for a long ass time because of its art style.

And I'll defend Catalyst all day but one thing thats unequivocal, its that it absolutely nailed the style and made it feel like Mirrors Edge. Like if you liked Mirrors Edge 1's art, Catalyst is definitely worth getting for that aspect alone.

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Half disagree with this. The first district of Catalyst is very similar to the original, in terms style and aesthetics. But the later districts deviate pretty heavily from the orginal's visual identity. Everything becomes incredibly shiny and minimalistic. It's not ugly. Far from it, it's goddamn gorgeous. But in my opinion it certainly lacks the Japanese urban influence and charm that's very apparent in the first Mirror's Edge.

foxuzamaki said:

I think it was a best friends play or from a Lp channel that no longer exists but they pointed out the funny irony in mirrors edge taking place in a authoritarian world yet the architecture is is an artist's dreamworld, so creative.

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Interesting. To me it always seemed like the opposite. In Mirror's Edge it felt as if design (both urban, architectural, interior and art) is dictated and controlled by the government, rather than by the free will and imagination of the artist. There's a very noticeable consistency between the different environments in the game.

Which, in the end, even strengthens the authoritarian aspect of the city. A place where the government even regulates and controls art and design. Very fitting.