Since its initial announcement in June last year, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst has had fans of EA DICE’s 2008 minimalist action platformer Mirror’s Edge clamoring for more news. That news came today in the form of signups for Catalyst’s upcoming closed beta, as well as a trailer that teases some of Catalyst’s story mode.
Those interested in signing up for the beta can do so here. Please note that you will need an EA account to do so, and that the game will run on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Origin, which is EA’s digital distribution platform for PC. No date for the beta’s launch has been announced.
As the trailer below demonstrates, Catalyst promises to expand on Mirror’s Edge’s storyline in addition to enhancing its parkour combat.
Catalyst will feature a variety of improvements upon the original game. Most notably, EA DICE has stated that Catalyst will not have any loading screens, and that the game will favor a free-roaming open world environment as opposed to the first game’s level-based progression. Combined with other changes, such as improved mobility and melee attacks that flow seamlessly from Faith’s movement (she will not be able to use guns, unlike the first game), Catalyst seeks to provide players with multiple routes for completing the game’s objectives.
Time trials, races, and environmental puzzles will also be found in the game world. Multiplayer features and leaderboards will also be integrated into the game, but will take on a different form than traditional cooperative modes. EA DICE’s General manager, Patrick Bach, stated last June that multiplayer in Catalyst will be “asynchronous.” This means that while your individual game instances will be separate from one another, actions you take in your game world can affect the environment in your friend’s world. The example Bach gave involved one player hacking a corporate billboard: the hacked billboard can show up in another player’s game, and they can do the same in return to leave their “stamp” on your individual world.
Though Catalyst once again stars the courier (or ‘Runner’) Faith Connors, it is intended to be a reboot of the original Mirror’s Edge. Catalyst will delve more into Faith’s backstory as she runs, jumps, and kicks her way around the city of Glass to overthrow its oppressors: a totalitarian corporate conglomerate that controls its citizens through clandestine information networks, of which Faith is a part.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is slated to release on May 24, 2016 for North American regions, and May 26, 2016 for European regions.