EA posted pair of gameplay videos, along with some new gameplay details, for Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, the “reboot” of the wildly popular Mirror’s Edge. The pair of videos focus specifically on movement and combat in the new game.
The free-running displayed in the movement video is certainly familiar to Mirror’s Edge fans, but, as explained on the website, Faith has some new free-running moves in the game this time around. “Shift” provides a short burst of acceleration in any direction, while “Quickturn” provides a rapid 180 or 90 degree turn in case of a “quick change of plan.”
In addition to these momentum specific moves, the website also provides details about “zipping down wire lines” and using pipes to traverse walls both vertically and horizontally on any wall – again, details which are familiar to players of the previous game, but are nice touches to explain to new fans of the title.
Faith also has some fancy new gadgets this time around. The Mag Rope allows Faith to latch onto specific points in the world which provides “unique traversal and interaction opportunities.” The Disruptor is a device in Faith’s glove which disrupts and destroys KrugerSec and AI systems, giving us a bit more information on the kinds of enemies and obstacles we’ll be encountering in the game.
The second video focuses on combat – a definite change based on the previous title. While combat was easily avoidable and far from the focus of Mirror’s Edge, Catalyst seems to have intensified its role quite a bit, and will be saturating Faith with opponent numbers that she can’t easily avoid. The combat still seems to be melee-based, however, which was a key component of the original, in order to keep it from being just another FPS.
According to the website, players will be able to “string together Faith’s attacks” and “combine light and heavy punches.” The environment can be used to build up “Focus” – when Faith has Focus, enemies can’t hit her, and any loss of Focus makes enemy attacks a greater threat to the player’s health. Faith apparently has a new ability called “Flow,” a state of awareness gained upon complete Focus that allows her to attack in “new and more powerful ways.”
The game looks incredibly promising, and has been eagerly awaited by fans ever since its debut at E3 2015. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is currently slated for a May 24 release date on the PS4, Xbox One, and for PC.