I'd make a funny review but this game honestly means so much to me. The main game is about 2-3 hours long, but endlessly replayable, with your skill and knowledge of each level increasing every playthrough. The atmosphere, music and environment are all incredible and the parkour generally is very smooth and satisfying, if unforgiving and sometimes inconsistent. The weakest aspect of the game is easily the combat system, which can be inconsistent and frustrating without resorting to just stealing guns off enemies instead of fighting them in hand to hand combat. The story is simple and serviceable, if a little lacking and underwhelming at times, but the characters, particularly Faith and Merc are very compelling, even if they have little to no development or any real information about them.
The level design is generally very well considered and it flows well, but on a first playthrough the levels can be confusing at times, especially when you have to move quickly, but playing the levels over often lets you find shortcuts and gain familiarity with each level, letting you move through them faster and more efficiently each time. I know each level well enough now to not need the runner's vision at all and its very enjoyable to just move through the world on instinct, as Faith likely would. I do wish Faith got to interact with more people in this game, and maybe move through a wider variety of locations, or do things like pushing through or slipping into a crowd, but It's not a huge problem as the game would probably have constraints that would make that difficult.
The characters are pretty simple, though they could be expanded on the game doesn't take many steps to give any of them much depth, likely due to the length of the game and the focus on the gameplay rather than the story. I really wish the relationships Faith has with the other characters, particularly Kate and Celeste were more nuanced and developed. I do appreciate the world building in the game, especially the news in the elevators and in news alerts around the city. Though I really wish the world was a little more dystopian feeling with many more advertisements and security cameras and so on around the city, the city does, for the most part, feel real and believable due to the contemporary time period the game is set in.
The music for this game is arguably one of its best elements, giving you a pulsing, rushing adrenaline-fuelling drive that helps [ush you through fast paced sections, slowing into a more pensive ambiance in the slower sections of the game where you need to consider your path more carefully. The music is energetic and intense, and the ending credits song 'Still Alive' is a really compelling ending to the game. The cutscenes are generally alright, though I'm not a huge fan of the animation style I think it works well enough for the game's vibe and aesthetic.
I think the story is generally fine, but a lot of the aspects of it feel kind of underwhelming, particularly project Icarus, which I fell like could have been more impactful than just training cops to be able to keep up with and catch runners, I feel like project Icarus could have been something more intense, and not something that is stopped in this game, but maybe in a sequel (that we will never get :< ) as the game's story clearly has set up to some kind of sequel.
The gameplay and parkour itself is very smooth and enjoyable, with the flowstate of moving through a level being very satisfying, the parkour itself is very responsive and intuitive, although inconsistent, as there are plenty of jumps Faith survives that are much higher up than any jumps she sometimes fails if its an area you aren't supposed to go to, it can be a little frustrating. But the core gameplay is very rewarding, and highly replayable, giving the game longevity.
Overall Mirror's Edge is an excellent 7/10 game, easily my favourite game of all time with its atmosphere and replayability, but its flaws are not unnoticeable and might have been improved on if the game had gotten a direct sequel. I highly recommend this game!!!
mmmm edge...
