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[SPOILERS] Story thoughts?


PooPooBlast

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Hello everyone. 

 

So after spending about 1 year waiting to get a ps4, I finally got to play this game after playing the original back in January 2016ish.

 

So the story... It is definitely better than the original and the climax build-up was spot on imo but it faltered in the much to be desired ending. I felt that the ending  felt quite rushed because of how many loose ends were left!

 

1) What happens to black November afterwards and rebbeca Thane? What's their next move.  Weren't they starting an uprising and once faith destroyed Reflection, that was it for them? I'm sure not

 

2) Icarus, Nomad, Birdman all felt wayyy too underdeveloped with only a couple of small encounters, especially birdman being a former runner and now old. Idk something didn't feel right about their character development.

 

3) Dogen.. Aren't you in debt with this dude and when the game progressed you owed him even more but instead he gives your mother's painting??? What happened to being in debt??

 

4) I know this is a cliffhanger done on purpose in case of a sequel( I'm probably dreaming), but wtf happened Kruger? Is he dead, alive, hiding? It kind of makes sense with isabel/ Kate being the leader now perhaps for a future conflict?

 

5) So once Reflection was destroyed, shouldn't black November continue the uprising and overthrow the conglomerate? Wasn't that their plan especially after Dogen saying that destroying Reflection will weaken them and that's only the first step but then all of a sudden they said at the ending cutscene, " all uprising stopped" and everyone returned to their normal lives..  NEWS FLASH KRUGER is still in charge and couldn't they just hatch another plan? They're still in power after all like wth?

 

Overall besides the story I really enjoyed the game and I'm planning to plat it. Imo I liked the original a tad bit more despite the orignal's story being weaker or nonexistent but the original's atmosphere and music spoke for itself. It didn't need storytelling. Don't get me wrong the music in Catalyst was good but nothing stood out IMO too much like in the original. The level design in Catalyst were actually decent and felt unique just like the original. The original may have felt better only because of its linear design in mind so they had to make sure each area was worthwhile in which it was.

 

Overall I'm somewhat disappointed in Catalyst but it's by no means a bad game at all. No no. It's definitely good and a worthy successor despite falling just a little short in my opinion. Oh well, theres still the original to enjoy! Phew that was a mouthful!

Edited by poopooblast
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IKR the story couldve been so much more!!!! for example Kate. How did she, daughter of the most powerful man in the city, became a casual police officer? And yes so many questions about black november, dogen and the runners. And lets not forget Faiths best friend. What happened to him??
The Open world feels amazing, though unfinished. There shouldve been more side quests with other characters and not just delivery missions....

ME C does feel better than the 1st one but it couldve been so much more.... 

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4 hours ago, BlueBerry_1337 said:

IKR the story couldve been so much more!!!! for example Kate. How did she, daughter of the most powerful man in the city, became a casual police officer? And yes so many questions about black november, dogen and the runners. And lets not forget Faiths best friend. What happened to him??
The Open world feels amazing, though unfinished. There shouldve been more side quests with other characters and not just delivery missions....

ME C does feel better than the 1st one but it couldve been so much more.... 

Kate? I think you're confusing the two games. MEC isn't a prequel and neither a sequel but a reboot meaning the characters existed remain the same but their story or appearance may change. They're both their own games with different stories.

 

However I agree that there could be been more side missions and not just repeating delivery missions. I'm still glad though they even made another Mirror's Edge. The parkour in the original actually did have some better things imo like head bobbing effect, some motion blur but I know some people said it caused them dizziness. The wallruning had some weight to it in the original so faith would run in somewhat a curve but in Catalyst it was kind of horizontal and robotic but overall parkour in Catalyst is better.

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  • 1 month later...
On 12/24/2016 at 6:29 AM, poopooblast said:

Hello everyone. 

 

So after spending about 1 year waiting to get a ps4, I finally got to play this game after playing the original back in January 2016ish.

 

So the story... It is definitely better than the original and the climax build-up was spot on imo but it faltered in the much to be desired ending. I felt that the ending  felt quite rushed because of how many loose ends were left!

 

1) What happens to black November afterwards and rebbeca Thane? What's their next move.  Weren't they starting an uprising and once faith destroyed Reflection, that was it for them? I'm sure not

 

2) Icarus, Nomad, Birdman all felt wayyy too underdeveloped with only a couple of small encounters, especially birdman being a former runner and now old. Idk something didn't feel right about their character development.

 

3) Dogen.. Aren't you in debt with this dude and when the game progressed you owed him even more but instead he gives your mother's painting??? What happened to being in debt??

 

4) I know this is a cliffhanger done on purpose in case of a sequel( I'm probably dreaming), but wtf happened Kruger? Is he dead, alive, hiding? It kind of makes sense with isabel/ Kate being the leader now perhaps for a future conflict?

 

5) So once Reflection was destroyed, shouldn't black November continue the uprising and overthrow the conglomerate? Wasn't that their plan especially after Dogen saying that destroying Reflection will weaken them and that's only the first step but then all of a sudden they said at the ending cutscene, " all uprising stopped" and everyone returned to their normal lives..  NEWS FLASH KRUGER is still in charge and couldn't they just hatch another plan? They're still in power after all like wth?

 

Overall besides the story I really enjoyed the game and I'm planning to plat it. Imo I liked the original a tad bit more despite the orignal's story being weaker or nonexistent but the original's atmosphere and music spoke for itself. It didn't need storytelling. Don't get me wrong the music in Catalyst was good but nothing stood out IMO too much like in the original. The level design in Catalyst were actually decent and felt unique just like the original. The original may have felt better only because of its linear design in mind so they had to make sure each area was worthwhile in which it was.

 

Overall I'm somewhat disappointed in Catalyst but it's by no means a bad game at all. No no. It's definitely good and a worthy successor despite falling just a little short in my opinion. Oh well, theres still the original to enjoy! Phew that was a mouthful!

 

1. I totally agree with this! Black November just sort of went away.

 

2. I actually thought Icarus worked well in the story but Nomad and Birdman didn't have almost any explanation as to why they were even in the game at all. They felt underdeveloped to me too. 

 

3. Right? So weird to rack up debt upon debt and then you get a special, unexplained painting that you tattoo onto yourself. On that note, I was really expecting some sort of explanation on the tattoo but there was absolutely nothing unless I missed something. 

 

4. I'm also hoping there will be a sequel just because I love these games too. I think Kruger died though. Didn't they say that on the news in the final cutscene? I dunno. 

 

5. Maybe this will be part of the next game if it ever comes. I feel like they might be kind of pigeon-holed into a story where you never really win since this is a prequel to the original game and in the original game there is still a watchdog group monitoring everyone just like the conglomerate. I guess it wouldn't make sense to have an uprising take over and free everyone without maybe explaining how they fell back under control like they are in Mirror's Edge. 

 

It wasn't a bad story but it just wasn't great. I'm not too worried about that though since I really only play this game for the awesome parkour mechanics that really aren't matched in any other game I've ever played. The story is just a side note to all of that. Anyway, good points! I enjoyed reading this since I just finished the game last night and had a lot of this stuff on my mind too. 

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16 minutes ago, PLamb858 said:

 

1. I totally agree with this! Black November just sort of went away.

 

2. I actually thought Icarus worked well in the story but Nomad and Birdman didn't have almost any explanation as to why they were even in the game at all. They felt underdeveloped to me too. 

 

3. Right? So weird to rack up debt upon debt and then you get a special, unexplained painting that you tattoo onto yourself. On that note, I was really expecting some sort of explanation on the tattoo but there was absolutely nothing unless I missed something. 

 

4. I'm also hoping there will be a sequel just because I love these games too. I think Kruger died though. Didn't they say that on the news in the final cutscene? I dunno. 

 

5. Maybe this will be part of the next game if it ever comes. I feel like they might be kind of pigeon-holed into a story where you never really win since this is a prequel to the original game and in the original game there is still a watchdog group monitoring everyone just like the conglomerate. I guess it wouldn't make sense to have an uprising take over and free everyone without maybe explaining how they fell back under control like they are in Mirror's Edge. 

 

It wasn't a bad story but it just wasn't great. I'm not too worried about that though since I really only play this game for the awesome parkour mechanics that really aren't matched in any other game I've ever played. The story is just a side note to all of that. Anyway, good points! I enjoyed reading this since I just finished the game last night and had a lot of this stuff on my mind too. 

Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts! Now that it has been over a month since I beat it and with all the climax of the story and that rush you feel after beating a story is gone, looking at; it's one my favourite games. It's not a perfect game but the parkour is practically flawless. I just wish they made  an option for

Faith's head to bob a little( I know it caused dizziness in some) to make it look like she's running

and also to make wallrun feel a little weighted and perhaps add some motion blur. Now these could only be my needs :P  and I know that a lot of people may disagree.

 

That's about it though. The game grew on me a lot as you can tell by profile pic and I go back from time to time to just run around the city while listening to Solar Field's awesome soundtrack

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  • 6 years later...
On 12/24/2016 at 1:29 PM, PooPooBlast said:

Hello everyone. 

 

So after spending about 1 year waiting to get a ps4, I finally got to play this game after playing the original back in January 2016ish.

 

So the story... It is definitely better than the original and the climax build-up was spot on imo but it faltered in the much to be desired ending. I felt that the ending  felt quite rushed because of how many loose ends were left!

 

1) What happens to black November afterwards and rebbeca Thane? What's their next move.  Weren't they starting an uprising and once faith destroyed Reflection, that was it for them? I'm sure not

 

2) Icarus, Nomad, Birdman all felt wayyy too underdeveloped with only a couple of small encounters, especially birdman being a former runner and now old. Idk something didn't feel right about their character development.

 

3) Dogen.. Aren't you in debt with this dude and when the game progressed you owed him even more but instead he gives your mother's painting??? What happened to being in debt??

 

4) I know this is a cliffhanger done on purpose in case of a sequel( I'm probably dreaming), but wtf happened Kruger? Is he dead, alive, hiding? It kind of makes sense with isabel/ Kate being the leader now perhaps for a future conflict?

 

5) So once Reflection was destroyed, shouldn't black November continue the uprising and overthrow the conglomerate? Wasn't that their plan especially after Dogen saying that destroying Reflection will weaken them and that's only the first step but then all of a sudden they said at the ending cutscene, " all uprising stopped" and everyone returned to their normal lives..  NEWS FLASH KRUGER is still in charge and couldn't they just hatch another plan? They're still in power after all like wth?

I agree, the build-up was really good. 

 

1) So they attacked the Shard and were seemingly going to attack more from now on, but it seems all that was put on hold for later because the game ends openly for a potential sequel, where Rebecca and her group would certainly appear. Also, destroying Reflection was a point here but it wasn't really destroyed? That was disappointing. And I guess people were still too brainwashed to not support them in a revolution, seeing them as terrorists. That's narratively, but gameplay wise, they let you roam the open world again, and since everything is the same, it adds to the "well that was all for nothing" feeling. But you actually see Rebecca still giving messages to people in billboards, with altered voice etc. So they keep doing the same, and a sequel would continue the fight.

 

2) I agree. I enjoyed all the characters but they get so little screen time that it leaves you wanting more. The characters are interesting, the interactions and dialogue between them are great, but most of them leave you wanting more of them. I wanted more of Icarus, Birdman, Nomad, Dogen, Rebecca, Isabel... The only ones with enough screentime were Faith, Noah, and Gabriel Kruger, and to a lesser extent Dogen and Plastic. I guess we can celebrate that what little is there is good? Also, the doctor, Aline, who appeared on the second mission and then after you go down to Kingdom, is a good character but it felt like "who is this person?" because you may have been doing so many side activities and running around from the second mission to one of the last that you can forget who she was. It's not like it was an important character at first, just a researcher that questioned the morality of Kingdom and was silenced by Kruger. It's then, at Kingdom, were you are told that she was working on Reflection, that she knew you mother, than an escape plan was being made, and joined you to fight Reflection with the virus.

 

3) This is actually explained in the game and not a loose end. Faith proposed giving the Reflection data that she got from that mission to pay the debt, but as Dogen said, while being very interested, it was worth nothing until: 1.- He gets it. And 2.- He sells it. Then, the debt increased, and he told Faith that a new world was coming, and there was no place for her, or for him. Now, he wanted you to destroy Reflection with the virus, and he would (and did), give Faith her mother's painting. But not cancel the debt, because "you would have no reason to visit" him.

 

4) Yeah... So officially, he's dead, and Isabel/Cat would succeed him. That's what the news is saying, and what the public is taking as fact. But when the VTOL appears at the ending, you see Isabel and Faith looking at each other, but no sign of Kruger. He could have died, or be secretly alive, controlling everything from the shadows this time, through Isabel who is obviously loyal to him. I think this is a plot point for a sequel (that may never come) that you can see from a mile away. "Wow!!! Kruger is still alive!" as he is revealed to be so. But I think something interesting, or satisfactory but also not surprising, could be done here. Where after some time of Isabel following Kruger's commands like a good dog, an event happens, a conversation happens, that is the tipping point for Isabel to believe Faith, and at some point down the line, maybe when you don't expect it too, Isabel betrays Kruger in favor of Faith and the runners, and deals some serious damage to Kruger and the Conglomerate. Or just doesn't go through with a plan that only she can do, and leaves them but doesn't actually hurt Kruger or the conglomerate significantly. She could then join the runners after sometime on her own after going rogue. This also feels fairly predictable, it's not like, brilliant writing, but it could work well for what this story is and what you expect? It would require, I think, multiple previous interactions between Isabel and Faith for the big tipping point to hold weight and work. Not happen all of a sudden. But yeah, they basically didn't show Kruger dying to save the possibility of him returning for a sequel.

 

5) Right. This is what was disappointing for me, despite the build-up being great! So, from what I understood, Reflection was an evolution of the Beat system, where now they would be able to even control your emotions (and manipulate your feelings, thoughts, and actions), by injecting you nanobots (nanomachines, son!) in your spine. And Icarus was not able to move because of it, nor leave Plastic's lair because he'd be detected. I don't know how he and Aline moved from Rebecca's underground base where no one infected could be detected to Plastic's lair in the surface by the way. I believe that's an actual plot hole. I guess Plastic protected them??? Then, Aline, again, the doctor from the second mission where you got the Reflection device who worked on Reflection, developed a virus with Plastic's help that would render the emotion altering nanobots useless. They would remain in your body, but not work. This was supposed to kill Reflection, and a beacon of hope for change. A huge blow to the conglomerate and Kruger, and Dogen's hope for his criminal empire. But then, the virus worked... but Reflection was not stopped. It was still adopted and successful. I believe it did include more things, some improvements to the Beat system, that was the trap to get to the control your feelings and actions and thoughts part. So Icarus, Aline, Rebecca and her people, and everyone else were saved from the nanobots and could go to the surface, but no revolution happened. The people ate it up.

 

Some could argue that this is a good subverting your expectations of a good, feel-good ending, more dark and realistic, but I think it's just disappointing. And it was likely made simply to set up the sequel. At the very end, Faith said something like "People didn't revolt etc etc, but we started something, something that we're going to finish". 

However, as far as I remember, the game presented the situation to you as if using the virus would kill and destroy Reflection, on its entirety. Outright purge it. And then told you that no, only part of it was destroyed, the emotions thing, but the rest is fine and people accepted it. This is what leads to the disappointment and confusion. 

 

And it is made worse by the fact that you started installing the virus, and protected it from the 2 Kruger-Sec guys, and Kruger himself, as if taking it off from the screen would stop the virus installation, only to run after Isabel when she showed up and the game not telling you what Kruger did? If you don't chase her and look around, the room is empty. After the ending, you may realize that the virus did indeed work, but during that scene, I was thinking: "So did Kruger get up and stop the virus???? Was it already done infecting Reflection??". Despite this admittedly important detail to leave up to interpretation, I think the cutscenes and dialogue during the whole mission were excellent. It's just the ending was disappointing and confusing. After watching it a second time I liked it a bit more but it's still not great. This was all to set up the sequel I believe.

 

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On 12/24/2016 at 1:29 PM, PooPooBlast said:

Overall besides the story I really enjoyed the game and I'm planning to plat it. Imo I liked the original a tad bit more despite the orignal's story being weaker or nonexistent but the original's atmosphere and music spoke for itself. It didn't need storytelling. Don't get me wrong the music in Catalyst was good but nothing stood out IMO too much like in the original. The level design in Catalyst were actually decent and felt unique just like the original. The original may have felt better only because of its linear design in mind so they had to make sure each area was worthwhile in which it was.

Same, I still enjoyed the game a lot. I disagree with the first game's story being non-existent. It had about the same issues. It gives you enough to make Faith have a clear personality, and leaves you wanting more from other characters. For example, Miller, the cop in white who spoke with Faith was an interesting character, and they had interesting dialogue exchanges. He kind of was your ally, but still had to be on the law's side. Then you had Mercury, the runner leader and father figure for Faith, like Noah, which I also enjoyed in that game, and some others. 

 

I agree with the atmosphere, music and level design being great in both games. However, I disagree with Mirror's Edge not needing storytelling. Obviously the main thing here is the gameplay, the graphics with that minimalistic but gorgeous art style, but I'm also interested in Faith's character and the conflict of fighting the system in this dystopian city. I think there is room for some good storytelling and we've had a few good characters from both games. 

 

And yes, maybe the open world was not so great for the game, maybe linear is better? But it was still well designed, the areas I mean. It's good for running around but yeah something didn't quite click. 

 

On 12/24/2016 at 1:29 PM, PooPooBlast said:

Overall I'm somewhat disappointed in Catalyst but it's by no means a bad game at all. No no. It's definitely good and a worthy successor despite falling just a little short in my opinion. Oh well, theres still the original to enjoy! Phew that was a mouthful!

It's a good game, and a worthy entry to the series. But maybe a reboot was not the best idea? Now we're not getting a sequel to either of them or their stories. I really wish we were. There's nothing like them. Very unique games.

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Wow! I made that post 7 years ago!!!! 🤯. Damn...

 

On 11/21/2023 at 7:13 PM, tony_snake_24 said:

1 ... So they keep doing the same, and a sequel would continue the fight.

Definitely. It's just too bad we're not getting that sequel :lol:.

 

On 11/21/2023 at 7:13 PM, tony_snake_24 said:

3) This is actually explained in the game and not a loose end.

Ah yes fair enough.

 

On 11/21/2023 at 7:13 PM, tony_snake_24 said:

5. But yeah, they basically didn't show Kruger dying to save the possibility of him returning for a sequel.

The more media I consume, the more I acknowledge that if you don't see a character die, they're not actually dead. I don't know if they'll have him as the antagonist again though. I'd rather have someone else. As a side note, it's hilarious that he looks freakishly similar to the EA CEO :lol:

r/mirrorsedge - Let's not forget that the villain Kruger looks exactly like the CEO of EA.

 

On 11/21/2023 at 7:13 PM, tony_snake_24 said:

After the ending, you may realize that the virus did indeed work, but during that scene, I was thinking: "So did Kruger get up and stop the virus???? Was it already done infecting Reflection??". Despite this admittedly important detail to leave up to interpretation, I think the cutscenes and dialogue during the whole mission were excellent. It's just the ending was disappointing and confusing. After watching it a second time I liked it a bit more but it's still not great. This was all to set up the sequel I believe.

As much as I love the series, I think I'll just chalk it as poor writing. That and or the devs didn't receive a lot of time/funding for a game this niche. I honestly doubt we'll ever get a mirror's edge sequel but a man can dream. Very unique games indeed with nothing out there that's like it.

 

P.S. Wish I can contribute more to the discussion but it's been 7 years since I played this. My memory is as foggy as it gets when it comes to remembering nuanced details in the game 😛

 

P.S P.S there's a guy on youtube who have uploaded 1 hr music mixes of Catalyst's soundtrack. Those tracks are the best for when you just want to chill while doing work that requires minimal brain effort!

 

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4 hours ago, PooPooBlast said:

Wow! I made that post 7 years ago!!!! 🤯. Damn...

 

Definitely. It's just too bad we're not getting that sequel :lol:.

Haha yeah, I know. It's just that with the game shutting down a lot of people are playing it these months, me included, so I checked the forum and found a post where I could share my thoughts after having beaten the story a day before :D 

 

It's definitely a shame! Here is some leaked footage of a cancelled ME 2 

 

Spoiler

 

 

4 hours ago, PooPooBlast said:

The more media I consume, the more I acknowledge that if you don't see a character die, they're not actually dead. I don't know if they'll have him as the antagonist again though. I'd rather have someone else. As a side note, it's hilarious that he looks freakishly similar to the EA CEO :lol:

r/mirrorsedge - Let's not forget that the villain Kruger looks exactly like the CEO of EA.

Exactly. Unless the character is shown dying, you never know. Lol at that comparison.

 

4 hours ago, PooPooBlast said:

As much as I love the series, I think I'll just chalk it as poor writing. That and or the devs didn't receive a lot of time/funding for a game this niche. I honestly doubt we'll ever get a mirror's edge sequel but a man can dream. Very unique games indeed with nothing out there that's like it.

Yeah... maybe. I also don't think devs were given enough time or funding. The game is quite short if you only do main missions. Some of the budget went to making the open world for sure... 

Hey, you never know, sometimes these type of games get another shot years into the future.

 

4 hours ago, PooPooBlast said:

P.S. Wish I can contribute more to the discussion but it's been 7 years since I played this. My memory is as foggy as it gets when it comes to remembering nuanced details in the game 😛

 

P.S P.S there's a guy on youtube who have uploaded 1 hr music mixes of Catalyst's soundtrack. Those tracks are the best for when you just want to chill while doing work that requires minimal brain effort!

 

Yeah, no problem haha, I expected as much after so long. But like I said it was fresh in mine so I shared my thoughts here.

 

And thanks! I'll search for that but if you could tell the name that would be great :D 

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9 hours ago, tony_snake_24 said:

It's definitely a shame! Here is some leaked footage of a cancelled ME 2 

 

Oh interesting. I didn't know that, thanks for sharing. 

 

9 hours ago, tony_snake_24 said:

And thanks! I'll search for that but if you could tell the name that would be great :D 

Absolutely. Here you go. 

https://m.youtube.com/@GamingAmbience/playlists

 

You just have to scroll down a bit to see the playlist in the channel. 

Edited by PooPooBlast
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