# *Mirror’s Edge* Notes *Mirror's Edge* is a first-person action game themed around free-running (parkour) is a dystopian cityscape. The visual design is an all-time classic with a stark white city accented with bright, rebellious colors like red, green, blue, and yellow. The mechanics of platforming a solid enough foundation, but there is plenty of jank crying out for refinement. The combat feels antithetical to the core design though and highlights the shortfalls more than "Runner Vision" highlights pathways amongst the sky scrappers. > [!warning] > Spoilers below! ![[Mirror's Edge Notes.pdf]] ## Stats - Started Playing: 4/29/25 - Beat: 5/8/24 - Total Playtime: 5:30~6 hours ## Legacy - This out of nowhere pivot for Dice after Battlefield. - Stunning world design and color palette that has stood the test of time, - It *is* the definition of a cult classic. The game is not as good as remembered, but the core – the essence – is captivating. It lingers in haze of memories. ## Overall - A game of contradiction and contrast. Open running platforming with unclear direction. Made from a desire to have a break from battlefield but forcing combat scenarios. - The Docks level can go die. - There is a speedrun mode and time trials. Neat and leans into the ideal free-running mentality, but not for me this go around. ## Story - Mayoral candidate is murdered and Faith’s sister is set up to take the fall. - We have corrupt body guards, cops, and mayors. Something suspicious at every turn when we investigate. Your typical corrupt city narrative. - The City is building a cop team to take out the Runners. - Celeste is a traitor. Kate has been found guilty. - Of course Jacknife is behind things too, working with the mayor. ## Gameplay - Run, jump, crouch, slide, punch, kick. All weave together for movement in constant motion. - If you miss or don’t read a space correctly, then you get stopped and trudge back. It kills all momentum. Perhaps rightly so. - No gun combat is encouraged. Kinda like playing a stealth game without being seen or no kills. It’s the “right” way. - If you don’t know where to go, you *really* don’t know where to go. This is super frustrating. - It’s a huge problem. They want you to see the environment and “feel” it out, but the design is so hidden sometimes. Makes me want to rip my hair out. - Combat is weighty and clunky. Surprising given how smooth running can be. - Force combat sections feel like the antithesis of the runner gameplay. - In the penultimate level, the ascension in the atrium felt like the promise of this runner gameplay. Fluid platforming in a parkour style. Felt great. ## Music/Sound Design - Lo-beat techno background synth noise. It’s serviceable and inoffensive. - I’d listen to it in the background while working probably. - I like [the song for the last level](https://youtube.com/watch?v=c1gOBgLVgZo). ## Graphics/Performance - 2D anime / comic book style cutscenes. Keeps budget down. - I wonder if this is Crytek? Has a Far Cry feel, even though it is Dice/EA. - Unreal Engine 3 - Runs super poorly on PS3. Screen tears and frame drops galore. Probably should have played on XSX. ## World - There are other pops of color. Inside the accounting building is green. Shopping plaza red and pink. Dystopian utopia. - A lot of the colors and contrast remind me of the visual design of 2025’s *Marathon*. - I mean, this is a tentpole of visual design right? The white city with red veins running through its skyline. Immediately sticks with you.