To do Faith justice and broaden the game's appeal, DICE was committed to a grander vision that retold the character's origin story. They didn't want Catalyst to be a small downloadable title, or even Mirror's Edge 2.
To make a worthwhile successor, they needed the publisher's full support, which meant a "AAA" budget and a lot of development time. When the team at DICE started to think about a follow-up, they quickly realised that it couldn't be half-assed. "But I really do think that if this doesn't fly - if people don't like this game - there's really no reason to keep building on it." All or nothingĬatalyst is a gamble for EA. "We have big plans on what we want to do after this and moving ahead," Sara Jansson, senior producer for Mirror's Edge Catalyst says. If the game can't find a larger audience this time around, it's unlikely that EA will green-light another. Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a complete reboot for Faith, but it could also be the team's last chance to prove the series has a future. The game didn't sell particularly well, so it was a surprise when EA first announced that it was giving developer DICE another roll at the franchise.
It's littered with flaws - a paper-thin story, some frustrating level design and unnecessary gunplay - but the clean, dystopian world and fluid motion still impress. Even now, after seven years, Mirror's Edge is a unique and exhilarating parkour thriller.