Mirror's Edge

Mirror's Edge is a brave foray into a new genre that pays off for DICE and EA in a stunning and very fun package.

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Mirror's Edge is a first-person action-adventure game set in a highly stylized dystopian future. As Faith, a "Runner" who delivers messages while evading the watchful eye of the totalitarian government, players explore the city's rooftops and walls using parkour mechanics. Combat focuses on avoiding confrontation and using Faith's movements to take down enemies. The game features a striking color palette and a focus on speed and fluidity in movement.

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Reviews

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 27,123 reviews

story2,536 positive mentions

stability349 negative mentions

story
7,682 mentions
33 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The story of "Mirror's Edge" is generally viewed as simple and predictable, often described as a cliché revenge narrative centered around the protagonist, Faith Connors, who seeks to clear her sister's name after she is framed for murder. While some players appreciate the dystopian themes and the unique visual storytelling through animated cutscenes, many find the plot underdeveloped and lacking depth, with a short runtime of about 4-6 hours that leaves little room for character development or complex narrative arcs. Overall, the gameplay and parkour mechanics are often highlighted as the main attractions, overshadowing the story's shortcomings.
- “The story is simple yet competently told, and the setting builds upon the visuals masterfully, presenting you a more grounded variation of dystopia; a bright and sterile police state that could probably pass for a number of real cities with just a tad more surveillance.”
- “The developers also did a really good job of easing you into it as well; by the time you finish the story, you'll want to go back to the start so you can find all new routes with the skills you've picked up.”
- “The story is good, characters are fantastic and memorable, and the gameplay makes you feel so cool.”
- “The majority of the story is told through really, really bad 2D animated flat shaded movies which feel really amateurish and poorly done.”
- “The story is nothing revolutionary; in fact, it is one of the weaker aspects of the game.”
- “The story is quite frankly a let-down.”
gameplay
5,817 mentions
44 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Mirror's Edge" is widely praised for its innovative parkour mechanics, offering a unique first-person experience that emphasizes fluid movement and speed. However, many players note that the combat mechanics are clunky and detract from the overall experience, leading to frustrating moments during gameplay. While the visuals and atmosphere are celebrated, the game's linearity and occasional lack of clarity in navigation can hinder the enjoyment, making it a mixed experience for some players.
- “The parkour gameplay is the highlight of this game, allowing for precise movements in the open world, relative to a puzzle.”
- “The first-person perspective combined with the fast-paced parkour mechanics really immerses the player in the world of Mirror's Edge.”
- “Mirror's Edge is a timeless gem that combines breathtaking FPS parkour mechanics with a strikingly unique visual style.”
- “Wallrunning just does not work at all and the explanations they give you for gameplay are about on par with just not having a tutorial.”
- “You have no way to manually grab things so the game just auto kills you constantly for no reason other than bad programming and bad decisions about the core gameplay.”
- “The gameplay mechanics are incredibly frustrating in this game to the point that it really ruins the rest of the game.”
graphics
4,939 mentions
56 % positive mentions
42 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics of *Mirror's Edge* are widely praised for their stunning and timeless aesthetic, which has aged remarkably well since its 2008 release. The game's minimalist art style, characterized by bright colors against a predominantly white backdrop, creates a visually striking environment that enhances the parkour gameplay experience. While some users noted technical issues and dated character models, the overall consensus is that the visuals remain impressive and engaging, making it a standout title in terms of graphical design.
- “Thanks to the art style, the game's visuals have barely aged since 2008, making it still visually impressive today.”
- “The overall art style is absolutely stunning, it really stands out in comparison to other games of the time that were different shades of brown.”
- “The graphics are beautiful, the color palette is perfect, and the graphics as a whole stand up to the test of time.”
- “It's extremely laggy and crashes even at the lowest graphics setting.”
- “I tried changing the graphics to low but it didn't help; on levels where there is a lot of broken glass, it turns into a slideshow.”
- “The graphics have aged well, but the core game has not; if you want a game like this, just get the second one, it's just better and it isn't awkward.”
music
2,291 mentions
59 % positive mentions
39 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The music in *Mirror's Edge* is widely praised for its exceptional quality and immersive qualities, with many reviewers highlighting the atmospheric soundtrack composed by Solar Fields. The soundtrack effectively enhances the game's unique parkour gameplay and vibrant visuals, creating a memorable experience that resonates with players long after they finish the game. Notably, the main theme "Still Alive" by Lisa Miskovsky is frequently mentioned as a standout track that encapsulates the game's emotional depth and aesthetic.
- “The music is also all-around awesome, both the atmospheric main tracks by solar fields and the credits song by lisa miskovsky (I’d highly recommend giving both artists a listen; they have a lot of good stuff).”
- “The soundtrack deserves special mention, as it perfectly complements the game's pace, enhancing the overall immersive experience.”
- “The fluid parkour mechanics, beautiful soundtrack and that 2000s aesthetic really sell this as a piece of art.”
- “I hated having to miss the ledge 2 times or trying to wall jump 4 times to get to an obstacle because the music would stop and I'd be taken out of the experience.”
- “The music stops, you're placed 3 'puzzles' back from where you died and you start to just slog through things because you're forced to accept the game on its own terms rather than yours.”
- “But the worst part is the repetitiveness, with the level design being extremely boring, and the music so bland and forgettable.”
atmosphere
587 mentions
68 % positive mentions
30 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Mirror's Edge" is widely praised for its stunning visuals, unique art direction, and immersive sound design, creating a vibrant and dystopian urban environment that captivates players. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke feelings of freedom and nostalgia through its atmospheric soundtrack and clean, minimalist aesthetics. Despite some criticisms regarding the story and gameplay mechanics, the overall atmosphere is considered a standout feature that enhances the gaming experience.
- “The art direction, the atmosphere, the sound design are all absolutely amazing.”
- “The ambient sounds of the city, the rush of wind as Faith soars through the air, and the rhythmic beats of the soundtrack all contribute to the game's immersive atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere created by the minimalistic artwork of the city allows you to become immersed in the game so you can take in every detail.”
- “Overall a strong 3/10 because atmosphere.”
- “The story is quite awful and all characters besides Faith are forgettable, but there's a real atmosphere here that keeps pulling me back in time and time again.”
- “Still, there are major flaws that ruin the atmosphere.”
replayability
575 mentions
37 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The game exhibits high replayability, primarily driven by its engaging parkour mechanics and time trial modes, which encourage players to improve their performance and explore different routes. While the campaign is relatively short, lasting around 4-6 hours, many players find themselves returning to master levels and compete for faster times, making it a favorite among speedrunning enthusiasts. However, some reviews note that the lack of achievements and limited content outside of speedrunning may detract from its overall replay value for casual players.
- “This is the greatest parkour video game ever made, and it still has immense replay value over a decade after its release.”
- “The leaderboard system encourages friendly competition and replayability, as players strive to improve their times and master the intricacies of each level.”
- “The campaign is rather short (4-6 hours) but infinitely replayable as I've beaten it dozens of times now trying to go faster or try different routes.”
- “However, as much as I love the looks and feel of this game, I'd recommend getting it while on sale, as the game is dirt short (takes about 3 hours to beat), and lacks in the replay value department (unless you like trying to beat the levels as fast as you can in time trials).”
- “The only downsides are that the campaign is too short and that it lacks replayability.”
- “But I found the game terrifyingly short as I beat it in a few hours, and neither the time trials nor returning to the story for the collectibles really make me want to keep playing, so I find no replayability either.”
stability
375 mentions
6 % positive mentions
1 % neutral mentions
93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with many players reporting numerous bugs, crashes, and freezes, particularly on PC. While some enjoy the chaotic nature of the glitches, others find them frustrating and detrimental to gameplay, often leading to softlocks and requiring restarts. Overall, the game is described as a "buggy mess," with performance issues that can significantly impact the experience, especially for those not willing to troubleshoot or adapt to its quirks.
- “Beautiful game, it runs great even on a sub-par computer.”
- “Overall the game was reasonably bug free and worked fine on modern hardware.”
- “On the one hand, I want to respect Mirror's Edge; it's well-programmed (no glitches that I've encountered and it's only frozen once), it looks and sounds fairly good, and it's really impressive when you think of how difficult it was to make a proper parkour game.”
- “It's a classic game, but very buggy and tends to crash/freeze a lot at random places.”
- “The aesthetic and gameplay is great but unfortunately due to how buggy it is, it is frustratingly unplayable.”
- “This game is also infested with glitches and bugs that sometimes force you to redo entire levels, it also seems to have some compatibility issues with Windows 10.”
optimization
368 mentions
35 % positive mentions
36 % neutral mentions
29 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, particularly on modern systems. Common complaints include stuttering, frame rate drops, and crashes, especially when using certain graphical features like PhysX. While some users found the game to run smoothly on lower-end machines, the overall consensus indicates that the game is poorly optimized for PC, making it challenging to enjoy without extensive tweaking.
- “The pc port is actually very good, maintaining great performance on a lower-end machine without any noticeable impact visually - I don't even recall if I touched graphics settings.”
- “Well optimized and have awesome soundtracks.”
- “The game is very well optimized, so you don't need a four thousand dollar rig to play the game smoothly.”
- “Game's optimization is so bad, there are points in this game that become unplayable.”
- “Bought it for the nostalgia, but unfortunately it's so poorly optimized that certain areas make it lag to the point it becomes unplayable even on a PC with great specs.”
- “The game's performance is worse than an asthmatic kid at the Olympics, which is to say that it will run okay for the first 30 minutes before deciding it's had enough and just crashing with no hope of booting it back up again, at least in a state where it doesn't crash every minute.”
grinding
180 mentions
2 % positive mentions
21 % neutral mentions
77 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently described as tedious and frustrating, with many players noting that forced combat and poorly designed levels disrupt the flow of gameplay, making it feel repetitive and boring. While some enjoy the core mechanics and fast-paced parkour, the overall experience is marred by clunky controls and a lack of clear direction, leading to a significant amount of unnecessary grinding. Despite its potential for fun, many reviewers express that the game can become a chore, requiring patience to navigate its more tedious elements.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
- “A lot of grinding.”
- “The game is short overall, you can beat it in like 6 hours, but it's grindy as hell.”
- “While the game offers some great moments, these are far too often broken up by unintuitive/poorly designed areas that turn the gameplay into a tedious grind.”
- “Once again, the lack of a quick save feature results in a lot of unnecessary grinding that makes the game tedious and annoying.”
emotional
162 mentions
90 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is a mixed bag, with many players expressing deep immersion and nostalgia, often feeling a strong connection to the protagonist and the parkour mechanics. While some found the story lacking and predictable, others highlighted its emotional weight and the anxiety-inducing thrill of gameplay. Overall, the game evokes a range of feelings, from joy and freedom to disappointment and frustration, making it a memorable experience for many.
- “It's more than just a game; it's an experience that resonates on a deeply emotional level.”
- “I will never not love and appreciate this game for everything it has made me feel and experience; if I could have my memory wiped just to play this game again for the first time, I would.”
- “The soundtrack perfectly complements the game's atmosphere, adding emotional depth and immersion.”
- “5/10 - a good concept hampered down by sluggish gameplay, a boring story, and frustrating combat.”
- “Boring storyline, with no real entertainment behind it besides the parkour.”
- “Stiff controls and a boring story.”
humor
115 mentions
98 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely unintentional, stemming from clunky mechanics and absurd situations, such as frequent, cartoonish deaths during parkour attempts. Players find amusement in the game's serious tone juxtaposed with its comedic failures, like poor combat and awkward animations. Overall, it’s described as a fun experience, especially when played with friends, as players can laugh at each other's mistakes and the game's quirks.
- “Probably the funniest game I have ever played, not because of anything that was intentionally funny, but because of how frequently a near miss of a ledge would result in me falling to a Looney Tunes styled death over and over while being surrounded by this very serious atmosphere the game was trying to present.”
- “Mirror's Edge is the perfect game to play with friends - you can take turns trying to beat each other's high scores, and you'll all have a great time laughing at each other's mistakes.”
- “Moments that should have been cool and empowering were almost-hilariously subverted by an ill-timed jump or a slide into a wall.”
- “Is this supposed to be funny?”
- “Is this supposed to be funny?”
character development
74 mentions
24 % positive mentions
49 % neutral mentions
27 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally viewed as lacking, with many reviewers noting that the protagonist, Faith, remains static throughout the story despite a compelling design and voice acting. While some appreciate the solid narrative foundation, they express a desire for deeper character exploration and more engaging story elements, often describing the overall character development as minimal or underwhelming. The game's focus on gameplay and aesthetics overshadows its narrative depth, leaving players wanting more from the characters and their arcs.
- “Her character design is flawless, her voice acting superb, and her journey is one that will stay with you long after the credits roll.”
- “The storyline is adequate—more character development wouldn't have hurt, and the story itself seems a bit rushed at times, but it gets the job done, connects you to the character, and honestly I'm not sure if there was really room in the game for much more elaboration.”
- “If you like immersive, first-person freerunning/parkour, that could totally have used a little more character development but at least has a solid narrative start to finish.”
- “The character development is also not great either; yes, we do learn that Faith has a sister, but that’s all we get.”
- “Best parkour game I've played, but the story and character development are not deep enough, which made it quite boring just running to escape from enemies.”
- “So, it is a good game, but I wouldn't play it again for the story because it's quite limited and lacks real character development.”
monetization
54 mentions
7 % positive mentions
46 % neutral mentions
46 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its lack of microtransactions and downloadable content, which is a refreshing change for an EA title, especially in the context of modern gaming's monetization trends. Players appreciate the straightforward purchase model, allowing them to enjoy the game without the distractions of additional costs or in-game purchases. This absence of monetization schemes contributes positively to the overall experience, making it a nostalgic reminder of a time when games were less focused on profit-driven tactics.
- “Nice to know that this is one of EA's games without microtransactions.”
- “It also came out in a time when EA wasn't that greedy as it is today, so there's no DLC, no microtransactions, no nothing.”
- “No microtransactions = no problems.”
- “It was a more jolly time, one where online-only multiplayer-centric games infested with predatory monetization schemes weren't the norm, where EA actually gave a damn and made fun single-player games like The Saboteur or Mercenaries 2.”
- “The entire game looks like an advertisement.”
- “Maybe it's 2017 and I'm playing a game released in 2009, but the game had a cool look to it in the advertisements, but when I played it, I was frustrated and bored easily.”