In the video game industry it’s become more and more common for games to have closed betas, demos of upcoming games that only a couple thousand lucky individuals get into. I was one of these lucky few people when I got a code for the closed beta for Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, a game I was really excited about. Here are my thoughts after spending a weekend in the beta.

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst stars Faith, a freedom fighter in an Orwellian and dystopian city called Glass. Set in the far future this seemingly utopian society is run by greedy corporations, and a spying government. Faith and her team of Runners act as Robin Hoods, saving the people of the city from being put in jail or worse.

My beta began with Faith being released from jail after being caught 2 years earlier. Now she’s back on the streets, trying to prove her usefulness to the other runners, who see her as a liability.

In Mirror’s Edge, the Runners are exactly what they sound like. They’re a group of free runners and parkour experts, who use the cities rooftops to their advantage when on missions. Because Faith is a runner the main part of the gameplay is learning how to free run. Jumping, sliding, rolling, and climbing atop rooftops are essential in traversing the city. The game is all about keeping momentum and free running to get to your next objective.

Color also plays a big part in the gameplay. Catalyst is full of vibrant colors with aqua blues, deep sea greens, and piercing reds. Red is the most important color in Mirror’s Edge. Red signifies an exit or climbable object like doors or boxes, and it also tells you if you’re heading in the right direction.

Mirror’s Edge uses color in a much more interesting way than I’ve seen in any other game. Besides the colors of the game, visually the game looks stunning from the huge skyscrapers to the city below.

Once you get the basics of running down, you can move on to the actual story. In the beta I got to play 3 story missions each with their own unique environments and challenges. The most interesting and fun mission had me infiltrating an office building to collect data on a corrupt businessman.

Climbing all the way to the top of the building felt tense as sometimes it seemed like I was moments away from falling down an elevator shaft or being caught by guards. The missions in Catalyst were varied and cool so i’m really excited to see how the story unfolds in the main game.

After the story missions I was treated to a couple of intriguing side missions like stealing computer chips and collecting virtual reality orbs. While these weren’t very deep, they were a nice distraction from the main game, and gave me an excuse to try out new running moves I learned. The most interesting takeaway from Mirror’s Edge Catalyst for me was the combat or lack thereof.

In Mirror’s Edge you’ll never see Faith carry a gun or weapon of any kind, rather the game is more focused on teaching you how to run away from guards or dangerous situations. I thought this was a great change of pace from the usual run and gun gameplay of other first person games. From my time in the beta Mirror’s Edge Catalyst looks to be shaping up nicely with fluid gameplay and a compelling story.

Here’s the video version of this Gal’s Call.

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst release June 7th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC for 60 dollars.

Picture courtesy of Electronic Arts.