June 10, 2015 – Theory Flaw

The next entry in the cult favorite first person parkour inspired action series Mirror’s Edge will be named Mirror’s Edge Catalyst and will not be a sequel to the 2008 original. Confirmed by an announcement made by Electronic Arts following the leaked trademark filing for Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, DICE producer Sara Jannson confirmed the title and the relation of the 2016 game to its predecessor.

“This is not a sequel, this is not Mirror’s Edge 2. We have landed on a vision that honors the first game — pushing the boundaries of first person movement and diving deeper into the story behind our heroine Faith — but also brings a lot of great new, interesting gameplay and features to the experience for our players.” – Sara Jannson, Producer, DICE

The use of the subtitle Catalyst confirms much of the speculation that this Mirror’s Edge game would be a prequel, especially based on the E3 2013 trailer that showed series protagonist Faith getting her trademark digital tattoos on her arm along with developer statements focusing the game on the building blocks that made Faith. I think that a prequel is the right way to go because of the way that the original Mirror’s Edge unfolded, especially with the fairly open ending that had Faith and her sister Kate on the run from the government’s Project Icarus.

While we know where Faith ended up and are curious about her next chapter, explaining her origin is just as interesting. Faith, as a character was one of the more beloved identities of last generation, despite only appearing in one game where not much is known about her background. The idea of her becoming a runner, to becoming a part of the counter culture that essentially rebelled against the government’s constant surveillance is a story that can bring new audiences up to speed with the world and potentially set the tone for a true follow up to Mirror’s Edge.

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst has been targeted for an early 2016 release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC.

Polygon – The new Mirror’s Edge is called Mirror’s Edge Catalyst

Rumor has it that Sony’s Japan Studio will they/won’t they project The Last Guardian will be making an appearance at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo according to a report issued by The Guardian.

I’m going to stop the actual reporting there because, honestly, there is nothing to report here. The Last Guardian’s tumultuous history is incredibly well documented, so much so that Sony had let the trademark of the game lapse twice. Trademark deadline mishaps aside, while many want Japan Studio’s follow up to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus to be an amazing fantasy epic, they are unfortunately at the mercy of rumors and leaks. They may want to take their time in developing a game that could be amazing, but keep in mind the conceptual work of The Last Guardian began in the PlayStation 2 era.

We are well beyond the point in time that Japan Studio can ignore the outside noise and remain hidden in the dark on The Last Guardian. All we really know is that the game was supposed to come out on the PlayStation 3, it has a boy, it has a griffin, it is kinda shiny. Or maybe those statements are all “was” statements.

I guess we’ll find out in a week.

The Guardian – E3 2015 – Our 15 Most Anticipated Games