There’s nothing else quite like Mirror’s Edge. Not even its only sequel, Catalyst, is quite like the first Mirror’s Edge. Bold colours, slick parkour, and a cheesy story that’s trying a tad too hard, Mirror’s Edge has gone on to become a cult classic despite EA shoving it to the back of the store room.
But Mirror’s Edge fans are dedicated to the cause, whether EA cares or not. And now, 18 years after the game’s launch (yes, it really is that old), fans have got a prototype of the game working, a build dated to roughly nine months before launch.
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In a 30-minute showcase shared to YouTube (picked up by Eurogamer), Mirror’s Edge superfans ‘softsoundd’ and ‘Hekigan’ reveal an early PS3 build that was originally released in 2019 but was unable to be launched due to “technical issues”.
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“After extensive reverse engineering and hundreds of fixes, including repairing the broken EBOOT fSELF format, stubbing 306 corrupted functions, and resolving Unreal Engine package bugs, the build is finally playable,” the techwhizz explains. It’s worth noting that this build is currently only playable on a “custom RPCS3 build that makes unknown SPU STOP codes non-fatal and features increased memory limits,” so not just any old PS3.
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This restored early build gives us a rare glimpse into the early level design, cut content, and, most fun of all, a permanent alert that the ‘lightning needs to be rebuilt’. The lighting is nowhere near as bright and bold as the final version, which you’ll see in the side-by-side comparisons softsoundd included.
The movement mechanics are also tuned differently. The animations aren’t quite so smooth, the dodge jumps give you more height, and bunnyhops don’t maintain maximum speed—speedrunners beware. There’s also a weird bug where turning right while crouching causes the camera to tilt as if Faith’s stumbled.
Combat is also much more gruesome in this prototype, with Faith being able to counter pistol-wielding guards by breaking their arms with her legs. Oddly, enemies could also block Faith’s melee attacks, which I can only assume was removed to speed up combat. And just to add some jank on top, there are no ragdolls in this build, so dead enemies awkwardly stand there staring at you. There are also some cut weapons, like a scoped revolver and a Mini Uzi.
The quiet, contemplative intro that we have now used to feature a corny voice-over by Faith, which I’m actually glad was cut:
“This is a city of gloss and shimmer. A city of reflections. So many reflections that we barely know the real one anymore. The life has been sucked out of this place. Now it’s just a pristine, sugar-coated lie. In this city of mirrors, the edge is where you still have a choice. Live or die. Soar or plummet. It’s the only place left where, for an instant, you are truly free. And that is where you find out who you really are.”
Boom, slide down the crane and cue the music.
Honestly, it’s a fascinating look behind the curtain of a cult classic that’ll tide me over for a good while—I still need a true Mirror’s Edge 2, though, EA.
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