A prototype for the original Mirror’s Edge is now playable, thanks to some hard work from series enthusiasts. In a playthrough uploaded to YouTube, an early look at the beloved parkour game can be seen in all its lighting-less glory, including a truly horrendous opening monologue.
This video of the prototype was uploaded by Softsoundd on YouTube, who explains in the description that this build of the game is an early PS3 version of the game first shared in 2019. It had been rendered unplayable due to major technical problems, which have thankfully been solved.
They wrote: “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!”
So what’s noteworthy in this build? Well, while the entire video is fascinating for Mirror’s Edge fans, some highlights include the look of the game itself. Lacking the game’s launch lighting – as you can tell by the “lighting needs to be rebuilt” message constantly on the screen – the game looks rather drab compared to the full release. It goes to show how important proper light is, if nothing else.
There’s also, right at the start of the build, an opening monologue by Faith which isn’t present in the full release. While players are likely familiar with the silent opening as a tone-setter, in this build Faith introduces players to the world. It’s horrible too, with Faith saying: “In this city of mirrors, the edge is where you still have a choice.” Outstanding stuff.
This early build also features enemies blocking melee attacks, and an uppercut blow Faith can pull off while crouching in combat. There’s a pretty grizzly disarm animation against enemies holding pistols too, where Faith uses her knee to break some bloke’s arm by the elbow before nicking their firearm. Plus, there’s a time trial in the storm drains that never made it to the retail version of the game.
Mirror’s Edge remains a wonderful relic from an age gone by. It did get a sequel – Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst – which while decent didn’t prove quite as popular. Since its release, the series has been… dead. Still, some indie creators have carried the torch in the following years. This includes Panline, which you can check out on Steam.
