Although Mirror’s Edge Catalyst from 2016 is considered somewhat weaker compared to the original, it is definitely worth it on sale at Steam – if there wasn’t a big problem.
Which game is it about? Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is an action-adventure game from 2016 and the reboot of the parkour hit by DICE. On Steam, the title enjoys a rating of “very positive” with 80% recommendations.
Moreover, the game is still reduced by 85% as part of the EA Publisher Sale until February 10, 2025, costing just €2.99. Nevertheless, some players warn against purchasing it.
Is EA selling a game that can’t be played?
What is the problem? On December 8, 2023, the publisher EA shut down the servers for Mirror’s Edge Catalyst. As a result, online features are no longer available. Some achievements can thus no longer be earned through normal means.
However, even though the server shutdown should not affect the story or side quests, players report that they can no longer play the game at all. Apparently, the game attempts to connect to the non-existent servers upon starting and then gets stuck on an endless loading screen after the intro cutscene.
The frustration of the players is reflected in a new wave of negative reviews on Steam: For the last 30 days, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is now only rated “mostly positive.”
In the community forum on Steam, one user even complains: “The continued presence of this game on Steam should be illegal.” EA is literally selling an unplayable game here.
Is there a solution? Players have identified the controversial DRM Denuvo as the cause of the problem. Apparently, the game tries to connect to the servers to validate the DRM token. However, the issue does not seem to occur for all players.
For those affected, there is also a solution: It is necessary to force the game to start in a kind of offline mode and skip the critical cutscene. The instructions can be found on Reddit.
The frustration of users plays into a larger dissatisfaction with the gaming industry. Because even if you have already paid for a game, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you really own it: Ubisoft deletes a game from players’ libraries – reminding us that we own nothing
