The first installment in Electronic Arts’ critically acclaimed action-adventure video game franchise paved the way for a highly anticipated follow-up. Mirror's Edge Catalyst is not only the second addition to the series, it actually reboots the franchise for the current generation platforms with next-gen visuals and an all new origin story for the main protagonist of the game. Although the game is due to release next year, it looks like DICE is committed to make it look as good as possible on the current generation platforms.

Rough Screenshot Comparison Between Mirror's Edge Catalyst's E3 2013 and Gamescom 2015 Gameplay Footage Shows How the Development Work is Progressing

　　In a screenshot comparison between the Mirror's Edge Catalyst in-engine footage that was showcased at E3 2013 at the time of announcement and the ones that were revealed during EA’s E3 2015 and Gamescom 2015 press conferences, courtesy of DSOGaming, you can see how the game development has progressed over the years. The first comparison screenshots show that the character model of Faith, the main protagonist of the series, looks quite identical in both builds. The in-game guard models, however, have been changed. Unlike the E3 2013 trailer, there was no noticeable damage done to masks worn by guards when Faith hit them in the recent footage.

　　Note that in each pair, the screenshot on the top is from E3 2013 gameplay footage, and the one below it is taken from Gamescom 2015 footage. A few screenshots have been taken from the footage that was showcased at E3 2015  as well.

　　The motion blur effects in the Gamescom 2015 footage were quite prominent, and the anamorphic lens-flares is another addition. The camera lighting bounce reflections that were implemented in the E3 2013 footage were also present in the recent gameplay trailer, you can check it out in the screenshots below. However, the lighting itself and the amount of reflected light seems to have been reduced. The surfaces in the comparison screenshots are not the same, but still, they give us a rough idea about how the lighting effects have been changed. You can check out the screenshots below.

　　Of course, this is just a rough comparison and can’t be claimed as anything accurate keeping in mind the different angles, in-game objects and scenes that are involved. We will only know of the changes that are being implemented during the development process as we get closer to the release. Mirror's Edge Catalyst is due to release on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One next year on February 23.