Like a lot of people, I really enjoyed the first (and still technically the only) Mirror’s Edge game. It was just the free-running that I enjoyed, but the world and main character. Yet I honestly feel like I don’t know much about Faith. I was pretty excited when Dark Horse announced Mirror’s Edge: Exordium and after reading this issue I really wanted to play the game again. Because the sequel isn’t scheduled until February of next year and that’s a long fucking time from now when you want to play a game. Exordium is the prequel to the first game which was actually kind of cool. We all know that when a comic does a prequel they’re doing that because it’s the only part of the story they’re allowed to explore. Sure sometimes there’s the bridge between games, but having seen how that turned out with Tomb Raider, I would much rather take a prequel.
The story is pretty simple. Faith is a bit of a rookie. She’s not as tatted up as she is in the game and she’s not as trusted either. We kick off with her on a mission leading some security goons away while two other runners get some computer data. She leads the guards right to a shady meeting that happens to be happening on another roof top and this leads to her being captured by some goons working for a man named Dogen. There’s a time trial later in the comic and we learn a lot about Faith’s family. Frankly I came away knowing more about Faith and her world than I did from playing the first game. The story for the game felt like background noise, whereas here it’s obviously the focus because we’re not getting that first person free-run style that the game has.
The dialogue is a bit stiff, but really I didn’t care because I was so fascinated by the world finally being explained to me. I do wish they’d explain what “Beatlinked” is since it wasn’t a big enough of a deal in the game to stick out to me. I assume it’s some kind of internet for the brain, but still… just tell me. Also I didn’t like the outcome of the race. It made Faith lose stock in the fact that she was instantly beat after being hyped up. It’s a minor gripe, but I just think it was too early in the story to see her be humbled.
The art is pretty good. I would have liked more pages of free-running, but I enjoyed the fact that what was there, was silent. I wouldn’t say that it felt like the game, but a competent adaptation of the game in comic form. The world and setting also are very close to the game which was nice. Another touch that the art had to offer was the character designs. We get a real look at how people dress in this world and it’s pretty cool. I liked that the rival runners had their own fashion which was really just a tweak of the overall fashion of the world. The action and running could use some work, but they weren’t bad by any means.
Anytime a comic that’s based on a video game makes you want to play the game, I say that it was successful in what it set out to do. I seriously want to re-play the first game after this issue and will be desperately waiting for the new game. In the meantime, Mirror’s Edge: Exordium is actually a good adapation of the game and expands on the world that very few video game comics have before. It’s why I generally trust Dark Horse’s video game adaptations, because they’re usually very successful at figuring out what the fans actually want to read. If you enjoyed Mirror’s Edge, the game then you’ll enjoy this prequel to the world that might help tide you over until February.
Score: 4/5
Mirror’s Edge: Exordium #1 (of 6) Writer: Christofer Emgård Artists: Mattias Håggström, Robert Sammelin Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 9/9/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital