I think the purpose of the argument isn't to say "I think this game is garbage because of open world", but more about suggesting how it could have been better. Having higher expectations for a game that got it right enough the first time isn't strange. Since Mirror's Edge, almost every other game has some form of parkour, some more rewarding, some faster and others that complement the gameplay of an entirely different genre; shooter, survival horror, even beat 'em up.
After introducing us to parkour that didn't completely suck: the sequel reboots the story and tells another uninteresting one.
Now we have a game that so clearly has said: gun combat just doesn't work, gives us a few combos, making us fight longer without disarming and making the entire gameplay simply running.
Even the most defending comments seem to say the story missions as just as good as the original, making it evident that the running in the open world isn't as good. If that's the case, then they took Mirror's Edge and filled it up with less exciting gameplay in between.
The concept of an open world is great in theory, perhaps even while it's being played, but the impact of Catalyst doesn't compare to the original. "Thank god, there's more Mirror's Edge." Is the exact description of this game, whether the individual ranges from "liked" to "love". Unless it's been a very hard 8 years, what another couple of months?
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I'm just practicing putting my thoughts into words, I think I've said all I needed to.