I enjoyed the traversal a lot, and that's what kept me engaged to at least complete the story.

There is an interesting paradox in games graphics/art direction and gameplay clarity, and Mirrors Edge Catalyst is a great example of this. It is super awkward to navigate without that red path help. You never know what objects are interactive, and it becomes impossible to keep a good running flow. Everything is white and realistic, it gets extremely confusing. I think it's a hard balance to achieve between trying to keep a very distinctive art direction but also prioritize gameplay. The red path thing is not the most elegant, and I wish I could not rely on that.

The combat was also a problem for me. I think it makes sense to be bad from a narrative standpoint, but unfortunately the game forces some combat encounter. If I could escape these encounters, this would not be an issue and also make much more sense narrative-wise.

I don't think Mirrors Edge Catalyst is bad at all. I enjoyed it quite a bit to the point of finishing it. I think this series is super original, specially coming from EA and being an AAA release where you have to cater to a very broad audience. It's just that there are some fundamental issues that bring the overall experience down. I still believe there's good potential for a first person parkour game with a little bit more focus on what actually makes it good.