Mirror’s Edge has received an RTX Remix Path Tracing upgrade

Modders have given Mirror’s Edge a huge ray tracing upgrade

A modder called “softsoundd” has released a new RTX Remix mod for Mirror’s Edge, enhancing the game’s visuals on PC with path tracing. The modder uses specific modifications to make Mirror’s Edge, an Unreal Engine 3 game, compatible with Nvidia’s RTX Remix toolkit. While the mod does not enhance any assets, it upgrades materials to enable PBR (Physically Based Rendering), allowing them to react realistically to path-traced lighting.

More details about how this mod works and how to install it are available on GitHub. Below, we have a YouTube video showcasing the mod in action, including some comparisons with the original game.

Stylistic visuals VS accurate lighting

Mirror’s Edge makes great use of pre-baked lighting, which allows the game to look great today despite its age. That said, path tracing enabled accurate reflections, bounce lighting, and other improvements. While the improvements with path-traced lighting are small in some instances, in others they are night-and-day.

Mirror’s Edge is a game with highly stylised visuals. The game uses dark shadows, and the entire world has high contrast. Areas in light are very bright, and shadows are very dark. With path tracing, Mirror’s Edge loses some of its artistic direction in favour of more accurate lighting. Bounce lighting brightens what would otherwise be dark areas in the original game, and the world’s high-contrast levels are lost. In some respects, the original looks better. That said, the RTX Remix has much better reflections and improved overall visuals.

Below, we can also see that with dynamic lighting (rather than pre-baked lighting), moving objects like the birds below have shadows.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this RTX Remix of Mirror’s Edge. There are some areas where I prefer the original game’s aesthetic. That said, this is an early version of this RTX Remix, so changes can be made to help retain Mirror’s Edge’s stylistic flair. Regardless, this is an interesting mod, and it clearly showcases how path-traced lighting can improve classic games with already great lighting.

You can join the discussion on Mirror’s Edge RTX on the OC3D Forums.