Prey

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Prey" (2017) is a very original video game. It has all requirement for it to be a first person shooter (which it kinda is), but its hard to compeer it to any first person shooter. It has great story, and only a kinda disappointing ending was the reason I did not gave it a 10/10. This game has very unique for its genre gameplay mechanics, were you can approach your goal in many ways, the game gives. Also I was constantly surprised of the world this game takes place in, because it really is a very good sci-fi setting.

Overall, I highly enjoyed "Prey" until its a bit of a lackluster ending. Other then that, its a very original game.

Pros:

• Great story & Interesting characters
• Great Gameplay
• Intricate level design
• Pretty good graphics
• Recycling and crafting is great
• Mimics add a layer of horror and suspense

Cons:

• World environments look rather similar
• A few more enemy types would be nice

Verdict: It is a damn crime that this game is this overlooked. This is a game that reminiscences innovations within games like Half-Life. Shame that games like COD are getting the attention.

8.5/10

'Prey (2017)' is a first-person 'immersive sim' set aboard a space station that's been recently overrun by a whole host of otherworldly aliens, including the elusive 'mimick' which can disguise itself as any object on board. The name of the game here is choice, with the player being given free reign to complete their objectives in whatever way they want. Exploration is more than encouraged and, usually, all solutions are valid. That's what's so satisfying about the experience. It gives you a set of systems, which evolve somewhat over the course of the game but always remain consistent, and lets you loose with them. Its heady story, full of twists and turns, is meant to be engaged with on an intellectual level; you're supposed to think about what you're doing and why you're doing it. It's great fun that's incredibly immersive from start to finish. It's also rather unique, despite being obviously inspired by games such as 'System Shock (1994)', 'Bioshock (2007)', 'Deus Ex (2000)' and Arkane Studios' previous 'Dishonoured (2012)'. It's a game you won't want to stop playing. It's absolutely fantastic. I'll almost certainly be returning to it in the future. 9/10

Almost perfect video game. This is a great game for getting scared. Really good horror. I originally played the demo on ps4 & it was so scary. Then did the entire game, with start do-over. It was tons of fun. The only reason I opted for 9 stars is because I felt like the game became too repetitive towards the end and I basically got bored & wanted to finish it quickly. Repetitive meaning especially in regards to creatures -- there were no more new horror creatures to explore! -- which was sad because I was thoroughly enjoying myself. The storyline is great, no complaints there.

The plot for Prey is lengthy and would resemble a small novel as opposed to something that could be well summarized into 2 or 3 bullet points. The quickest I can distill the story is that the game takes place in an alternate version of history, the year is 2032 and the Transtar corporation is conducting research on board the ship Talos 1. The Soviet Union previously discovered a race of dangerous aliens called the Typhon and they co-operated with the United States government to subdue them. The US government helps keep this quiet and eventually takes over the project when tensions rise between the two nations. Study on the Typhon continues until the year 1980 when the Pobeg Incident occurs. Scientists are killed by the Typhon aboard the former Soviet satellite the Kletka. The research project Axiom is abandoned and the satellite is left with the live Typhon aboard. Transtar purchases the satellite in 2025 and re-institutes the research with the goal of creating "Neuromods." These are injections that grant super power like abilities based on what the Typhon can do. We join Morgan Yu (you can choose whether the protagonist is male or female) in 2030 as a high ranking member of Transtar about to travel to Talos 1 (the re-branded Kletka) to join his brother Alex Yu in developing the neuromods. Things go array QUICKLY and in ways that you wouldn't expect (I don't want to spoil it, the opening reveal/twist is something that should be experienced in the moment). Prey's story is surprisingly layered and while it might not spell everything out for you immediately, the reward is in the gradual unveiling. Things are not what they seem aboard the Talos 1 and that's outside the shape-shifting aliens that want to rip you limb-from-limb.

It's easy to categorize Prey as a FPS but you'd be shortchanging the game with that assumption. Where other games wall you off from certain parts of the map or rigidly manage where you go, Prey largely lets you traverse Talos 1 unimpeded. There's an amount of freedom in the game that you don't always get in this genre. There are puzzles to solve, resources to manage (the game requires you to recycle junk to give you the raw material to craft things like ammo, health or gun upgrades) and several different ways to arrive at the solution. One weapon specifically plays a large role in this, the GLOO cannon freezes enemies in place and allows you to more easily melee or eliminate them. But the GLOO gun can be used to scale walls, create bridges etc. It's a nice complement to the solid action and it's another way in which the game refuses to just hand it to the player (the effectiveness of this idea is mixed, more on that later).

By the time I finished Prey, I had completely gotten on board. There's been some complaints about the effectiveness of the ending but I think it was a bold and inspired choice. Any game can end in a big fight and the world is magically saved, I appreciated that they tried something different. They pay some lip service subtly to a morality system throughout the game and it affects which ending you're presented with. There are also hints that there's a larger game afoot so while the conclusion was surprising, it didn't feel like dirty pool. I really dug it and I'd actually encourage more developers to take a page from Arkane's book.

I only have 1 complaint when it comes to Prey and while it may come across as a little petulant, I'm not the only one with this view. Prey is HARD at the beginning, to the point it passes past the point of an enjoyable challenge. Your character is deliberately under-powered and you can run into high level enemies in any given area. Some have argued that it encourages puzzle solving, stealth and exploration to pick up items and gain XP but I found that hard to believe as I was terrified to go anywhere but the waypoint on the main quest because I would die so quickly. Eventually, I levelled up to a point where I could investigate other areas and gain new abilities. But I'm not going to begrudge anyone for getting frustrated when starting this game, it's tough and it takes some fortitude to acclimate to how punishing Prey can be.

I didn't love Prey from the beginning, I actually contemplated giving up on it at around the 25% mark. The story was impressive and the mystery of Talos 1 was great (along with the surprisingly stacked voice cast, Benedict Wong's work as Alex is hugely underrated in helping Prey deliver) but I just kept dying over and over again. I stuck with it however and through my stubbornness, I got better at it and finished the game. This game is exceptional in many areas and I now get why it's on everyone's list of criminally underrated games from the previous generation of consoles. I didn't even touch on how scary and varied the Typhon types are (if you don't like jump scares, this game might be a little annoying for you). Prey deserved more attention and bigger sales and if you get the chance to play it, I'd absolutely recommend you to do so.