Prey - a game out of time

[MilesQ]

So I decided to pick this up from Amazon recently (£10) and figured at the very least I'd get a pretty decent narrative driven FPS, but that's literally the last thing I was thinking about after a few hours.

Now don't get me wrong, the story seems solid enough and I'm interested to learn more, but everything else about this game feels like it's lost in time.

You have inventory management, resource management, skill trees and some light RPG elements. All of which aren't features you don't really see in high budget AAA FPS any more.

Then there's no health regeneration, resources are scarce to the point where I'm legit concerned about making it to my next objective and I'm creeping around areas hoping I don't encounter any enemies.

There's no handholding here either, you get some very simple tutorial messages and then you're left to your own devices.


The game genuinely feels like a remnant of a the mid 2000s where FPS games were more than linear shooters and trusted the player was capable enough to figure things out and work their way through a game.

In some ways, it has a very strong System Shock vibe to it, which is probably the craziest thing about the game. A System Shock-esque title in 2017 with good production values and tight controls? Who saw that coming...


Anyway, buy this game if you haven't already. In a year of average FPS titles, Arkane have shown there's still at one developer who wants to try something different.

 

[Deleted member 33515]

I hated the demo and told myself I'd never play it. I ended up buying because my word means nothing even to myself and I've really loved it. It's really a game out of time, in a very good way!

 

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

I like the general premise but stopped after 3 hours because the moment to moment gameplay was boring me. Felt cumbersome to control.

I did finish Wolfenstein TNO just before it so maybe the two don't pair well lol.

I will revisit it but as is, it's slow beginning and ho-hum combat are very off putting for me

 

[Petruccis Biceps]

Yup its a great game that sold poorly and had bad glitches near launch. I can describe it best as being a fusion of System/Bioshock and Deus Ex.

Had a great time with the game.

 

[StarPhlox]

Easily one of my favorite games of the year and I played pretty much everything. Really disliked it at first (because it was not at all optimized on PS4 Pro, but further patches have mitigated those issues) and while the final few hours aren't so strong from a gameplay perspective and I could do without the constant respawning enemies there's just so much to love about the tension and freedom that the game affords you. Prey rules.

 

[GavinUK86]

Woo, another Prey thread! Man, I love that sales are getting people to buy this game. If you've been sleeping on it now's the perfect time to play it.

 

[Silky]

My GOTY easy

 

[drewfonse]

Made it most of the way through, but then stopped. I just found it really boring. Could t do it.

 

[Calibro]

Hell yes. Started it right after the release, but finished recently. Simply brilliant game, flawed in some ways, but these flaws are nothing if you think about how System Shock 3 (which it basically is) is out in 2017. No bullshit, no microtransactions, no online, not even a DLC, a huge and complete game right out of the box about shit going down on a massive space station. By the way, this is the most impressive and detailed space station I've witnessed in a video game, it's mindblowing how interconnected and intricate it is.

 

[Shelbyville Milhouse]

I read somewhere that the game really should have been called "Psycho Shock" which would have been a much better name. Definitely one of my favorite games of the year, ba

 

[Cort]

The main story was okay but what really kept me going was the world building and the characters. I think that was Chris Avellone's part of the game and it really showed, he is a tremendously talented writer, who has elevated games like Prey and Divinity Original Sin 2.

 

[Skulldead]

I love it until endgame... where i had the feeling i was a godlike tier cheesing everything and jumping like i had a jetpack, i was playing on nightmare.

 

[Paul]

Prey was pitched as spiritual successor to System Shock and that is exactly what Arkane delivered. It basically takes the concept of "abandoned on space station infested with space scum" and brings it to practical perfection. The station, Talos 1, is one of the most detailed and consistent fictional game environments ever crafted. It is obvious its builders at Arkane were thinking things through while making in. It was build in a way to feel like a real place that could easily exist in the alternative futurehistory the game takes place it. And the best thing is, it is fully possible to explore the whole station, from the uptop gardens right down to its reactor core. Sometimes it requires a bit of wit to reach certain places, which is a good thing. And then there is of course some outer space exploration, where it is possible to view the whole station in all of its futuristic retro beauty.
It is my GOTY for multitude of reasons, chief ones being the consistency of design both in gameplay and structure. I loved it, even the combat, beautifully evolves throughout the game due to the well tuned economy of upgrades and skills.
Everyone who enjoyed "thinking man's action games" like Deus Ex/System Shock owes it to themselves to get Prey.

 

[woozey]

Easily one of my favorite games of the year and I played pretty much everything. Really disliked it at first (because it was not at all optimized on PS4 Pro, but further patches have mitigated those issues) and while the final few hours aren't so strong from a gameplay perspective and I could do without the constant respawning enemies there's just so much to love about the tension and freedom that the game affords you. Prey rules.

Click to shrink...

Damn I didn't know they respawned. Guess sitting in the lobby killing everything was pointless (I'm only an hour and ahalf in) since it is costing me too much health.

 

[selfnoise]

There was this period where System Shock 2 was touted as one of the best PC games ever by major publications. Then time passed and Prey came out, and it was literally System Shock 3, and nobody noticed. Feels bad

 

[StarPhlox]

Damn I didn't know they respawned. Guess sitting in the lobby killing everything was pointless (I'm only an hour and ahalf in) since it is costing me too much health.

Click to shrink...

But farming their bodies for materials (once you can fully take advantage of that upgrade) is extremely worthwhile so it's not a total wash!

 

[Intraxidance]

I started playing it recently for several hours, and while I love the atmosphere and am really enjoying experiencing the spacestation, the combat thus far has been really not fun. I just encountered a pack of 5 mimics at once, and combat is either flailing around with my wrench, or randomly shooting all over the place hoping to freeze them in place. I ended up just running past them since the combat was so lame. Also the fact that drinking out of a water fountain gives me 1 hp back is an odd design choice (maybe it's not available on higher difficulties?) as I am using that to regenerate my health since it is limitless.

 

[Dreenk]

I just picked it up from a sale as well, and wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I'd avoided seeing too much because I knew I wanted to play it eventually (after Dishonored, I'm interested in everything Arkane does). I'm finding it to be more or less System Shock, but also closer to what I wanted the Bioshock games to be. I'm really loving it after about 8 hours.

 

[thegrantula21]

Bought it on black Friday and absolutely cannot wait to play it now. Just making my way through Wolfenstein first!

 

[HyGogg]

Immersive sims are sadly a bit of a dying breed, and the commercial underperformance of Prey, Dishonored 2, and Mankind Divided are likely to spell the end of the AAA immersive sim for the near future.

There are some AA projects on the horizon, though, notably two System Shock titles and Underworld Ascendant. The latter has been retooled more times than I can count but seems to be getting somewhere good now.

 

[PeskyToaster]

Glad people are finding Prey. I love Arkane's approach to game design.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

It's a very good game and I find my views on it actually get warmer over time. Too bed the quality dips significantly in the final third or so, in my opinion. Still, awesome stuff!

 

[The Praiseworthy]

Easily one of the finest games this generation has to offer... the amount of details in the game and the level design and of course the story and the crafting system..... if there is justice in the universe we will see a sequel :-(

 

[Reynolds Woodcock]

The more I think about this game after playing it, the more I like it.

 

[Deleted member 420]

it's so good

 

[SunBroDave]

One of the best games of the year, easily. Arkane has put out some of the best games in recent years.

 

[Dreenk]

Also the fact that drinking out of a water fountain gives me 1 hp back is an odd design choice (maybe it's not available on higher difficulties?) as I am using that to regenerate my health since it is limitless.

Click to shrink...

I find myself doing this too, especially since I only have one Medkit+ neuromod. I think it's the RPG thing of not wanting to use consumable items for fear of needing them later - I have like 15 Medkits.

If you're near a bathroom as well you can make the circuit of [Water Fountain #1 -> Water Fountain #2 -> Sink #1 -> Sink #2 -> Sink #3 -> repeat] in almost the exact time it takes for the first fountain to become available again, so +5 per round.

 

[Servbot24]

I bought it this weekend, excited to dig in. Looks great from what I've seen.

 

[5taquitos]

This will be one of the first games I pick up when I get a PS4 Pro again.

 

[M1chl]

I like Dishonored a lot, but Prey, I prefer the "real old one". Mainly due to some weird choices in enemy encounter and for that sluggish controls (which is probably console thing).

 

[Deleted member 19813]

I'll probably snag it during the Steam Winter Sale.

 

[Batatina]

It is a great game, featuring great level design. It picks up the best exploration elements of Dishonored and applies it to a single interconnected environment (which is what I think Dishonored lacks, since it has a level structure).

 

[MilesQ]

I forgot to mention how cool it is to fabricate your own ammo and your junk into material for fabrication. Nothing in this game is wasted.

I think I vaguely remember reading on GAF a few years back that this was taking inspiration from SS and me thinking it was going to be a trainwreck, oh how stupid and wrong I was...

 

[OnanieBomb]

Agreed. A game like Prey, flaws and all, is a rare breed.

 

[Unaha-Closp]

Can you stealth it up in Prey? It's like 16 quid on PSN at the moment but I'm not a big first person shooter kind of guy. First Person Sneaker no problem. If there is a sneaky avoid fights skill tree I might be tempted.

 

[bane833]

I think it´s a pretty great game with insane highs that also has some pretty nasty flaws (weak start, at times annoying enemies and weak finish). If they worked a bit on the aforementioned parts it would be a clear GOTY contender.

 

[Silencerx98]

Currently 8 hours in and I'm loving it. Seems like a good mix of survival horror and immersive sim. Honestly, I think these "outdated" elements in the game design really deliver a AAA experience you rarely get these days. The lack of handholding is great in my opinion

 

[Kyo555]

I believe there is even a name for what you describe: Shock-like.

Not really a big oddity, but it's nothing I would have expected coming after the original Prey from Human Head Studios. Soma is another recent title that gives you these vibes.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

I started playing it recently for several hours, and while I love the atmosphere and am really enjoying experiencing the spacestation, the combat thus far has been really not fun. I just encountered a pack of 5 mimics at once, and combat is either flailing around with my wrench, or randomly shooting all over the place hoping to freeze them in place. I ended up just running past them since the combat was so lame. Also the fact that drinking out of a water fountain gives me 1 hp back is an odd design choice (maybe it's not available on higher difficulties?) as I am using that to regenerate my health since it is limitless.

Click to shrink...

Hack turrets and lure your enemies towards them. The beauty of Prey is that you can play it in so many ways.

It's a great game.

 

[Doomguy Fieri]

I also bought it during this sale and love it. Can't quite believe just how much I love it. Agree with you, OP. Feels like someone took a game from 2001 and gave it 2016 graphics.

 

[Miker]

I believe there is even a name for what you describe: Shock-like.

Not really a big oddity, but it's nothing I would have expected coming after the original Prey from Human Head Studios. Soma is another recent title that gives you these vibes.

Click to shrink...

I don't think I've ever heard that term. People use the (equally shitty) term "immersive sim."

 

[Kill3r7]

Next game in the queue along with Dishonored 2.

 

[Abrasion Test]

I really wish I liked this game, but the cumbersome combat and endlessly respawning enemies broke me. Also hated the way side quests were doled out and often given too early before you could even access them. The plot was potentially really interesting but I felt like it tries to string you along for too long without giving satisfying answers, making the mid to late part of the game feel like a slog.

 

[Doomguy Fieri]

Started on hard, and it's almost perfect. I save scum a little bit because the occasional jump scare encounter can pretty quickly turn into being very dead or using a lot of resources. Otherwise, I appreciate that the cannon fodder enemies are just dangerous enough to take seriously, and the bigger humanoid enemies are legitimate life ending threats that need preparation and strategy to defeat without using all my damn shotgun shells.

 

[Pacman]

I felt like a lot of what you mention gave way to more traditional run and gun play styles later in the game. Eventually I was so flush with health packs, skills, ammo, and materials that I didn't have to conserve and started to move through the game very quickly,

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I loved that though - it made me feel significantly more powerful than I was when I started out.

The enemies are always dangerous though.

 

[Zoid]

Would have been my GOTY if Nintendo weren't so awesome this year.

 

[AlexCampy89]

Bought it super cheap.
One of my personal favourites this gen.

With a better marketing strategy, the game would have sold way more.

 

[CannonFodder52]

Really gotta play this during the holidays.

 

[Couscous]

I am going to buy it when my school break begins. Only two weeks left, but I have to pass 4 exams first. My break will be seven weeks, so I will have plenty of time to finish it. :)

 

[Prolepro]

Prey was pitched as spiritual successor to System Shock and that is exactly what Arkane delivered. It basically takes the concept of "abandoned on space station infested with space scum" and brings it to practical perfection. The station, Talos 1, is one of the most detailed and consistent fictional game environments ever crafted. It is obvious its builders at Arkane were thinking things through while making in. It was build in a way to feel like a real place that could easily exist in the alternative futurehistory the game takes place it. And the best thing is, it is fully possible to explore the whole station, from the uptop gardens right down to its reactor core. Sometimes it requires a bit of wit to reach certain places, which is a good thing. And then there is of course some outer space exploration, where it is possible to view the whole station in all of its futuristic retro beauty.
It is my GOTY for multitude of reasons, chief ones being the consistency of design both in gameplay and structure. I loved it, even the combat, beautifully evolves throughout the game due to the well tuned economy of upgrades and skills.
Everyone who enjoyed "thinking man's action games" like Deus Ex/System Shock owes it to themselves to get Prey.

Click to shrink...

This.

I always like to say, it really is a holistic experience. There is a clear vision behind it, and every part of its design contributes to it. There are many legitimate technical complaints that people have with the game (I didn't experience them, or maybe they just weren't significant enough for me to notice) but the game itself and what it offers was enough to keep me glued to it for all of the +30 hours I spent in it. Out of all the fantastic games that have been released this year (and boy were there a lot of great games this year) none of them came together in a way that felt as satisfying and freeing as Prey for me (even other systemically open games like BOTW). It's definitely my GOTY and one of my favorite games of all time, passing even anything the BioShock series has to offer.