Reviews

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  Miphnifico!

  Dec 9, 2021

  I picked up Prey back in 2017 and for whatever reason never really sat down and pushed through it until now. Boy, was I missing out this entire time. Prey (2017) delivers one of the best story-driven FPS-RPG's I've played in years, and even though it's 4 years old today I don't foresee it losing its shine for the next 10 or so years. Prey has a lot to say over its entire runtime, putting you into the shoes of Morgan Yu as you unwrap what's happened aboard Talos I before you were conscious. Prey presents an incredible performance, but falls a little flat or short with a few of its offerings. I have hardly anything bad to say about the game due to my experience, but everything is detailed below.

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  The Good

  :

  The Story

  - Prey presents an interesting morally entangled story to the player from the very beginning, driving home that you've got choices, even though they may not be the right ones. As you play through the game there's many voices hammering home to you that you eventually have to make a decision, that this isn't one of those scenarios where everything can just be alright and everyone wins. There's no superhero performance to save you and everyone else, and the game does a fantastic job of presenting this bleak reality as you're traipsing through the decks of Talos I. Prey also presents side-quests in a way that impacts the actual progression of the game, whereas you can choose not to do them though you may suffer dire consequences in the long run.

  Difficulty

  - Seldom have I played a game where the only difficulty that felt truly right was the hardest one, yet Prey fits right into this category. Originally when I picked the game up in 2017 I fiddled about with the difficulties to find the best feeling one. Prey's foreboding atmosphere and almost Survival-Horror FPS mechanics made it feel just right to play on Nightmare. Enemies don't feel any more spongey than they did on other difficulties, but the amount of damage they inflict is much more of an active threat, leading you to have to think on your feet rather than baiting out enemy encounters and running away. Anything you leave wandering the halls of Talos I may come back to hunt you later whilst you're at your most vulnerable.

  Characters

  - Prey's development team has put in meticulous work to insure that their NPC's actually feel alive or as if they genuinely inhabit the space within the game regardless of the characters own mortality. Audio logs punctuate the games foreboding atmosphere as you listen to stories from certain characters, or audio right up until the moment of their untimely demise.

  Worldbuilding

  - Almost everything within Prey lends itself towards establishing a picture of what may have been before you're able to explore. About how the station of Talos I looked before you became conscious of yourself and your surroundings. Audio logs from survivors or people who've met their end, visual presentation of information or areas which paints a picture of what went on there, and the overall feel of the games atmosphere all combine to present an immersive and believable environment aboard the Talos I.

  Audio

  - Audio Work in Prey in my experience has been pretty top-notch, with everything feeling realistic and believable, from the environmental sounds and the sounds weapons make, all the way to the background music everything has felt well-designed. Swinging a Wrench at a wall or an enemy makes a satisfying clank or crunch that's believable, whereas a Shotgun blast just has such an incredibly satisfying sound to it. Enemies sound chunky and dangerous, and audio cues have been designed to notify or let you know when they're nearby, accompanied by Audio cues for letting you know when they're about to attack so that you're aware of when to dodge or run for cover. Background music in Prey is both sinister and serene, impressing me with its presentation, yet not feeling overly oppressive and not overstaying its welcome.

  The Ok

  : The Combat - Prey has surprisingly good combat, or at least far better than I was expecting from it originally. There's a multitude of ways to tackle encounters and problems, though near the end of the game it does become rather shallow; Hardly anything can stand before the might of a fully-upgraded shotgun, and a massive inventory of restoratives pushes you to the brink of becoming a nearly unkillable god. Prey has an ever-present Rock-Paper-Scissors mechanic which in theory should add some depth to the game, yet nothing you encounter has a high resistance to ballistics. Combat would feel much more involved had there been some enemies which could project fields in front of themselves which could block something such as shotgun pellets, similarly to how some enemies are resistant to certain elemental attacks.

  The Bad

  : Enemy Variety - Enemy Variety in Prey is close to nonexistent, with there being various forms of one singular enemy which are just essentially reskinned enemies with different powers. Each enemy in the game has basically two forms, and that's about all you'll encounter during your playthrough, which makes for a slightly disappointing experience as it definitely feels as though there could've been more variety to spice up the combat. -

  Final Verdict

  Overall Score: 9/10 Worth $30? I'd personally say yes to this due to everything the game offers. Closing Thoughts: Prey overall has been a delight throughout my playthrough, leading me to sinking multiple successive days into it so that I could finally reach the ending, which isn't particularly a luxury most find themselves with nowadays due to work and the like. There's very little I take issue with or found myself having grievances with within the game, however I do feel as though the inclusion of a pause function whilst opening your inventory is misplaced and doesn't belong due to taking away from the overall experience. I can definitely say that Prey is one of my best gaming experiences of 2021.

• 

  Hobo Elf

  Jun 6, 2022

  One of the best games since System Shock 2.
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  Tanden22

  Apr 19, 2022

  horror games ain't my thing, but this? this is nice. 10/10 i give the typhon nightmares too
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  PorkyPig

  Mar 11, 2022

  Pretty good game, I'd say anyone who liked Bioshock or Half-Life will very much like this. The atmosphere of this game feels like the Alien movie. The story's ending leaves you mindblown.
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  Kobethegodd

  Jan 30, 2022

  fun game and its not hard and not to easy
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  ViiMeineN

  Feb 1, 2022

  very good
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  hegel5000

  Jul 21, 2022

  Best game I've played in a while and I recently played Elden Ring! - Side quests can be failed, but the failure states are pretty fair/intuitive, so you really feel like you've won when you do - Basically all of the combat is optional. In particular, the game finds ways to escalate towards the end which don't involve boss fights - Unless you deliberately level-up the right abilities (letting you become god-like in the mid-to-end-game), combat is very much about disabling enemies and either wailing on them or throwing stuff at them. This would be bad in a more combat-heavy game, but instead it makes things feel scary and frantic - The setting and tone is more hard science fiction than space opera, and in that regard Prey differs from Star Trek, but in a lot of ways it just oozes Star Trek (but capitalist dystopia) - The space station where the game takes place is incredibly detailed and feels like people live there. Again, this would be bad if the game were more focused on combat, in which case you'd want more distinctly videogamey levels, but instead the game gives you plenty of space to explore - Lots of fun characters you get to meet the way you usually do in games like this (emails, audiologs, finding their bodies). Every loot-filled corpse, even if they don't get a character, at least gets a name and a job on the station - A surprising number of *actual* characters for you to save - Despite the above, there are absolutely no escort missions. Arguably it's a little silly how characters just appear safely in the right spot, but I think it's for the best
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  SHODAN

  Jul 21, 2022

  Really loved this game. Very unique world, engaging gameplay. As someone who loves games like Dishonored and Deus Ex, Prey easily became one of my favourite games while playing it.
• 

  Xaviaan

  Jul 23, 2022

  Hard to get started, recommend a few 'before you play' guides, but great fun when you get the hang of things.
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  Gods Dog

  Jul 23, 2022

  this is better than JESUS!
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  Vulom

  Jul 24, 2022

  This review is not a mimic.
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  Blackout4711

  Jul 25, 2022

  System Shock 2's Art Deco younger cousin Only shy of 20 hours in but I can already pretty confidently say this is probably an official GOAT-list game, if not, definitely a GOAT of the 2010s in gaming. Asking for a coop mode is a big ask in an already heavily dense and great game, but if it did have it it would easily break into the top 5 vibes of all time. That said, nothing but absolute love has been put into every corner of this game and its such a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of it's contemporaries. Very easy to sleep on if you played the original PREY and wondered "wtf is this?" So you ignored it. But disregarding the IP tomfoolery, this stands very strong as its own product. The whole name thing is the one critical mistake the publisher made and I think the sole reason it didn't get more love to begin with. Definitely made no sense to name it Prey in the same way it would make no sense to make a new movie called Alien that has 0 to do with the original Alien film IP, it would guarantee it to flop. Final rating: 4.5/5 permed 80s mullets. A must have and a certified hood classic for fans of Thief, Deus Ex, System Shock, Bioshock and space/sci-fi fans generally.
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  Queenie

  Jul 31, 2022

  At first I was scared to play this game cause I am a bitch. But now I have played it properly I love this game! It is challenging but thats what makes it good!
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  Ratspike

  Aug 3, 2022

  a witches brew mixing Dead Space + Dishonored + System Shock 2 + Bioshock Very Good
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  BigDave

  Aug 8, 2022

  Great game, reminds me of system shock 2 in a lot of ways. I was hoping for a sequel after i finished the game but after looking at what the game studio is making now it would probably be best if they just left it on a high note.
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  Wepto

  Aug 8, 2022

  good game
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  Tiny

  Aug 16, 2022

  You like space? Not after playing this game! You like sci-fy? Not after playing this game! You like cups? Not after playing this game! You aren't sure about this game? You will love it!
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  xChristiano

  Aug 16, 2022

  One of the most underrated and immersive games I've ever played. A vast space station that betrays your expectations and plays games with your mind. The overall design of each and every room was clearly accounted for, and that rewards the players with a variety of ways to explore and unlock new areas of the map, encouraging player creativity & independence instead of holding the player's hand. The music and atmosphere is just amazing. The world you're placed in is very believable and feels like the space station is actually lived in by the other residents/employees. It's a true shame this game went under the radar for many people, and that it's not getting a sequel.
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  ayokay

  Aug 22, 2022

  LITERALLY my favorite game of all time. I own this game on all platforms and never get tired of playing it <3
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  v0id b0nes

  Aug 23, 2022

  It's so so good! You'll never be more afraid of cups! I like my horror so I didn't jump out of my skin until I didn't spot a friendly robot and it spoke to me. The only thing about it is that a section, A SMALL SECTION, of the ending does make the entire experience feel cheap but overlooking that, I loved it endlessly.