Review: Prey makes a name for itself in a genre of classics

Platform: PS4, Xbox One (reviewed), PC

Developer: Arkane Studios

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

MSRP: $59.99

Introduction:

Note: This will be as spoiler free as possible.

Prey sets you in an alternate near future (2032), where aliens called Typhon have been discovered. Of course, with the discovery of these aliens, humans decided to capture them and study them. That's where you come in as Morgan Yu, one of the researchers (for lack of a better description) on the space station named Talos I.

When you start out the game you can choose between whether you want Morgan Yu to be male or female (that's where character creation begins and ends) and then you're booted right into the game to face off against the Typhon.

Play your way (after a couple of hours)

Prey starts off pretty slow. In the first two hours of the game you might find yourself trudging along, the enemies seem to hard, Medkits are scarce, and the story isn't that present. Once the wool is pulled from your eyes and you see the world for what it is, you're shoved in an alien-filled spaceship with little to go on other than you have to survive and you have to get from A to B.

As you progress, the game opens up, your decisions/interactions matter, and your abilities grow. With your new abilities and items, you can explore the space ship and all it's hidden areas as much as you like. However, it should be noted that the exploration is limited to your playstyle – if you aren't detail oriented hidden items/areas can be easy to miss and can make the game seem like a simple A to B objective game.

The game caters to all kinds of players; you can play stealthily, you can run and gun or you can be a hybrid of those two.

The game's character progression is found in Nueromods. The Neuromods are split between human abilities and Typhon abilities. At the beginning of the game, only human abilities are accessible – the alien abilities come later. With that being said, you can choose how to split up your Neuromods as you see fit.

The more Typhon abilities you choose, the less human you are… which means that should-be-friendly machines (like turrets) won't be as friendly. In addition to that, the more Typhon abilities you have, the more the Nightmare is drawn to you. The Nightmare is a massive and deadly Typhon organism that appears somewhere in your current level and should be avoided.

You should know, though, those Typhon abilities are pretty cool (and handy)… and pretty worth it sometimes.

Details, it's all in the details.

Yes, there is a story in Prey, but it can easily fall to the wayside if you immerse yourself in the details of the game. There are so many details and so many stories in the game. Every dead body has a name; nearly every computer tells the tale of the dead (or the survivors). Emails show office quarrels, love affairs, hidden items, safes, passwords, keycodes, maps, and so much more.

Each character you encounter or the recordings of deceased characters in the game have fairly solid voice-acting, and their lines aren't all the cliche. All of these subtle details help craft the world and allow you to immerse yourself into Prey without feeling like you're experiencing the same characters or areas all over again.

The details don't begin and end with the characters and items though; there are plenty of hidden areas that are only accessible if you use a bit of creativity (and a Gloo Gun or Typhon powers).

Trust nothing, no really, trust nothing.

The enemies in Prey have to get the spotlight. The Typhon can be anything; they can disguise themselves as any object in the room, they can appear in the form of deadly human-like beings, they can be giant floating things that mind control others or turn friendly equipment into your enemy.

Arkane's little aliens create a sense of tension in the game that should be present in an action horror game.

In space, we recycle… everything.

From lemon peels to agave plant clippings to Typhon organs, you are collecting various articles of junk and throwing them in a machine called the Recycler, that does exactly as the name implies – it recycles them. Each piece of junk you collect can be recycled to obtain material that is necessary for crafting new items.

Picking up junk and allowing it to take up space in your inventory might seem somewhat tedious, but it's also necessary. In the early hours of the game Medkits can be hard to find (and survival isn't the easiest), so crafting becomes quite necessary (it's pretty much something you'll be doing throughout the game).

The crafting system can help in a pinch, but can easily be wasted. Word to the wise: Focus on crafting Neuromods, ammo, and consumables, like Medkits and Psi Hypos. You won't be finding those at every turn (at least I didn't).

Verdict:

The gameplay can be rough and might be confusing at times, but once understood the game is fairly immersive and impressive. The game does have a replayability aspect, seeing as there are various endings, alternative paths in levels, and tons of side quests, making the $60 worth the price. On top of that, there's an incentive to play again if you're a completionist, there's an achievement that can only be unlocked if you complete the game without alien mods.

All in all, Prey is the game that would come from mixing System Shock with BioShock, then throwing in some Dishonored for good measure.