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Prey (2017) |OT| Trust no one. Not even your shelf

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Good Morning, GAF. Today is Monday March 15th, 2032

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You play as Morgan Yu (Who can be played as male or female), a key subject of an experiment that's meant to alter humanity forever. After the Typhon escape their containment and overrun Talos I, you are set out to discover the mystery behind the space station, your past, and stop the Typhon before they destroy humanity. Your decisions throughout the game will change how the story will play out.


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Prey is set in an alternative timeline where President JFK survived his assassination and put more effort in the space program. Talos I was originally built to contain the Typhon aliens decades ago as joint effort between the US/USSR. After the failed Kennedy assassination, the partnership was short-lived and the US seized control of the station and evolved it into a fully functioning research facility in two decades. However, it was abandoned after a fatal incident between the scientists and the Typhon aboard the station in 1998. Many years later, a corporation called TranStar took over the station. They managed to make advances in neuroscience and harnessed the Typhon to create Neuromods, a device that can enhance human capabilities (Learning a language, playing a piano, better strength, and so on). With ruthless determination, they managed to gain more understanding of the Typhon and with the help of Psychotronics Division, they aim to redefine what it means to be human.

The setting art-style is described as Neo Deco. Due to Talos I's rich history, the station have sections made of different designs in the year they were built in, ranging from the Soviets in the 1960s to modern ones installed recently. Retrofuturism and Art Deco are the most prominent decors in the station


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Prey is designed to be a huge interconnected level, which means that Talos I can be explored anywhere, be it through interior or zero-g exterior. Similarly to other Metroidvania-style games, there'll be obstacles like locked doors, tougher enemies or environmental-based puzzles that you can only solve through your abilities and tools. Resources are pretty scarce in Talos I, so you have to use your tools and wits wisely. A device called the Material Recycler allows you to turn any item you pick up (weapons, ammo, food, junk, etc...) into fabrication materials which can be used with Fabricators. Fabricators can be used to create a lot of useful items (ammo, medkits, weapons, etc..) as long you have the blueprint for the specific item you want to create. Your abilities are acquired through Neuromods, which you learn through putting a needle into your eyeball. There are six skill trees in Prey. Three for human abilities (Scientist, Engineer, Security) and three for Typhon abilities (Energy, Morph, Telepathy). You can fully invest in either human abilities or Typhon abilities or mix both of them, but you can't fully invest in both. Prey accommodates a lot of playstyles, so you can play the entire game using only the wrench or not going with alien abilities, and so on
As you explore Talos I, You'll encounter human survivors across the station. Some of them are mind-controlled by the Telepath and some of them who are just trying to survive. The security roster, which is found in security computers can help you track any missing crew members aboard the space station and check if they're alive or dead. How you treat the human survivors and interact with them will influence the endgame.


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Prey has alien abilities that allows you to solve problems or eliminate enemies in whatever ways you see fit. Those abilities are learned from the Typhon enemies using a Psychoscope as you start the game with only human abilities at first. While the Typhon abilities has advantages, it also has disadvantages. As you gain more Typhon abilities, the security turrets will attack you as they see you as an alien entity and the aliens become more aware of you. But most importantly, there's a huge Typhon creature called the Nightmare which is designed to hunt you down as you invest in alien powers, making it a life or death situation.

In any case, here are the Typhon abilities in full detail:

Energy Tree:
Kinetic Blast (I, II, and III): Creates a physical blast that deals up to 70 damage and pushes anything away within 5 meters of the targeted area. Can be upgraded to increase damage and push radius of the targeted area.
Lift Field (I, and II): Creates a column of upward force up to 7 meters tall to manipulate gravity to trap enemies or use it for traversal. It lasts 15 seconds. Can be upgraded to increase the height of the column.
Electrostatic Burst (I, II, and III): Creates an electrostatic burst that deals up to 25 damage within 3 meters of the targeted area. It disrupts electronic equipment, stuns robotic targets for 3 seconds and biological targets for 2 seconds. Can be upgraded to increase damage and area of effect as well the stun periods of both biological and robotic targets.
Electrostatic Absorption: Absorbs 50% of all electrical damage as Psi points.
Electrostatic Resistance: Negates stun and take 50% less damage from electrical attacks and hazards.
Superthermal (I, II, and III): Creates a trap of superheated plasma that deals up to 80 fire damage within 4 meters when triggered. Can be upgraded to increase damage and area of effect.
Thermal Resistance: Take 50% less damage from fire attacks and hazards.
Thermal Absorption: Absorbs 50% of all fire damage as psi points.

Morph Tree:
Mimic Matter (I, II, and III): Take the form of any nearby physical object. You can move as an object, but it may draw attention. Costs 2 psi per second. Can be upgraded to take the form of turrets and Operator bots around Talos I.
Regeneration (I, and II): Regenerates up to 10 health. Can be upgraded to increase the amount of health you can regenerate.
Phantom Shift (I, and II): Rapidly move to a position up to 6 meters and leave behind a double to fool enemies for 4 seconds. Can be upgraded to increase the distance you move and the amount of time your double distracts enemies.
Ether Resistance: Take 50% less damage from ether attacks and hazards.
Ether Absorption: Absorb 50% of all ether damage as psi points
Phantom Genesis (I and II): Create a phantom from a human corpse that will fight for you. Can be upgraded to create a more powerful Phantom to fight for you. Phantom type is randomly determined.

Telepathy Tree:
Backlash (I, II, and III): Creates a shield for 20 seconds, which prevents the next enemy attack from damaging you. Enemies that attack the shield are repelled. Can be upgraded to increase the number of attacks the shield can block.
Fear Resistance: Reduces duration of Fear effects by 25%
Psychoshock (I, II, and III): Executes a direct psychic shock attack against biological targets for 45 damage and nullify their psi abilities for 10 seconds. Can be upgraded to increase the damage and the amount of time psi abilities will be nullified.
Mindjack (I, II, and III): Forces biological enemies to end hostilities and fight for you up to 20 seconds. It also frees human survivors from Typhon's mind control. Can be upgraded to increase the amount of time that enemies will fight for you.
Remote Manipulation (I, II, and III): Allows you to retrieve distant objects and interact with devices up to 10 meters away. Can be upgraded to increase the range.
Machine Mind (I, II, and III): Forces robotic enemies to end hostilities and fight for you up to 30 seconds. Can be upgraded to increase the amount of time that robotic enemies will fight for you.


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In addition to the Typhon abilities, there are a number of weapons and gadgets that will help you in taking the fight against the Typhon. While you might find conventional weapons used by Talos 1's security, keep in mind that Talos I is a corporate research facility, so don't expect a bazooka or gatling guns. Ammo is pretty scarce so use those weapons wisely. You might find some ”exotic" weaponry thanks to the ingenuity of scientists aboard Talos I

Here are the weapons, gadgets and gear in full detail:

Wrench: Because if all else fails and you're out of psi or ammo, bashing an alien's head with a Wrench is the only solution.
GLOO Cannon: Short for Gelifoam Lattice Organism Obstructor. It fires a stream of quick-hardening foam that can be used to freeze enemies temporarily, seal off environmental hazards, or creating pathways to help you scale the environment.
Disruptor Stun Gun: A non-lethal tool. Can be used to stun Typhon enemies temporarily, damage robotic enemies or knock out human survivors who are mind-controlled.
PPN Silenced Pistol: Used by Talos I's security. It's useful against smaller Typhon
S4 Tactical Pump Shotgun: Used by Talos I Security. It's a powerful close-quarters weapon that can be used against larger Typhon enemies.
Huntress Boltcaster: Don't let the name fool you. It's a toy crossbow that does zero damage. However, it can be used to distract enemies or push buttons from afar. Can be used to interact with computers from a distance
Q-Beam: Or the TS-QPB-S11 Quasiparticle Beam to be precise. It's an experimental weapon that supercharges an enemy with unstable energy that triggers an explosive chain reaction on any enemy within close proximity. Keep an eye out for it as you might find it earlier or later depending on where you go on Talos I.
Recycler Charge: A portable version of the Recycler. It's used to clear a path or as a weapon against your enemies. When used, it creates a small black hole that sucks anything nearby and fabrication materials come out of it as a result. Careful not to get close or you'll get recycled too.
EMP Charge: Emits a large burst of electromagnetic energy that is highly effective against Operators, turrets, and electrical-based entities.
Nullwave Transmitter: Emits a burst of signals that nulls psionic abilities of anyone caught in the blast for a short period of time.
Typhon Lure: A tool that uses Pyscholuminescent light to attract Typhon enemies, giving you a window of opportunity to kill them.
TransScribe: A standard-issue device for TranStar employees. This device helps you communicate anyone aboard Talos I, look over notes and audio logs you collect in the station, or keep tab on your inventory. It helps you in managing your Typhon and Human abilities as well
Artax Propulsion System: An essential item that can be fabricated early in the game. It attaches to your uniform and allows you to navigate Zero-G environments both within and outside the space station. It's also useful in normal gravity as it produces enough thrusts that you can do jump-glide maneuvers.
Psychoscope: The most important item in the game. It's the key to unlocking alien abilities. But there's a catch, you can only scan the aliens when they're alive - and the only living Typhon is a hostile Typhon. Even if you opt to go with human abilities only, the Psychoscope is useful in revealing some backstory and vulnerabilities of the Typhon creatures.



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Composed by Mick Gordon himself, the music of Prey is designed with 80s synths and spaghetti western in mind. Combined with ambient arpeggiated guitars and heart thumping synth beats, the soundtrack lends itself to the tense, menacing journey in uncovering the mysteries of Talos I

Here are a couple of tracks from the soundtrack:
1- Everything Is Going To Be Okay
2- Experiments in Confusion
3- Typhon Voices
4- Human Elements
5- No Gravity


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GIFs:


Avatars:

Interview with Raphael Colantonio by v0mitgod:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hk7ks5YoWI
Summary from v0mitg0d:
https://youtu.be/0Hk7ks5YoWI

Raphael Colantonio interview that discusses:


- At one point Arkane experimented with a deep survival system that had weapon degradation, a trauma system (broken bones if dropped from too high, etc) but dropped it
because it was too overwhelming. Will probably return in DLC.

- After Prey Raphael would like to stick with the FPS/Immersive sim genre, but explore more dynamic storytelling. Essentially open up the narrative like their gameplay.

- Most challenging part of developing Prey was harmony between all the systems and developing the look of the Aliens.

- Raphael's favorite power is Shift.

- Early on they knew what they wanted the Prey experience to convert a sense of loneliness with a ”heavy mood".

- Lavish craft designed to reflect corporate luxury of the 1960s Aesthetic came much later.

- Scanning is intentionally restrictive and uncomfortable so players don't stay in it a la Batman Arkham Asylum.

Huge thanks for The Flash for his collaboration. Couldn't have done it without him. And also a thank you to LuchaRider for the OT title.

Without further ado, here's some PREYWAVE from The Flash:
Good Morning, Morgan: A PREYWAVE Music Video

Feeling a little overwhelmed over the Recycler and Fabricator? Fear not, v0mitg0d is here to help you:

Recycler and Fabrication Guide

Some of the side-quests made you feel confused where to go? v0mitg0d is here to guide you (Minor-to-mid spoilers):
ok so I made a few videos to help people with some of the (secret) stuff I found:


Here is a Secret Path to Alex Yu's Office
https://youtu.be/cuuCLN3_On0


Finding Dr Howards Body Location for the Gardening Tips objective (this one was hard to find):
https://youtu.be/RjjRh_ieguM


How to Save Rani & how to trick that darn Telepath to come outside the green house
https://youtu.be/TG2Zf_pjEbw


How to find Marietta Kyrkos Body and kick off the Golden Gun objective

https://youtu.be/S3wFxU4MxoM

It was fun making these, hope it helps!
 

Stoze

Member
Nice work on the OT! Very pumped, crossing my fingers for positive impressions on PC performance.
 

Cubas

Member
The game itself looks interesting, but I had forgotten it came out tomorrow. I don't think Bethesda did a very good of marketing with this one and their new review code policy didn't do it any favours either.
 

CEJames

Member
The game itself looks interesting, but I had forgotten it came out tomorrow. I don't think Bethesda did a very good of marketing with this one and their new review code policy didn't do it any favours either.

It's plastered all over the PlayStation store though....
 

Jb

Member
Really good OT, thanks dude!

Am I correct in assuming the press hasn't been given review copies (like what happened with Doom last year)? If so I'll wait a few days to see if those who finished it think the game delivers.
 
Really good OT, thanks dude!

Am I correct in assuming the press hasn't been given review copies (like what happened with Doom last year)? If so I'll wait a few days to see if those who finished it think the game delivers.

Yep. If you wanna read the reviews before jumping in, I suggest waiting for a few days.

Any idea when reviews hit ? Plan on buying it tomorrow (australia), but hoping reviews come out soon.

Reviews should be up on release day or a few days after release.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Where JaseC or SmartWaffles at? We need a PC performance thread asap!

The PC performance thread will go up come unlock o'clock. I don't see the point in creating one before people are able to actually play the game, especially in cases such as this, where we know virtually nothing about the PC version.
 

Runtledge

Neo Member
The demo was great, spent a lot of time watching all the details on the first area. Why does the game in general look so much like Deus Ex: HR and MD? In particular the main character's apartment was very similar to Adam Jensen's.
 

robotrock

Banned
The PC performance thread will go up come unlock o'clock. I don't see the point in creating one before people are able to actually play the game, especially in cases such as this, where we know virtually nothing about the PC version.

I'm pretty excited for this thread
 
The demo was great, spent a lot of time watching all the details on the first area. Why does the game in general look so much like Deus Ex: HR and MD? In particular the main character's apartment was very similar to Adam Jensen's.

I think most people would see Prey's artstyle as similar to Bioshock in some ways rather than Deus Ex HR/MD.
 
The PC performance thread will go up come unlock o'clock. I don't see the point in creating one before people are able to actually play the game, especially in cases such as this, where we know virtually nothing about the PC version.

Makes sense, though I figured it might already be unlocked in some regions.
 

Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
Well, bought the game. You've only one chance at this Arkane. If PC port is shit... you can forget about me and my money and I'm sure that I am not the only one.

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DocSeuss

Member
I'm terrified the game will be garbage based on the awful demo combat, but I didn't cancel my preorder. I know a lot of cool folks at Arkane, and their last two games have been fantastic. So. Fingers crossed.
 
Wanna support my compatriots but I'm sick of getting burned by shitty PC performance. Add to that the lack of review copies and I'm firmly on the fence for now.

E: VVV don't you mean Praey?
 
Minus the audio bugs, I loved the demo, super pumped for this. I missed out on the System Shock games so having something Bioshocky but a bit creepier is bang on. Loved the logical layout of the environment. I just need to get through the last few missions of Dishonored 2 then I've got all of May free for Prey. My copy got dispatched yest so should have it in my hands today.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
When's the review embargo up?

Technically, there's no embargo, however Bethesda doesn't send out review copies until release day, so reviews won't start trickling in until after a day or so.

Edit: b10.
 

Majek

Member
Since i have nothing new to play right now, i might even convince myself to buy this. Demo was fine enough.
 
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