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Prey (2017) is the game of the year no one played
- Thread starter UnluckyKate
- Start date
Seraph_Nicholas
Member
This game is System Shock 3, only with a real plot. It eclipsed the original Deus Ex for me. I replayed it. It's been so long since I replayed anything.
I instantly put on the shelf next to Spec Ops and MGS3 for games that fucked my mind hard. Mimics got scarier as time went on, not only because they got stronger, but the emergent combat situations found a way to make them always in just the wrong place. Nothing better then diving into cover and suddenly having my face engulfed by a shadow monster. That's not even getting into what the plot does to you. You can't trust anyone, especially yourself. There's shades of Planescape: Torment here, where your unremembered past selves have set plans into motion that you may or may not be happy to go along with.
I felt respected by the game. Terrifying outleveled enemies WILL jump you, but with a bit of ingenuity, you can dominate any situation. Even if you need to collect every explosive canister in the Lobby and set up a trap triggered by a turret and with your own self as the bait. It also plays better then just about any other immersive sim I've played. Stealth always felt fair, enemies were terrifying without being indomitable, and creativity/sequence breaking is both heavily rewarded and even expected of you at times.
It may be the most cohesive, fully-realized game I've ever played. For a genre that calls itself 'immersive sim', there could be no higher goal.
I instantly put on the shelf next to Spec Ops and MGS3 for games that fucked my mind hard. Mimics got scarier as time went on, not only because they got stronger, but the emergent combat situations found a way to make them always in just the wrong place. Nothing better then diving into cover and suddenly having my face engulfed by a shadow monster. That's not even getting into what the plot does to you. You can't trust anyone, especially yourself. There's shades of Planescape: Torment here, where your unremembered past selves have set plans into motion that you may or may not be happy to go along with.
I felt respected by the game. Terrifying outleveled enemies WILL jump you, but with a bit of ingenuity, you can dominate any situation. Even if you need to collect every explosive canister in the Lobby and set up a trap triggered by a turret and with your own self as the bait. It also plays better then just about any other immersive sim I've played. Stealth always felt fair, enemies were terrifying without being indomitable, and creativity/sequence breaking is both heavily rewarded and even expected of you at times.
It may be the most cohesive, fully-realized game I've ever played. For a genre that calls itself 'immersive sim', there could be no higher goal.
Constantly respawning enemies that aren't fun to fight. It really just makes you want to do the "It's Fine" method where you run past every time and constantly repeat "It's fine" to yourself.
For those of you in the states you can get this on Gamefly Used - which are normally in great condition - for $15 with free shipping.
I ordered a copy tonight.
This year is truly ridiculous, it's basically a repeat of 1997 and 2007.
I really need to resume playing Prey, I had stopped to keep going with my POE playthrough.
Would anyone that's played Prey be able to recommend
an offensive attack power to use? I feel like I'm always low on ammo and never invested in any attack powers yet.
Also does anyone know
how much alien powers I need before my friends the auto turrets decide I look a little too much like a black goo monster and auto attack me?
Rickenslacker
Banned
Prey was a game I almost overlooked, mostly because I had become cynical and through my experiences with the Eidos-Montreal Deus Ex titles, the BioShocks, and even Arkane's own Dishonored I was expecting this to be another game that would miss the mark for me. Some words of praise at release in GAF's Steam thread had me reconsider and purchase the game on impulse, and it was perhaps the best gaming related decision I made this year.
Prey is easily my GOTY, and is a game I'll probably consider an all time classic in the years to come. From the trailers and initial impressions I was expecting BioShock in how things were structured and guided and player progression being funneled and linear. Instead, I got an alternate take on System Shock that surpasses the System Shock series itself. From the music, to the atmosphere, to the traversal options, to how much choice and respect is given to the player, it's just something that really struck a chord with me.
And I loved the game's take on crafting and e-mail/log fodder. It actually made crafting not feel like busywork, and I liked finding all sorts of garbage to convert into materials. Every NPC being unique, named, and tracked had me caring about the minor stories happening with everyone.
Prey is special.
Prey is easily my GOTY, and is a game I'll probably consider an all time classic in the years to come. From the trailers and initial impressions I was expecting BioShock in how things were structured and guided and player progression being funneled and linear. Instead, I got an alternate take on System Shock that surpasses the System Shock series itself. From the music, to the atmosphere, to the traversal options, to how much choice and respect is given to the player, it's just something that really struck a chord with me.
And I loved the game's take on crafting and e-mail/log fodder. It actually made crafting not feel like busywork, and I liked finding all sorts of garbage to convert into materials. Every NPC being unique, named, and tracked had me caring about the minor stories happening with everyone.
Prey is special.
This is what I'm talking about, and maybe why the game didn't blow up. I consider Prey to be one of the best immersive sims available on consoles, but no single part of the game leaps out and says "this is why you should buy it."
grandwizard
Member
Prey was brilliant and one of my favorite immersive sims EVER. The ramp up with powers and the mystery and discovery of Talos 1 will forever be one of my favorite first playthroughs of anything. Great story that delves into some deep stuff as well.
I'm sad it didn't do as well as it should because it really is one of the best games of the year. I played it on PC and the PC version ran and controlled like a dream. It really seemed like the developers were playing on PC as they made all the hud/ui and stuff as opposed to a lot of modern games where you can tell it was made with pads in mind and then hastily made to work with m/kb.
Anecdotally a lot of the people I asked about this game who never got into it were PS4 gamers who tried the demo and were turned off by the performance issues and found the combat clunky. I think that demo did a lot to hurt the game as well as dual analog just being terrible for aiming at fast moving creatures that jump around you like the Mimics which make up much of the demo's combat.
I'm sad it didn't do as well as it should because it really is one of the best games of the year. I played it on PC and the PC version ran and controlled like a dream. It really seemed like the developers were playing on PC as they made all the hud/ui and stuff as opposed to a lot of modern games where you can tell it was made with pads in mind and then hastily made to work with m/kb.
Anecdotally a lot of the people I asked about this game who never got into it were PS4 gamers who tried the demo and were turned off by the performance issues and found the combat clunky. I think that demo did a lot to hurt the game as well as dual analog just being terrible for aiming at fast moving creatures that jump around you like the Mimics which make up much of the demo's combat.
BRocknRolla
Member
I super love it. As you say, not without flaws, but certainly one of the best games I played this year. Did a stellar job with world building and setting. I can see why some wouldn't like the story, but I liked it.
Sevenfold
Member
It isn't. Also when was that? I know at release it was trash on PS4 but I'm sure DF covered the fix?
World building in particular. The design of Talos 1 is magnificent, it's a very believable space, and the first time you back gently away from the station when outside allowing it to reveal itself fully is wonderful.
Fantastic completely unexpected treat earlier in the year. Well worth the post release reception from the thirty people that played it
Badly marketed pre and post. Badly timed. Bad review policy.
Saiyan-Rox
Member
I really tried to play, got it day one played for a few hours then left it I just couldn't get into it and I don't know why. went back to it a few times restarting from the beginning and just couldn't play.
I will say I loved the Mirror screen stuff it was a proper wow moment but apart from that there wasn't anything grabbing me.
I will say I loved the Mirror screen stuff it was a proper wow moment but apart from that there wasn't anything grabbing me.
Honestly, Prey was easily the biggest disappointment for me this year, particularly after all the praise for its storytelling. For me, the game just completely fell apart after I realized what the final plot twist was going to be. (And I was able to figure it out after what I think is about halfway into the game,
). This will all be presumably endgame spoilers, but
In addition to that, the respawning enemies really ruined any will I had to explore the game and complete side quests. At one point, I'd do a side quest, only to then later be sent by another quest to the same area, but with enemies respawned. Clearly, the best option for me would have been to just delay the first side quest and then do them both at the same time, and as such I felt like the game was punishing me for trying to get sidequests done, instead of delaying them for as long as possible. Exploring areas outside of what the quests told you to do also seemed pointless, since at some point the main story would probably take me there anyway, and I'd have to clear the area again. This wouldn't be such a big problem if Prey's gameplay wasn't so focused on resource conservation, or if resources respawned alongside enemies. As such, I mostly just resorted to running past enemies wherever possible (since what's the point in killing them if they'll just be back later), which wasn't any fun.
That said, I never did finish it, and I do find it interesting how many people praise the story. Is there more to the story/ending than the fact that
?
Also, did the game really sell that poorly? I remember it being pretty well promoted on certain PC gaming sites around release, and steamspy puts it at about 450,000 owners, which doesn't seem that bad to me. (Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, for instance, is at 500,000 with a free weekend, and the game with my personal favourite storytelling this year (Pyre) is at 100,000). I understand that Prey had a presumably big budget and 450,000 sales might not be enough to cover that, but saying that no one played it seems a bit of an over exaggeration (particularly when one of my top 5 games this year is currently sitting at 5000 copies sold according to steamspy).
immediately after getting the bad ending for using the escape pod
I just couldn't find any motivation to continue with the game knowing that it was all a simulation, and that nothing I did mattered in the slightest. In addition, knowing that I was actually playing as an alien made role-playing literally impossible. If role playing is supposed to be about putting yourself into a fictional character's shoes and figuring out what you'd do in his situation, that's a bit hard to do when you're playing as an alien with no clue about how such a creature would actually think or behave.
In addition to that, the respawning enemies really ruined any will I had to explore the game and complete side quests. At one point, I'd do a side quest, only to then later be sent by another quest to the same area, but with enemies respawned. Clearly, the best option for me would have been to just delay the first side quest and then do them both at the same time, and as such I felt like the game was punishing me for trying to get sidequests done, instead of delaying them for as long as possible. Exploring areas outside of what the quests told you to do also seemed pointless, since at some point the main story would probably take me there anyway, and I'd have to clear the area again. This wouldn't be such a big problem if Prey's gameplay wasn't so focused on resource conservation, or if resources respawned alongside enemies. As such, I mostly just resorted to running past enemies wherever possible (since what's the point in killing them if they'll just be back later), which wasn't any fun.
That said, I never did finish it, and I do find it interesting how many people praise the story. Is there more to the story/ending than the fact that
you're playing as an alien stuck inside a simulation created by Yu to try and teach you and your kind empathy towards humans
Also, did the game really sell that poorly? I remember it being pretty well promoted on certain PC gaming sites around release, and steamspy puts it at about 450,000 owners, which doesn't seem that bad to me. (Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, for instance, is at 500,000 with a free weekend, and the game with my personal favourite storytelling this year (Pyre) is at 100,000). I understand that Prey had a presumably big budget and 450,000 sales might not be enough to cover that, but saying that no one played it seems a bit of an over exaggeration (particularly when one of my top 5 games this year is currently sitting at 5000 copies sold according to steamspy).
DarknessTear
Banned
I bought it at launch but I can't play it until they fix the stupid audio levels on the PS4 version. I should really just sell it at this point.
It is great. I will say I had problems with it, but I forgive it because of it's ambition. I'm very much hoping for a sequel in the same way Dishonored 2 improved upon Dishonored 1 so much. Very good level design and interesting powers. For a sequel, I'd like them to focus a little more on promoting power experimentation and not limiting players to powers. Go the route Arkane did with Dishonored, consolidated powers that are available from the start. And I would say the combat needs to be a little more engaging, I think the enemy designs were less than ideal for Morgan's combat options.
Anyway, great game. Could be better, but really interesting for what it is. Hoping they greenlight Prey 2.
I did not care for the ending, though.
Anyway, great game. Could be better, but really interesting for what it is. Hoping they greenlight Prey 2.
I did not care for the ending, though.
Even though I called it like 5 minutes into the game.
Pandora012
Member
Don't think they ever patched the demo, plays fine on ps4.
Mr. Bad Example
Neo Member
I wanted to like it. I really did. I'm a sucker for the kind of "something terrible has gone wrong, and you need to try to figure it out while surviving" setting this has in common with so many great games (like the System Shocks series).
I pushed through it until I got to the point where you
, and I realized that I just wasn't having that much fun. I loved the atmosphere and finding out what was going on, but the annoying combat and the looooooooong load times just killed it for me.
I pushed through it until I got to the point where you
restart the reactor and then yet another goddamned technopath shows up along with turrets and an entire chorus line of operators
TrueDefault
Member
Played the demo. Very intriguing story, it's a shame I did not find the goo very fun to shoot. I'll get to it at some points though, enjoyed Dishonored 2 very much!
Razzmatazzer
Member
One of my favorite games this gen. The story was good enough I thought, gameplay is what really had me hooked though. Just loved tackling different enemy encounters and the way my powers escalated. In the beginning the game felt like some horror/survival sim, with me taking things super slow and cautious. By the end though things changed when the hunters became the hunted, me just feeling OP and running around easily taking down foes... So great.
old manatee
Banned
I played it on PS4 and PC and the audio was the same as far as I could tell. Some sounds just seem to pop in and out of the mix in a jarring way.
Still need to finish it. I really wanted to love the game, but for whatever reason it didn't hook me. I think mainly it's the combat that I felt was too simplistic, easy and pointless. I missed something like the Big Daddy encounters in Bioshock that put your abilities to the test and made you plan your attack. Basically everything in Prey is easily killed by slowing down time and emptying some shotgun blasts to their face.
Some other stuff that bothered me:
- Bugs. At least one sidequest I can't finish because of a glitch. Many other little things that make the game feel unpolished.
- Loadtimes. In 2017 I can't accept when a game forces you to constantly switch 'zones' with huge loadtimes between each.
- Zero-G sections.. loved them.. for 10 minutes. They should have kept it to the exterior of the base.
Some other stuff that bothered me:
- Bugs. At least one sidequest I can't finish because of a glitch. Many other little things that make the game feel unpolished.
- Loadtimes. In 2017 I can't accept when a game forces you to constantly switch 'zones' with huge loadtimes between each.
- Zero-G sections.. loved them.. for 10 minutes. They should have kept it to the exterior of the base.
Story spoilers for bad ending!
As i got the bad ending i knew i was in a simulation, but couldn't discern that i was a Phantom, from that though.
Even then, it wouldn't have made the story any worse for me, knowing it. Did you not get any enjoyment from the rivalry of the two brothers and how it would affect the lives of the survivors onboard the Talos 1?
Also the interesting side storys that told you of the lives, of many of Talos's inhabitants.
Danielle Sho for example from which you first hear in recordings of her psychological checkup. In these you first hear of her anger issues, which later even affect her partnership with her girlfriend.
I found all of these personal storys highly interesting and tragic at times. You really got to know, many characters very intimately.
(Sorry for my english, i hope i could make myself understandable enough.)
I was kinda.. let down by Prey, being honest. Everyone talked about how hard it was, how resource management was a must, how you'd have to be very careful with how you specced your character because Neuromods were so scarce and limited..
The first few hours of the game had me gripped tightly,
and I started off with just a wrench. Everything was scary and when I finally found got the gloo gun I was so thankful, because chasing mimics with just a wrench was terrifying. I was afraid to loot things because
but then after a few hours I found the Shotgun, and then.. the game became trivial?
Resource management was no longer a concern when the game showered you with junk to scrap, the aliens respawning when you would leave and re-enter an area gave me ample material to
, and the shotgun itself was so powerful that nothing in the game felt like a threat any longer. Once I went up the combat tree and specced into making the guns better, and got the slow time skill, even the "boss fights" were just, "let me hit this magic button then unload into this fool"
It may be because I have a habit of checking every inch of a map in these kinds of games, but I always had more ammo, HP packs, and neuromods than I knew what to do with. By the end of the game I had maxed everything I wanted to, and I had long since stopped worrying about ammo conservation or my health, as I could always craft more with the infinite resources the game kept dumping on me.
Adding on to that, I didn't really empathize with any of the characters. Reading all of the emails and logs, everyone just kinda came off as a scumbag, so I
The ending was pretty interesting, and I'm glad to see it in action, but it had already been spoiled for me prior to me playing the game, so it didn't have the same impact as it should have, which was a bit of a bummer.
I really enjoy Arkane's games, I absolutely LOVE Dishonored 1&2, but Prey just didn't do it for me.
The first few hours of the game had me gripped tightly,
breaking the glass was one of those mind fuck moments that totally blew me away
the pistol turned into a mimic, that was just cruel
Resource management was no longer a concern when the game showered you with junk to scrap, the aliens respawning when you would leave and re-enter an area gave me ample material to
craft neuromods
It may be because I have a habit of checking every inch of a map in these kinds of games, but I always had more ammo, HP packs, and neuromods than I knew what to do with. By the end of the game I had maxed everything I wanted to, and I had long since stopped worrying about ammo conservation or my health, as I could always craft more with the infinite resources the game kept dumping on me.
Adding on to that, I didn't really empathize with any of the characters. Reading all of the emails and logs, everyone just kinda came off as a scumbag, so I
killed everyone to take their key cards and loot whatever items they had. I probably ended up failing most quests in the game that weren't audiolog related because I literally just killed everyone on the station. I justified it in my mind as not wanting to risk people with potential xeno dna returning to earth, but really I just felt no attachment to any of the characters, they were simply walking obstacles that contained key items for me to continue my exploration.
The ending was pretty interesting, and I'm glad to see it in action, but it had already been spoiled for me prior to me playing the game, so it didn't have the same impact as it should have, which was a bit of a bummer.
I really enjoy Arkane's games, I absolutely LOVE Dishonored 1&2, but Prey just didn't do it for me.
Tomasoares
Member
It's in my wishlist, I hope I play it soon.
EdwardTivrusky
Member
It's on my list and i'll get it before the end of the year together with ME:Andromeda. I just have too many games at the moment. 2017 has had too many appealing games i just hope 2018 lets up a bit as i still have stuff i bought back at the start of the year to play.
I agree, at the end nothing really posed a threat to you. But i appreciated the difficulty curve.
As for not liking the characters. I found that, many having character flaws, made them more believeable and gave them more depth. Even if i wanted to sometimes punch them because of their dumb descicions.
As for not liking the characters. I found that, many having character flaws, made them more believeable and gave them more depth. Even if i wanted to sometimes punch them because of their dumb descicions.
swearing-circle
Member
I wasn't too hot on it. It was a good game but one I felt outstayed it's welcome by the end. Loved the level design and the freedom you has. Strongly disliked pretty much everything else.
Buggy Loop
Member
Prey has a strong start, and keeps things very interesting for a few levels. Soon as there's backtracking with respawning enemies, and that the said enemies stop varying and you learn all the tricks to overpower them, the game really drops.
By the time i was in Arboretum, it was just a borefest. I made my way to the ending.
Positives :
Amazing art style
10/10 beginning
System shock spiritual successor, i agree we need this genre to be alive
Interesting story
Negatives:
Too much backtracking for quest completionists
Not enough enemy variety (too predictable after a few hours)
Recycling simulator
Shit sound mixing, at least on PC version in my experience.
Maybe 2 levels i would have cut, there's something off about the progression towards the end.
By the time i was in Arboretum, it was just a borefest. I made my way to the ending.
Positives :
Amazing art style
10/10 beginning
System shock spiritual successor, i agree we need this genre to be alive
Interesting story
Negatives:
Too much backtracking for quest completionists
Not enough enemy variety (too predictable after a few hours)
Recycling simulator
Shit sound mixing, at least on PC version in my experience.
Maybe 2 levels i would have cut, there's something off about the progression towards the end.
SolidChamp
Banned
Just curious, what do people who feel this way think about Breath of the Wild??
Its 100% my GOTY, phenomenal game and the best successor to the immersive sim genre we could've hoped for.
I'm actually curious as to what the percentage is of people that didn't like the game, compared to those that played it like an FPS. Most of the criticism I've read has been of people just playing it as a straight run and gun, then being surprised it's not that enjoyable.
It's a game where you are supposed to take your time, explore every nook and cranny, and outthink your way past encounters. Not run in all guns blazing. (although to be fair once you've upgraded yourself enough you can do literally that)
I'm actually curious as to what the percentage is of people that didn't like the game, compared to those that played it like an FPS. Most of the criticism I've read has been of people just playing it as a straight run and gun, then being surprised it's not that enjoyable.
It's a game where you are supposed to take your time, explore every nook and cranny, and outthink your way past encounters. Not run in all guns blazing. (although to be fair once you've upgraded yourself enough you can do literally that)
I'm in the camp of really liking the game but never finished it. I don't really mind that I didn't finish it. I wasn't playing for the story and I got a good 15-20 hours out of it so I'm probably close. Maybe I'll eventually go back but I'm finding it a hard game to get back into after you step away from it for a while. It's probably still in my top 10 this year.
The gameplay is great. I did not find the story very engaging and I didn't like the design of the sidequests. The way I was playing, every time I approached an area I needed to be for a sidequest, it was blocked by something or another, forcing me to do the main story instead.
The gameplay is great. I did not find the story very engaging and I didn't like the design of the sidequests. The way I was playing, every time I approached an area I needed to be for a sidequest, it was blocked by something or another, forcing me to do the main story instead.
Haven't read the rest of the thread yet, so not sure if someone's already said this - but if you liked the horror atmosphere of RE7 and also were critical of the stealth in Prey, you should definitely check out The Evil Within 2. There is a major stealth emphasis in that game, and it's done pretty well. And then of course there's the horror aesthetic.
I beat it in 19 hours so you probably are decently close, unless you were doing a more completionist-minded run.
EDIT: Sorry for the double post, accidentally posted twice instead of editing onto the first...
Ending spoilers:
For me, that reveal of the simulation was basically just the final clue I needed to figure everything out. Once I knew about the simulation, putting together the rest of the clues (audio logs, your robot companion constantly reminding you that you are totally a human, the morality questions at the start, ...) was pretty easy.
I found those side character stories to be the best part of the game, but they just weren't enough to make up for respawning enemies and my feelings about the plot twist.
Psyrgery ES
Member
I played the demo and found it to be extremely slow and tedious.
Zeouterlimits
Member
I might give it a go, but I heard the story was underwhelming & disappointing in the end, which was critical for me.
That's what really turned me off.
That's what really turned me off.
I guess, i don't see that particular plot twist as the end all of the story. As i see it more, as one of many facets of yourself, that you uncover during the game.
But i can see how you could be disapointed in the games ending, if you knew of it far in advance, and thought of it as the single most important aspect.
DJ Lushious
Member
I think it's interesting that some are detracting the respawning enemies from the experience. I would find an area re-populated only after major events had happened or if I hadn't been to that area in a long while (they may be one and the same). I didn't mind it, either, as I came back with more tools at my disposal, as well as a better understanding of how to tackle the enemies in that environment.
UnluckyKate
Member
Its not. Many people just didn't see past the obvious.
You got to beat the mind game I tell you !
It's all about context and underlying implications.
The game is much smarter and ambitious than it seems but everybody got stucked at the hollywood show and shrugged it off
Story is the most intersting this gen, if you decide to dig in