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Arkane's Prey - What we know so far

Given that there's dozens of people confused or have misconceptions about the upcoming Arkane's Prey (which is releasing on May 5). I decided that this thread would be useful to clear some things up about the game.

But before we go to what the game is, let's make one thing clear. This is not the Prey you're looking for. It’s Prey in name only. It's not a sequel or a remake to 2006's Prey. It sucks, but other than not willing to give Bethesda your money, there's not much we can do about that. Now that's out of the way, let's dive right rin about the game, shall we?

Prey is a sci-fi thriller and a first-person action RPG taking place on a space station Talos I. You play as Morgan Yu (Can be played as male or female), a Director of Research for Transtar corporation and a test subject. After a huge outbreak from an Alien species called the Typhon, killing a lot of people in the station and having free reign, it is up to the player to take the fight against them.


Setting:
Prey takes place in an alternative timeline where President JFK survived his assassination, putting more funding into the space program. The space station, Talos I, was occupied by various groups, taking different decors from retrofuturism to Art Deco over the years.

Years after the US shut down the station due to an attack from the Typhon against research scientists, a corporation called Transtar took over Talos I, advancing research into the Typhon and harnessing their abilities to create Neuromods (Giving various abilities to humans)

More details can be found in this video: The History of Transtar


Powers:
Like Dishonored, Prey has powers. But you don't get powers from a god-like figure, you learn them from the Typhon aliens themselves using a device called Psychoscope. Along with other abilities, like firearms, repairs and hacking, they can be acquired or upgraded with Neuromods (Which you do it by injecting a needle to your eye). And like Dishonored, inventive players can chain powers together (i.e Mimic + Kinetic Blast) for creative uses. The powers are the following:

Mimic: Allows you to turn into any object that isn't bolted down, including a coffee cup. When upgraded, it allows you to other objects like turrets to shoot down any hostiles. You learn it from the Mimics themselves

Kinetic Blast: A strong physics pulse ability. It can be used to push objects, push environmental hazards away, or simply damage enemies.

Lift Field: You learn this ability from the Poltergiest enemies. Lift Field allows players to create a reverse gravity field to lift off enemies or objects. It can be used as a makeshift elevator to access new areas or hidden places.

Leverage: A physical ability that allows you to lift heavier objects and throw them across the environment to clear paths or kill enemies instantly.

Mindjack: You learn this ability from the Telepath. It allows you to assume control over another human.

Psychoshock: A massive ball of psionic energy that can be used against biological targets. It also disable a target's psi temporarily.


Weapons:
Prey has your standard weapons like pistols and shotguns. However, given Talos I is mostly a research space station, don't expect a rocket launcher or any huge traditional firearm. In addition, weapons can be degraded, so use them with care. But it also has other kinds of weaponry like:

GLOO Cannon: Short for Gelifoam Lattice Organism Obstructor. This weapon uses glue-like foam to subdue and freeze enemies, sealing off gas leaks, or creating makeshift ladders to hard-to-reach places.

Disruptor Stun Gun: A non-lethal weapon. It can be used to temporarily knock out mind-controlled humans or disable security bots.

Recycler Charge: A grenade that creates a miniature black hole, sucking any object around its area and turning them into material fragments which are used to craft items.


Enemies:
While Prey has your standard hostile security bots (Called Operators), the alien species called Typhon are the main enemy and you fight against them for the entirety of of the game.

They are a shadowy, inky-like and vary from different classes of creatures, including:

Cystoids: They are the smallest Typhon creatures around and live in Cystoid Nests, but not exactly intelligent (As soon as they sense movement, they attack). They make up their size with explosive firepower.

Mimics: A small crab-like creature that can turn into any object that isn't bolted down (That includes trash cans, weapons, chairs, and so on).

Phantoms: Foot soldiers of the Typhon. They are the most common enemies you'll find around the game. They come in different flavors: Thermal Phantoms, which uses fire. Etheric Phantoms, who can duplicate itself and emit toxic clouds that cause damage. And Voltaic Phantoms, which uses electricity.

Poltergeists: As the name says itself, they are invisible. Sometimes they hide around the environment and you wouldn't notice them until it plays with objects around the environment. And sometimes, they attack you and lift you off the ground, making you easy prey for other aliens.

Telepaths: They aren't fast, but they are pretty deadly. They uses telepathy to enslave any human who's in their presence and uses deadly shockwave blasts to cripple the player.

Nightmare: The biggest and most dangerous of the Typhon. It can chase you throughout the space station. If you acquire too many alien abilities through Neuromods, it will become aware of your presence and try to hunt you down.


Why Prey is not a Dishonored clone:
Despite the similarities, Prey is not a Dishonored clone and there are several reasons why. Yes, Dishonored and Prey share similarities in terms of the freeform gameplay and giving players a playground for them to play and experiment abilities to complete and solve problems in whatever way they wish. In short, Arkane makes games that embrace player agency and empowers the player to complete goals in whatever way they see fit, kinda like immersive sims.

But that's where the similarities end. So while Dishonored allows you to go mission-to-mission with a hub in between, Prey's setting is interconnected allowing you to explore it anywhere at your own pace (With some obstacles that forces you to find a way to solve them, of course). Basically, the whole station is one continuous level

Also, Prey has more RPG elements than Dishonored (Status ailments, abilities like tech, repair, fire-arms etc...)

In other words, Prey is more similar to System Shock (or Bioshock for those who haven't played System Shock) than Dishonored or Thief. For all intents and purposes, Arkane's Prey is a spiritual successor to System Shock.


And one last thing, Prey runs on Cryengine, for those who are concerned that it might be using Dishonored 2's Void Engine.

Here's the latest trailer and the 8 minute gameplay video for those who are interested: Gameplay trailer 2 and 8 gameplay viseo
 

Bronetta

Ask me about the moon landing or the temperature at which jet fuel burns. You may be surprised at what you learn.
I know I'm definitely ready.

Dishonored 2 is great, I'm ready for more Arkane.
 
Mind-controlling humans? Does that imply there will also be human enemies?

Not necessarily. You'll encounter some human NPCs throughout the game.

You can kill them and it'll have some consequences, obviously. Though there's not a chaos system like in Dishonored
 

Spirited

Mine is pretty and pink
Looking forward to playing PREY as a big fan of the immersive sim genre.
Sad about the fate of human head's Prey 2 but this game shouldn't have to suffer from it in every thread.
 

Instro

Member
I get the impression that this game is going to bomb, but it's definitely in my top 5 this year as far as games I am most interested in. Everything looks great, and it sounds like they are building a legit RPG/sim. Basically what I would think a System Shock 3 would look like.
 
Looking forward to playing PREY as a big fan of the immersive sim genre.
Sad about the fate of human head's Prey 2 but this game shouldn't have to suffer from it in every thread.
While I don't begrudge people for wanting Prey 2, I do feel any person who liked Dishonored games should give this game a chance. Maybe not at launch but later on when reviews comes out.
 
Looking forward to playing PREY as a big fan of the immersive sim genre.
Sad about the fate of human head's Prey 2 but this game shouldn't have to suffer from it in every thread.
Is Prey really a immersive sim? It seems focused on combat and synergy of skills/weapons, rather than a wide array of freeform approaches
 

Deadbeat

Banned
Going by interviews the game is more akin to arx fatalis, which is an unofficial ultima underworld 3, which is the series that started the classics like system shock and deus ex and thief.
 
Oh, wow, I didn't realize they were going for a "deco"-future aesthetic. This might act as a good successor to Bioshock as well
 
Going by interviews the game is more akin to arx fatalis, which is an unofficial ultima underworld 3, which is the series that started the classics like system shock and deus ex and thief.

You aint wrong, but since I haven't played Arx Fatalis, I wouldn't know anything about it. And since most people are familiar with BioShock and System Shock (more on the former, of course), I felt they were a more fair comparison.
 
Oh, wow, I didn't realize they were going for a "deco"-future aesthetic. This might act as a good successor to Bioshock as well

The Nightmare sounds like it could be the Big Daddy analog, but more like Nemesis
 

Van Bur3n

Member
Despite how much of a fan I am of System Shock, I can't help but feel the game is a bit uninspired because of it. Especially with System Shock making a comeback with a remaster and a System Shock 3 sometime in the future. And the whole Prey 2 fiasco doesn't help much either with what could have been. I also don't know thought black blobs make for great enemy design. Just sounds like a boring as hell enemy to shoot at.

I'm coming off as nagging, I know, I should be excited because it sounds like the perfect game for me but...eh.
 

Deadbeat

Banned
You aint wrong, but since I haven't played Arx Fatalis, I wouldn't know anything about it. And since most people are familiar with BioShock and System Shock (more on the former, of course), I felt they were a more fair comparison.
Oh that is not a problem at all. If you have played arx fatalis though, you might have a better understanding of what to expect. Thats why i mentioned it.

You should play it some time. Its rough in some ways but its still pretty good.
 
Despite how much of a fan I am of System Shock, I can't help but feel the game is a bit uninspired because of it. Especially with System Shock making a comeback with a remaster and a System Shock 3 sometime in the future. And the whole Prey 2 fiasco doesn't help much either with what could have been. I also don't know thought black blobs make for great enemy design. Just sounds like a boring as hell enemy to shoot at.

I'm coming off as nagging, I know, I should be excited because it sounds like the perfect game for me but...eh.

System Shock 1 remaster and System Shock 3 are years away from release. And I'm kinda skeptical on System Shock 3 considering some of the stuff Warren Spector said about the story.

If both games come out as good, they can co-exist with Prey. But as of now, I'm kinda skeptical how things will go with both of them.
 
So system shock 2/3?

But we already have that, and it will probably be better than this game.

I mean I love Arkane but I don't know.
 
So system shock 2/3?

But we already have that, and it will probably be better than this game.

I mean I love Arkane but I don't know.

Like I said before, its years away before it gets released. And considering some of the story info they released for SS3, I'm somewhat skeptical about it.

I think Prey can co-exist with System Shock 3 and System Shock 1 remake
 
Clearly i'm missing something with this game because I don't get any of the System Shock vibes you guys are seeing.

Like... at all... There's a little bioshock in there for sure (it is NOT the same game as System Shock)... but I'm not seeing the System Shock. I Suspect I'd be more hyped for this game if I actually got that vibe...
 

Humdinger

Gold Member
This is releasing May 5th? How come I haven't heard anything about it? I remember it being previewed at E3 a while back, but I haven't heard anything since. I suppose they needed to push Dishonored 2 first.

My interest was piqued when I heard "science fiction" and "RPG," but I lost considerable interest after seeing a gameplay video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x85lPMiWmKc

It seems to be missing several of the elements I need in an RPG, such as interesting characters, rich character interactions, a unique sense of place, and an engaging storyline. There are power upgrades, sure, but mostly what I saw was a sterile-looking world with a lot of emphasis on engineering, both in terms of the design and the gameplay. I wasn't intrigued by the aliens, either, which is a disappointment for a science fiction story. I don't really like the thriller/horror elements, either. Not my thing.

I'll keep an eye on it, though. I did like Arx Fatalis and Dishonored.
 

Bronetta

Ask me about the moon landing or the temperature at which jet fuel burns. You may be surprised at what you learn.
Link to trailers in OP would be nice. That last trailer looked hype.
 

J_Viper

Member
More info:

kd19vPj.jpg
 
This is releasing May 5th? How come I haven't heard anything about it? I remember it being previewed at E3 a while back, but I haven't heard anything since. I suppose they needed to push Dishonored 2 first.

My interest was piqued when I heard "science fiction" and "RPG," but I lost considerable interest after seeing a gameplay video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x85lPMiWmKc

It seems to be missing several of the elements I need in an RPG, such as interesting characters, rich character interactions, a unique sense of place, and an engaging storyline. There are power upgrades, sure, but mostly what I saw was a sterile-looking world with a lot of emphasis on engineering, both in terms of the design and the gameplay. I wasn't intrigued by the aliens, either, which is a disappointment for a science fiction story. I don't really like the thriller/horror elements, either. Not my thing.

I'll keep an eye on it, though. I did like Arx Fatalis and Dishonored.

There are some NPCs you can find and interact with throughout the game, but since most people in the station are dead or missing, don't expect a lot of character interactions.

The date was announced just 2 days ago, so it's probably why you haven't heard of it until now
 
Clearly i'm missing something with this game because I don't get any of the System Shock vibes you guys are seeing.

Like... at all... There's a little bioshock in there for sure (it is NOT the same game as System Shock)... but I'm not seeing the System Shock. I Suspect I'd be more hyped for this game if I actually got that vibe...

There are things that gives off a System Shock vibe, mostly in terms of mechanics. There's Neuromods, which allows you to acquire and upgrade abilities, similar to System Shock 2. Grid-based inventory and you learn more about the backstory and what happened through PDA-like devices (Similar to audio logs in SS2)

Then there's also the fact that weapons are degradable and ammo is scarce, so you have to conserve them whenever possible.

But let's be honest, System Shock 2's main plot is not exactly its strongest point (Its a sci-fi B movie plot when you think about it). Its the atmosphere and world-building that elevates it. If Arkane can replicate that with Prey, then I'm content with that.
 

Teeth

Member
I imagine there's going to be a preview blowout really soon, as press people got to play a couple of hours of it earlier this week.
 
I imagine there's going to be a preview blowout really soon, as press people got to play a couple of hours of it earlier this week.

I think I saw somewhere (on GAF) that the embargo was on the 14th or 15th.

I'm pretty amped for this because I love the Dishonored games and System Shock, but I'm also kind of surprised it's launching so early (if it doesn't get pushed back). That's neither here nor there though... a short window from reveal to release is fine by me.
 
I think I saw somewhere (on GAF) that the embargo was on the 14th or 15th.

I'm pretty amped for this because I love the Dishonored games and System Shock, but I'm also kind of surprised it's launching so early (if it doesn't get pushed back). That's neither here nor there though... a short window from reveal to release is fine by me.

Its May release should give it enough space for it to sell well considering the rough launch of Dishonored 2 (Releasing it on November along with other big games wasn't a great idea). I think its great that we get another Arkane game pretty soon considering how games like Dishonored takes a long time to release :p

A sci-fi thriller by Arkane? Sign me up day one.
 
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