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PREY - A Guided Tour of Talos I

R

Rexatality

Member
I can only hope the thread doesn't devolve into "Holy shit! Is that a fucking Skyrim reference?!" comments like it did in YouTube comments.
 
B

B00TE

Member
Looks interesting, eager to play the demo. Not sure I'll grab it at launch yet, but if the demo is fun I just might.
 
R

Rexatality

Member
Probably spoilery, but one thing I find neat in PREY is that you basically go through the game while the aliens are taking over Talos I (Its why you'll find pocket of survivors)

Not like other games where the player who has to go through the mess months after a horrible event happened.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Falchion said:
I'm ready, it'll be interesting to see how it compares to Bioshock and Dishonored.
Click to expand...
You know, I think I've been a less interested in this game because since it's Arkane, I've been considering it alongside Dishonored and immersive sim-style games like that. More stealthy, less combat focused, etc. It's partially why I wasn't sure about the Typhon as enemies, since they're just aggressive aliens. None of the other nuance I think of when people talk about immersive sims

But thinking of it more in the vein of Bioshock and System Shock, Prey seems way more interesting
 
E

Eggbok

Member
Watching this video honestly makes me wish there was a new Dead Space coming out. Hearing them talk about an alien outbreak and etc. makes me miss Necromorphs lol.
 
R

Rexatality

Member
More_Badass said:
You know, I think I've been a less interested in this game because since it's Arkhane, I've been considering alongside Dishonored and immersive sim-style games like that. More stealthy, less combat focused, etc. It's partially why I wasn't sure about the Typhon, since they're just aggressive aliens, none of the other nuance I think of when people talk about immersive sims

But thinking of it more in the vein of Bioshock and System Shock, Prey seems way more interesting
Click to expand...

I don't think immersive sims have to be necessarily be stealth-focused.

System Shock games are immersive sims and they don't exactly have heavy stealth elements.
 
G

Gator86

Member
Eggbok said:
Watching this video honestly makes me wish there was a new Dead Space coming out. Hearing them talk about an alien outbreak and etc. makes me miss Necromorphs lol.
Click to expand...

I too would welcome a Dead Space reboot with open arms. Seeing RE7 get great reviews and move units, there's definitely room for a Dead Space follow-up.
 
J

JJShadow

Member
I'm so in for this, everything I've seen so far looks excellent, and what the hell, it's Arkane. Dishonored 2 is one of my GOTYs last year, don't expect less from this one
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Rexatality said:
I don't think immersive sims have to be necessarily be stealth-focused.

System Shock games are immersive sims and they don't exactly have heavy stealth elements.
Click to expand...
My introduction was stuff like Dishonored, STALKER, Deus Ex, etc. I always thought the whole point was that they allowed you different ways to tackle situations. Options like stealth and diplomacy, hence the moniker.

How does System Shock fit into that?
 
C

ced

Member
I can't find any good info on which studio does what at Arkane, but I don't think the Austin studio responsible for Prey had much to do with Dishonored.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, because I would like to think the talent behind Dishonored was involved in this.
 
R

Rexatality

Member
More_Badass said:
My introduction was stuff like Dishonored, STALKER, Deus Ex, etc. I always thought the whole point was that they allowed you different ways to tackle situations. Options like stealth and diplomacy, hence the moniker.

How does System Shock fit into that?
Click to expand...

Basically, a space that feels lived-in and believable, multiple approaches to solve a problem, an interactive world, and so on.

For what its worth, PREY has a degree of stealth elements into it. You can acquire abilities that let you be more sneaky or do more damage with sneak attacks. And of course, the Mimic ability which can be used for stealth.

Just... don't expect to go through the whole game without killing any aliens :p

ced said:
I can't find any good info on which studio does what at Arkane, but I don't think the Austin studio responsible for Prey had much to do with Dishonored.
Click to expand...

Arkane Austin worked on Dishonored along with the Lyon studio. They also worked on the Dishonored DLCs.

Arkane Lyon did Dishonored 2.
 
S

Stoze

Member
More_Badass said:
My introduction was stuff like Dishonored, STALKER, Deus Ex, etc. I always thought the whole point was that they allowed you different ways to tackle situations. Options like stealth and diplomacy, hence the moniker.

How does System Shock fit into that?
Click to expand...
Because SS still focuses on tackling situations and levels in a variety of ways. The best summary of immersive sims I've seen on the internet is from this page on Giant Bomb:

Immersive sims are primarily concerned with making players feel as though they are truly experiencing a believable world by creating mechanics that feel appropriate and logical within the game world and try to avoid feeling arbitrarily 'Gamey'.

This school of game design was established by Looking Glass Studios with Thief, Underworld, and System Shock. The concept of immersive sims is still alive today in games such as BioShock, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Dishonored.
Click to expand...

Defining elements
It should be noted that not all of these characteristics are necessarily required for games to fall into this category

  • Immersion in an elaborate and believable game world.
  • Simulation: physics and AI are used to create believable behavior in objects and characters which the player can freely interact with, resulting in 'emergent gameplay'.
  • First-person perspective so as to truly look through the eyes of the protagonist.
  • Game design that allows for multiple paths and/or multiple solutions in every situation.
  • A systemic game world that keeps track of the player's actions, which can affect the "whole" game.
  • open-ended/non-linear game design with an emphasis on choice and consequence.
  • Full control over the player's character in every situation.
  • A world with consistent rules that the player can interact with.
  • Narrative that is not always forced on the player, but instead can be told through exploration and gameplay at that players will.
  • No fail states, beyond player death.
Click to expand...
 
X

Xater

Member
Rexatality said:
I don't think immersive sims have to be necessarily be stealth-focused.

System Shock games are immersive sims and they don't exactly have heavy stealth elements.
Click to expand...

But System Shock 2 at least totally allowed for stealthy approaches. There were opportunities to sneak around enemies, maybe hack a turret and then let that take care of the problem.
 
RAIDEN1

RAIDEN1

Member
I just can't help but think of the 2006 release and what might have been of that when I see all this "PREY" promotions....
 
R

Rexatality

Member
Xater said:
But System Shock 2 at least totally allowed for stealthy approaches. There were opportunities to sneak around enemies, maybe hack a turret and then let that take care of the problem.
Click to expand...

Like I said before, you can do stealth in PREY (There are even stealth abilities you can invest in with Neuromods) and hack a turret to take care of the problem.

You can be a turret lord if you want to :p
 
S

Stoze

Member
Rexatality said:
Like I said before, you can do stealth in PREY (There are even stealth abilities you can invest in with Neuromods) and hack a turret to take care of the problem.

You can be a turret lord if you want to :p
Click to expand...

Yep. I think I saw damage bonuses on sneak attacks with the wrench in the skill tree as well.

Stealth options, even if rudimentary, are kind of naturally present in these games because having more realistic AI is helpful in creating a believable space. Even in Bioshock 1, which is perhaps the more streamlined and simplistic of the lot, gives you the ability to sneak around and surprise enemies most of the time. It also had perk that gave you extra damage for wrench sneak attacks and quieter movement, as well as invisibility. Bethesda RPG titles have sneaking as well.
 
X

Xater

Member
Rexatality said:
Like I said before, you can do stealth in PREY (There are even stealth abilities you can invest in with Neuromods) and hack a turret to take care of the problem.

You can be a turret lord if you want to :p
Click to expand...

I never talked about Prey. Just saying that SS2 totally has it's stealth moments.
 
R

Rexatality

Member
haveheart said:
Oh boy, that music that's playing in the background. I'm so stoked, everything looks so good.

I'd really like to get a collectors edition of that (there is none, right?), the design is sooo good.
Click to expand...

There's no collector's edition, but there are steelbooks at certain territories

And anyone who pre-orders the game on certain retailers like Amazon gets a sample of the soundtrack with 5 tracks.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
My biggest concern is the enemies. I love the aesthetic, the alternate history and narrative sounds great, I really want to explore the environment, the combat looks punchy.

But the Typhon doesn't seem like they'd be that exciting to fight. Do we know anything about enemy AI or behaviors? I know the Mimics attempt to be stealthy, but is it jump scare/monster closet kind of "hiding" or are they dynamic stalkers/ambushers? Do enemies have behaviors and interactions outside of aggressive combat? Stuff like that.

I do recall that there are also robotic threats and human enemies (or at least psychically-controlled humans)
 
R

Rexatality

Member
More_Badass said:
My biggest concern is the enemies. I love the aesthetic, the alternate history and narrative sounds great, I really want to explore the environment, the combat looks punchy.

But the Typhon doesn't seem like they'd be that exciting to fight. Do we know anything about enemy AI or behaviors? I know the Mimics attempt to be stealth, but is it jump scare/monster closest kind of "hiding" or are they dynamic stalkers/ambushers? Do enemies interact outside of combat? Stuff like that.

I do recall that they are also robotic and human enemies (or at least psychically-controlled humans)
Click to expand...

Mimics have the ability to camouflage into any object and their behavior are practically systemic (Meaning you won't find a Mimic in the same room you found if you reloaded a save before that).

Weavers that can turn any human corpse into a Phantom. No idea how they can put up a fight yet, but I'm sure it can defend itself

Phantoms teleport around and uses Kintetic blast and use their limbs at close range (they're deadly, btw). They come in three elite forms: Voltaic (Electricity), Thermal (Fire), and Etheric (splitting into two and poison).

There's Telepaths that control human beings and packs quite a punch. Technopaths that corrupts machinery around the station.

Poltergeists who are basically invisible and sneaks around the environment and ambush you at the right moment.

And of course, the Nightmare who's appearance factors how much you invest in alien abilities.

Regardless, you won't fight one Typhon enemy at a time. There will be situations where you fight dozens of them.

Personally, the most interesting aspect of the Typhon for me is their alien ecology.
 
R

Remachinate

Member
More_Badass said:
My introduction was stuff like Dishonored, STALKER, Deus Ex, etc. I always thought the whole point was that they allowed you different ways to tackle situations. Options like stealth and diplomacy, hence the moniker.

How does System Shock fit into that?
Click to expand...

This was answered above, but I just want to add that the key component of immersive sims is that they are heavily systemic in a way that feels consistent. Think of the Domino power in Dishonored 2, and all the ways that it works in the way you expect it to when you experiment with it. Immersive sims are at their best when they provide flexible tools that allow for creative approaches and logical interactions. I've seen very little of Prey because I'm on blackout, but just the various applications of the Gloo Cannon (freezing, extinguishing fire, creating platforms) tells me that the game has been designed with that philosophy in mind.
 
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