Prey (2017)

3/13/2021:
This game was so good it made me fill up 3 pages of notes in my notebook. Just jotting down names and locations to come back to. It's a game that was so good I wanted to keep track of things. I wanted to backtrack.

It's actually horrendous how poorly marketed this game was. I had no idea this game existed. A heard about it from a coworker who when they mentioned it I thought they were talking about the shooter with the same title from 2006. And here we are, I've played it, and it's perhaps one of my favorite games of all time. Let's talk about why it's so good.

I think I've realized that perhaps my favorite thing in games is games that have large interesting worlds to explore. Worlds that reward exploration. And those rewards are tied into some sort of RPG-like character progression, where you become more powerful the more things you find. And underpinning it all is raw, fun gameplay mechanics. Bonus points if it's got great lore and immersive qualities. Something like Dragon's Dogma or Morrowind. Prey is up there with both of those.

The first thing I mentioned was a large interesting world to explore. And wow, does Talos I deliver here. It's one elaborate collection of large areas. Each one playing like a tight Deus Ex level. Many places to explore, many things to find. Little stories to find. Things that are gated behind certain skills you need to get. The notebook came in because I would write down things that I missed that I wanted to come back to. Both because it was always interesting seeing what was behind closed doors but also because there was also a reward.

Everything in the world is logically laid out. If you see a room through a window, you can go there. If you see something outside the station, you can float there in zero g. A second floor but no stairs? You can climb there with the Gloo gun. It's incredible how everything is very coherent like a real space.

And rewards Prey does really well. Early on you get rewarded with weapons, something that is initially doled out sparingly. The first time you find a pistol it's a big deal because now you actually have some solid defense against Mimics and Phantoms. Then you start finding Neuromods which make you both more physically powerful but also start unlocking those locked areas. There's plenty of resources to gather and keep track of in the game and there's a nice economy to them that keeps it feeling good to find things pretty much the whole game.

I mentioned Neuromods which tie into the character progression. They have a nice character skill tree with lots of nice passive abilities. For the first half of the game I was fiending for these points because it was a big deal to be able to get new abilities. Be able to run fast is a god send but so is doing more damage. Or do I go with more health. I think they designed the system really well because for most of the game the decisions were very hard to make.

And of course gameplay mechanics. It's primarily a stealth game and it basically rips from Dishonored here-- which is a good thing. Throw into the mix lots of shooting which actually feels quite good. The wrench, the Gloo gun, the Q-Wave Emitter, the shotgun-- they all have their place and all feel pretty good. Plus there's platforming, again similar to Dishonored, which I enjoyed. This loops back into the exploration element. I got into a late game area, likely before I was supposed to by stacking furniture and precariously climbing up to an air vent. It felt great.

In addition to all this you have a very cool story. The opening is one of the coolest openings ever with a wonderful bait and switch. They set you up in your room like you're beginning a big adventure and then suddenly everything turns upside down and you realize you're in a simulation. I ended up questioning whether everything was in my head-- a wonderful nod to the ending of the game. There's so many people in the station and they all have little relationships with each other described in emails. Chasing down all the passengers was one of the most fun parts. The world building on display here is incredible.

Throw on to that the fact that it's a gorgeous game with great ultrawide support. It's got realllly cool ideas in it, the whole idea of the Typhon, the fabricator and recycler as fundmentally awesome gameplay concept for an item economy, the zero G stuff, the Gloo gun-- so many things.

This is an incredible game and I'm so happy I played it.

12/26/2021:
Posting my Steam review:
Dear god, how did they market this game so poorly? Stop reading these reviews and just play it. It's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ masterpiece.

This might be the closest thing to a modern day Deus Ex. Hell, it's better than Deus Ex because the stealth actually feels good, the guns and weapons actually feel, sound, and look good. It's got an awesome RPG progression system where every time I had to pick an upgrade it was a hard choice. It's got beautiful world building and story which pairs into an amazing sense of immersion as you explore the glory that is Talos I. Oh, and what a glory it is. The whole thing is soundly laid out. If you see somewhere, you can go there. And when you go there you'll be rewarded. If you can survive. Oh, the joy and thrill of the early hours as you're finding your way and discovering the rewards to be had as well as the horrors that almost always accompany them. The way you're just let loose in Talos pretty early on and can just tell the main quest to ♥♥♥♥ off and go explore all the different parts of the ship-- wonderful!

God, I wish I could play it all again. I wish Bethesda had advertised it properly. I wish we were getting a sequel. Because, I swear to you, I've played like 300 games in my life-- I'm a psycho, I have a spreadsheet-- and this is near the top of the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ list. Play it. Tell your friends to play it.