Prey has been a franchise that has long been held in high regard by fans of the sci-fi genre. Its arrival back in 2006 marked the end of a tumultuous development period for the game that originally started development back in 1995, before undergoing several major changes in game design and software technology, and then arriving as the game we grew to love.
Since that point, fans have been clamouring for more within Prey’s universe but with a sequel canned not long after Bethesda acquired the rights to the franchise, the chances of seeing the glorious sci-fi world return seemed bleak at best. E3 2016 changed that however, and up came the announcement that Prey would return, not as a sequel or a remake but rather a re-imagining of the world we once knew.
We’ve seen snippets of information sent our way, showing us what we can expect when Prey arrives on May 5th 2017, but nothing can bring us closer to the action than some early hands on to help get to grips with the new universe. So I jumped in for some hands on with the opening hour of the game…but was it any good?
You start the game as either a male or female protagonist named Morgan Yu. You awake in a room, believed to be your home, and are requested to head over to a testing facility for some more tests to show the observing scientists just what you are capable of. After seemingly disappointing them with your mere human abilities, things take a turn for the worst, and you start an aggressive introduction with some of the games enemies, mostly Mimics and a few Phantoms.
Mimics offer something exceptionally unique when it comes to videogame enemies. They hold the ability to transform into anything they wish; a mug, table, chair, bin, anything you see, there’s a chance it could be one of these enemies, waiting to suck the life and soul from your body in seconds. This can make picking up weapons and the various crafting items a tense experience, knowing any one of them could be the next enemy waiting for you to arrive unsuspectingly.
Mimics may be a nuisance, especially given they can multiply as and when they wish, but they aren’t quite anything compared to Phantoms. Phantoms are bigger, harder and much more dangerous than Mimics and a few misplaced rounds can see you downed before you even have the chance to run from these beings. This an enemy you will want to avoid when the full game rocks around in the coming days and it’s probably best hiding away from them until you’re sure you have the firepower required to down them.
The opening hour doesn’t really give you a whole lot of the game, but the part you do experience has plenty of signs that Bethesda are once more onto a winner. After they revived DOOM, turning it into one of 2016’s finest shooters there was a lot of hope that they could do something similar for Prey, and the early signs are looking good.
One notable reason for this is the setting. You’re on board Talos I, the moon-orbiting space station where research into a hostile alien collective called Typhon is performed. Whilst it doesn’t exactly show much in the demo, Prey is designed to give the player a completely free and open-world experience. The enemies you’re facing are the escaped aliens on board and throughout the game you will gain abilities derived from the Typhon to use and aid in your survival, therefore enabling you to find a way to escape the doomed space station.
Whilst this may sound like any other sci-fi story, taking in the Talos I by walking through each of the tight hallways, and questioning whether that next item is an enemy can really bring a frightening experience to the game. Bethesda have done a great job of making the game feel unpredictable and it will be interesting to see if they have kept it up throughout the entire game.
My time with the demo ended after I realised the rooms I wanted to go in weren’t available, but with the game releasing very soon, the demo provides a fantastic opportunity to get a feel for what’s to come. As someone who is a big fan of sci-fi and horror titles, it looks like Bethesda may have done a fantastic job with Prey.
I’ve not had the chance to play the demo but this is still looking like a game to make my to buy list.
As someone who played the original Prey game on the 360 a long time ago I really don’t get the praise heaped on it… at best it was a pretty average, mundane shooter. If I was feeling less charitable I’d probably call it a bit crap to be honest. Anyway…
Not sure about the demo to be honest. I played it up to the point where you reach the main foyer where the automated turrets are and I entered my own room. All the other rooms appeared to be locked. I liked the game world – reminded me of Rapture in Bioshock. Wasn’t too keen on the visual style of the people in the game… too similar to Dishonored and that was a bit of a turn off. The weapons were also a bit of a mixed bunch… the goo cannon thing seemed too difficult and wasteful on ammo to use on the mimics and the shotgun… looked like something out of Red Dead Redemption and out of place on a futuristic space station, even if it did have a holographic ammo counter on it. The music was OK… up until a mimic comes on the scene and then it ramps up to an ear-splitting cacophony. If it only did that occasionally I could accept it… but it continues on for ages and to be quite frank it did my head in and I wanted to mute the sound.
Maybe the demo is a poor representation of the full game but overall I just wasn’t feeling it… and I was really looking forward to it after watching all the little teaser videos on the Bethesda site. Going to wait for the reviews – hopefully the full game will be better…
Interesting. I completely agree with you regarding the music ramping up after every mimic, to the point where I thought this must be some sort of bug in the game, as it did keep going long after the enemy was dispatched. Other than that though I though the music was fantastic. That helicopter ride music was exceptional. Absolutely getting the Rapture vibes as well both in terms of world, audio logs/emails and the horror. I’d class this as a horror yes.
I got a Dishonored feeling with the game as well, but this was more from the stealth element rather than the visuals. Visual-wise, I would have said Portal, especially when you break out of your room and explore outside the test area. Surprised GLaDOS didnt tell me off for doing so tbh.
If anything for me, the demo confirmed to me that this is a game that I need to get