Yu better get Preying for some Typhon/Alien Mercy…
Are you a sci-fi fan? Have you ever watched/enjoyed the Alien movie franchise? And finally, have you ever marked out during Bioshock, or Dead Space or Dishonored? (Perhaps all three) If you answered yes to any of those, then congratulations, (Sadly, you don’t win a prize), you receive a Bettsy special recommendation to purchase this beast of a game. Developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda, the game has no resemblance to that of the 2006 title in anything except name only.
It’s March 2032, you’re Morgan Yu, recruited by your brother on behalf of the company Transtar for researching purposes. During general testing processes, a doctor gets brutalised by one of the mimics (a baby Typhon sub-species) and Morgan is also knocked out. Upon waking up, it soon becomes apparent, control of the station has been lost, and that Yu is stranded on a space station known as Talos I. Morgan is desperately seeking answers from the research gathered on the Typhon (the Aliens basically). While also exploring the station for any further survivors, learning about your past, and looking for a way to deal with the Typhon crisis. With implications, and numerous/different narrative outcomes from your choices. Talos I is a creepy and very claustrophobic setting. With plenty to offer in exploration and backstory, learning about the lives of the researchers via terminals, notes, logs etc before the alien attack, all of whom were integral to the development of Talos.
In-depth side quests offer plenty to keep you distracted from the main story, and you almost feel guilty for not doing them. The majority of which are centred around the previous regime of staff and each side quest feels like it has a personal touch to it, finding a treasure hunt for table top lovers, or the meeting under a special tree between two lovers. The game does a superb job of reminding you about the previous inhabitants and you almost feel like it’s a crime not doing these and helping the mostly deceased get closure/justice. Prey will keep you busy for many, many hours.
“What if I told you, I could turn you into a mathematician on the level of Einstein, in under 10minutes”
I’m not bullshitting you either, It’s all about the self-enhancing Neuromods, peeps. One installation of this bad boy and you’re a hybrid of a scientist, engineer and a security tank, (See!!, even better than Einstein). Disclaimer, gaming geeks. You are free to spend your Neuromods in any way you see fit, however, by spending at least three in the Typhon tree, you will turn the various turrets that are around the station against you. (In the beginning, this extra layer of enemy can become frustrating and encourages you to approach situations a little more differently).
Each role offering variations of techniques and rewards from hacking, to gunsmith, teleport, transform and so on. Much like Dishonored’s Corvo Attano, Yu gradually populates a weapon wheel with guns, gear, and otherworldly powers
For me, the mimics are a fascinating design concept, they’re able to transform into anything throughout the environment and literally jump out at you at any given moment. Like, seriously, you’ll shit your pants playing this at 2am. You’ll have no idea if that harmless looking plate on the work surface, is about to jump out and assault you.
From the mimics to a voltaic phantom, there’s plenty of variety to deal with these prying badasses. If stalling the mix of Thypons is your style, then the Gloo gun is a very useful bit of kit. It freezes anything in its path and shoots out a cloud of fluff which allows you time to use another weapon to finish the job, or for a tactical height advantage as you can use the GLOO gun to reach higher areas. For those looking for a more hands-on approach, why not try a play through with just the wretch, (pretty convinced you won’t get far), or you could just use the numerous firearms, like a pistol, or a shotgun which become available as you advance further into the game. All firearms are upgradable, and Morgan can learn some kickass ability’s off the Thypons such as teleport, disguise etc.
Then you have a pretty unique crafting system. Recycling/fabricator machines, where you collect blocks, insert them into the machine and collect the recycled blocks to then use in a fabricator machine which you can create items such as medkits, pistol ammo, and other survival tools. Every quotidian thing in Prey, from crumpled paper balls and plastic tubing to bags of biohazard waste and tumorous clumps, can be transformed by way of recycling units scattered throughout the station. Unload your haul, push a button, and out pop stackable cubes of matter that fund the creation of less common items vital to completing the journey. (Collect, collect, collect, folks!!)
If you’re looking to purchase Prey as solemn shooter up, you’d be disappointed. Prey really does excel as a game for its exploration and discovery.
A Xbox One review code was provided by Bethesda
