Back when I initially played System Shock 2, I started a game without getting anywhere about six different times. For some reason I couldn't get into it, and I just didn't understand. One day, it just clicked, and I completed the game the same week. I sunk 2 hours into Prey months ago, and upon a quick restart (and a speedrun glitch to skip the intro tutorial) I finished it in a couple of days with about 13 hours of playtime just recently.

First and foremost, Prey is about player choice. You can go in guns blazing and probably turn out okay at the other side if you have the proper supplies and equipment, or you can sneak around and take out your enemies one by one. Personally, I'm a fan of melee-psionic builds a-la the "Shock series," so I enjoy messing around with the Typhon abilities. Building your character in a smart pattern and properly using supplies means any style of gameplay can work.

Combat itself is okay. Nothing groundbreaking is happening, but it's definitely better than the games that inspired it. Melee feels weightier than most shooters. Level design and mechanics mean any approach to combat has a solid chance at being effective, from shooting, to smashing, to throwing sofas at your enemies.

All you really need to know about writing is that Chris Avellone was involved. The main story doesn't seem as indepth as it should, and a lot of focus is on character development through audiologs. The ending-- without spoiling it --was fantastic in my opinion, and gave the story some context that made it overall much more enjoyable. I can understand why it's a little divisive, however.

I have two major gripes with this game. Those are the friendly AI behavior, and the enemy design. Once you actually meet up with survivors on the station, they start to talk and talk and talk. Seemingly at random, they'll chime in while you're trying to talk to someone else or listen to an objective. I found this highly annoying, and found myself wanting to leave these areas as much as possible. As far as enemy design goes, I think the mimics are amazing. I found myself double checking and questioning myself even with the addon for mimic detection. When it comes to the Typhon overall, I think the enemy design was rather uninspired. Every enemy in this game, save for those possessed by the Typhon, are black shapes. They aren't unfun to fight, and are creepy enough, but don't hold the same character that System Shock or Bioshock enemies did.

Overall I can definitely recommend this game highly. It may not click with you on a first try, and the beginning is definitely steep, but it's a solid FPSRPG with the immersive sim philosophy that I absolutely adore. Honestly, this might be my favorite game by Arkane Studios.

[h1] Prey takes after System Shock 2 in a multitude of ways. From the immersive level design to the choice in approach, everything harkens back to the late 90s "immersive sim" design philosopy. This is best reflected in my intial reaction and subsequent restart of the game. [/h1] Back when I initially played System Shock 2, I started a game without getting anywhere about six different times. For some reason I couldn't get into it, and I just didn't understand. One day, it just clicked, and I completed the game the same week. I sunk 2 hours into Prey months ago, and upon a quick restart (and a speedrun glitch to skip the intro tutorial) I finished it in a couple of days with about 13 hours of playtime just recently. First and foremost, Prey is about player choice. You can go in guns blazing and probably turn out okay at the other side if you have the proper supplies and equipment, or you can sneak around and take out your enemies one by one. Personally, I'm a fan of melee-psionic builds a-la the "Shock series," so I enjoy messing around with the Typhon abilities. Building your character in a smart pattern and properly using supplies means any style of gameplay can work. Combat itself is okay. Nothing groundbreaking is happening, but it's definitely better than the games that inspired it. Melee feels weightier than most shooters. Level design and mechanics mean any approach to combat has a solid chance at being effective, from shooting, to smashing, to throwing sofas at your enemies. All you really need to know about writing is that Chris Avellone was involved. The main story doesn't seem as indepth as it should, and a lot of focus is on character development through audiologs. The ending-- without spoiling it --was fantastic in my opinion, and gave the story some context that made it overall much more enjoyable. I can understand why it's a little divisive, however. I have two major gripes with this game. Those are the friendly AI behavior, and the enemy design. Once you actually meet up with survivors on the station, they start to talk and talk and talk. Seemingly at random, they'll chime in while you're trying to talk to someone else or listen to an objective. I found this highly annoying, and found myself wanting to leave these areas as much as possible. As far as enemy design goes, I think the mimics are amazing. I found myself double checking and questioning myself even with the addon for mimic detection. When it comes to the Typhon overall, I think the enemy design was rather uninspired. Every enemy in this game, save for those possessed by the Typhon, are black shapes. They aren't unfun to fight, and are creepy enough, but don't hold the same character that System Shock or Bioshock enemies did. Overall I can definitely recommend this game highly. It may not click with you on a first try, and the beginning is definitely steep, but it's a solid FPSRPG with the immersive sim philosophy that I absolutely adore. Honestly, this might be my favorite game by Arkane Studios.