Prey raised the bar for “immersive” in the immersive sim genre to a whole new level for me. Coming from the Bioshock series, I was so happy to see the familiar formula become perfected in this game, with so much more player expression and freedom put into combat, traversal, and story. I loved the incredible detail and interconnectedness in the gameplay systems which also fit seamlessly into the setting. The sheer variety of builds and skills I could play with were overwhelming at times, but also added great replay potential.
Talos 1 was a meticulously crafted setting that never became reduced to just a video game arena designed for me to run around shooting aliens in. Despite the massive scale of the station, each area was always fleshed out with grounded details that made it feel like a real place where people with distinct personalities and histories lived their lives. Exploring through the crew’s workstations full of emails and notes, their personal rooms decorated with children’s art and DnD character sheets, I felt like I was getting to know these people even though I would never get to actually meet them.
I was also impressed with the quality of writing and the decisions Prey presented me with. In a lot of games with moral choices, the options often boil down to “good” or “bad,” and there is barely any room to leave me wondering if I made the right choice. But in Prey, there were multiple sections where I had to pause the game just to ponder the decision I was being asked to make.
Unfortunately, my experience took a slight downturn towards the end. The tension that had gripped me in the beginning eventually fizzled out as I amassed resources and neuromod powers. I was running fearlessly around Talos 1 spraying ammo at anything that looked remotely suspicious. Even the titanic “Nightmare” started to feel like a lumbering oaf, existing solely to waste my time killing it. The ending was also strange. I hesitate to say “bad” because it was shocking and interesting on its own, but I was hoping for more satisfying resolutions to all the difficult moral decisions I had to make throughout the story.
Despite its weak ending, I would still recommend Prey to anyone looking for a great immersive sim. The journey matters more than the destination after all. I think Prey brings much more to the table than other games with a similar premise, especially for people who love to explore and experiment in a game.
Talos 1 was a meticulously crafted setting that never became reduced to just a video game arena designed for me to run around shooting aliens in. Despite the massive scale of the station, each area was always fleshed out with grounded details that made it feel like a real place where people with distinct personalities and histories lived their lives. Exploring through the crew’s workstations full of emails and notes, their personal rooms decorated with children’s art and DnD character sheets, I felt like I was getting to know these people even though I would never get to actually meet them.
I was also impressed with the quality of writing and the decisions Prey presented me with. In a lot of games with moral choices, the options often boil down to “good” or “bad,” and there is barely any room to leave me wondering if I made the right choice. But in Prey, there were multiple sections where I had to pause the game just to ponder the decision I was being asked to make.
Unfortunately, my experience took a slight downturn towards the end. The tension that had gripped me in the beginning eventually fizzled out as I amassed resources and neuromod powers. I was running fearlessly around Talos 1 spraying ammo at anything that looked remotely suspicious. Even the titanic “Nightmare” started to feel like a lumbering oaf, existing solely to waste my time killing it. The ending was also strange. I hesitate to say “bad” because it was shocking and interesting on its own, but I was hoping for more satisfying resolutions to all the difficult moral decisions I had to make throughout the story.
Despite its weak ending, I would still recommend Prey to anyone looking for a great immersive sim. The journey matters more than the destination after all. I think Prey brings much more to the table than other games with a similar premise, especially for people who love to explore and experiment in a game.