Prey 2017 is probably the best immersive sim I’ve played in quite a long time. Arkane's outstanding overarching level design once again shined with how impressively interconnected and memorable it all was compared to other immersive sims I’ve played. Its atmosphere is outstanding and its general gameplay is honestly pretty solid, which is something I don’t think Arkane has really been great at. The story is also pretty neat albeit very on the nose with its general themes and its use of an underlying meta narrative approach, still I enjoyed it and I very much appreciated the visual worldbuilding for it’s lore rather then having all of it be cramped into long text longs; their still there but now I don’t feel like I’m missing out on neat lore dumbs because I don’t feel like reading a two page essay.
Honestly everything besides the name of the game is top quality and probably Arkanes best game on all fronts, but something has been biting at my brain since the moment I really started enjoying the game; Why does no one talk about it? I mean it’s not because it’s bad or mediocre; it does everything a good immersive sim needs to do and does them flawlessly, and it’s probably not because of the story since it’s a pretty straight forward plot with a neat little metanarrative twist. Maybe it’s because it came out in 2017 and the rest of the industry was more forced on BOTW and the true return of RE so they didn’t give more attention to the game? Or maybe it’s because the general gaming crowd just doesn't want immersive sim anymore? (I know for a fact that’s not trues since people won’t shut the fuck up about Bioshock to this day).
I think perhaps the real reason why Prey 2017 is kinda forgotten is because it’s too good. What I mean is it does basically everything really well, but nothing that really shakes up the immersive sim genre or will set the world on fire. What’s there to talk about when it’s pretty much just doing what every other immersive sim has done but just really really well executed. Maybe I’m wrong but given how gamers are really materialistic and will drop the newest thing they got for something that the gaming media say is “revolutionary” or “sets the bar for its genre” this feels right in my mind.
Honestly everything besides the name of the game is top quality and probably Arkanes best game on all fronts, but something has been biting at my brain since the moment I really started enjoying the game; Why does no one talk about it? I mean it’s not because it’s bad or mediocre; it does everything a good immersive sim needs to do and does them flawlessly, and it’s probably not because of the story since it’s a pretty straight forward plot with a neat little metanarrative twist. Maybe it’s because it came out in 2017 and the rest of the industry was more forced on BOTW and the true return of RE so they didn’t give more attention to the game? Or maybe it’s because the general gaming crowd just doesn't want immersive sim anymore? (I know for a fact that’s not trues since people won’t shut the fuck up about Bioshock to this day).
I think perhaps the real reason why Prey 2017 is kinda forgotten is because it’s too good. What I mean is it does basically everything really well, but nothing that really shakes up the immersive sim genre or will set the world on fire. What’s there to talk about when it’s pretty much just doing what every other immersive sim has done but just really really well executed. Maybe I’m wrong but given how gamers are really materialistic and will drop the newest thing they got for something that the gaming media say is “revolutionary” or “sets the bar for its genre” this feels right in my mind.