Really really good. I know this gets compared (favorably) to Deathloop a lot but they're very different beasts - if all you come to Arkane for is gameplay, I guess this is mostly just a stronger version (since it has a backbone of Prey's incredible systems). Deathloop, however, has much more engaging characters, a charming world, great art design - things that I definitely missed in Mooncrash. Many of my favorite aspects of Arkane games are their lived-in worlds, exploring all their secrets, and admiring their incredible visual style. Mooncrash largely fails at all these since it's mostly just a rearranging and repurposing of Prey's assets, without the meticulous worldbuilding or story.

Mooncrash still fuckin bangs, though, because it's a fantastic way to utilize Prey's systems. The base game is a brilliant immersive sim with some of the most in-depth stim-and-response in any game - there's many ways to approach each obstacle, and many many branching paths with barriers to find. Depending on your build and your playstyle, however, this means that it's pretty easy to default to a few ways of traversing through the world - forgoing the gloo gun for the leverage skill, taking hacking where the huntress boltcaster may have been more rewarding.

Mooncrash makes the wonderful decision to separate out Morgan's skill set from the base game into 5 separate characters, which really forces you to understand and use the entirety of each character's skillset. You have to escape the moonbase with each character, so you really do have to learn each of them - which rooms they can get into, and how. Which enemies to take out and which to run from. Add to this some new and improved enemies, new weapon upgrades, and an ever-increasing timer that spawns harder and harder enemies as you progress, and Mooncrash really feels like a puzzle that you have to solve. As you progress what story there is, even more systems reveal themselves, too - more ways for the station to fuck itself up, forcing you to find ways to power doors, or avoid radiation, or get past a fire. It almost makes me wish I had played Mooncrash first, so that I'd go into Prey primed with the knowledge and the creativity necessary to really enjoy and exploit its systems to the fullest.

Great music, stylish character portraits. The world is a little ugly but tiny moments of beauty evoked in the collectible flavor text make traversing worth it. The game really opens up once you get the double jump and then the dash, which makes exploring more fun and secrets start to reveal themselves. Despite some errors/clunkiness with the dialogue at times and a few QoL frustrations, this had me pretty gripped the whole time. Loved the characterizations and the vaporwave-horror setting. The music is good (if generic). And the freedom allowed in the end trial really ties everything together - it is very satisfying both to present copious, painstakingly collected evidence and to forgo evidence and bring justice down upon the Syndicate.

Really good! With a few mods, it doesn't feel too dated mechanically, and I was generally really impressed by the writing and variety on offer here. Plenty of diverse locales to explore despite a more linear feel and muted color palette. I was particularly impressed (as I guess everyone is) with the factions, and how deftly they are written to have their own identities and goals that fit so well with their societal and geographic positions. They really feel natural and organic, and it is really impressive how they weave together and influence other storylines. It leads to a lot of role-playing possibility and player freedom without simply presenting the character with Big Choices.

I really really liked this. It was so wonderfully creative - a satisfying mystery with really tough moral choices placed in a meticulously researched historical setting that actually fully influences the story and characters. The art style and design are beautiful and immersive - the faces and character designs are delightful and expressive. I loved how fleshed out each character felt, speaking in their own unique voice. But most of all just learning about everything, the town and its politics, its history, the people's secrets and their hardships, was a delight. Really entertaining and thoughtful and beautifully human.

Cute art style and wonderful atmosphere. The dialogue is realistic and charming and includes the most creative use of language selection in any game I've played. The game takes place in a fictional Montreal, and so you are greeted in French - you can respond in French or English, and can drop in or out of one or the other at any point. Really creative and unique.

The game is short and the endings are warm and charming, but there are plenty of secrets off the main path to find. Definitely recommend as a polished <2 hour burst of fun and creativity.