Rexatality
Member
Given that there's dozens of people confused or have misconceptions about the upcoming Arkane's Prey (which is releasing on May 5). I decided that this thread would be useful to clear some things up about the game.
But before we go to what the game is, let's make one thing clear. This is not the Prey you're looking for. Its Prey in name only. It's not a sequel or a remake to 2006's Prey. It sucks, but other than not willing to give Bethesda your money, there's not much we can do about that. Now that's out of the way, let's dive right rin about the game, shall we?
Prey is a sci-fi thriller and a first-person action RPG taking place on a space station Talos I. You play as Morgan Yu (Can be played as male or female), a Director of Research for Transtar corporation and a test subject. After a huge outbreak from an Alien species called the Typhon, killing a lot of people in the station and having free reign, it is up to the player to take the fight against them.
Setting:
Prey takes place in an alternative timeline where President JFK survived his assassination, putting more funding into the space program. The space station, Talos I, was occupied by various groups, taking different decors from retrofuturism to Art Deco over the years.
Years after the US shut down the station due to an attack from the Typhon against research scientists, a corporation called Transtar took over Talos I, advancing research into the Typhon and harnessing their abilities to create Neuromods (Giving various abilities to humans)
More details can be found in this video: The History of Transtar
Powers:
Like Dishonored, Prey has powers. But you don't get powers from a god-like figure, you learn them from the Typhon aliens themselves using a device called Psychoscope. Along with other abilities, like firearms, repairs and hacking, they can be acquired or upgraded with Neuromods (Which you do it by injecting a needle to your eye). And like Dishonored, inventive players can chain powers together (i.e Mimic + Kinetic Blast) for creative uses. The powers are the following:
Mimic: Allows you to turn into any object that isn't bolted down, including a coffee cup. When upgraded, it allows you to other objects like turrets to shoot down any hostiles. You learn it from the Mimics themselves
Kinetic Blast: A strong physics pulse ability. It can be used to push objects, push environmental hazards away, or simply damage enemies.
Lift Field: You learn this ability from the Poltergiest enemies. Lift Field allows players to create a reverse gravity field to lift off enemies or objects. It can be used as a makeshift elevator to access new areas or hidden places.
Leverage: A physical ability that allows you to lift heavier objects and throw them across the environment to clear paths or kill enemies instantly.
Mindjack: You learn this ability from the Telepath. It allows you to assume control over another human.
Psychoshock: A massive ball of psionic energy that can be used against biological targets. It also disable a target's psi temporarily.
Weapons:
Prey has your standard weapons like pistols and shotguns. However, given Talos I is mostly a research space station, don't expect a rocket launcher or any huge traditional firearm. In addition, weapons can be degraded, so use them with care. But it also has other kinds of weaponry like:
GLOO Cannon: Short for Gelifoam Lattice Organism Obstructor. This weapon uses glue-like foam to subdue and freeze enemies, sealing off gas leaks, or creating makeshift ladders to hard-to-reach places.
Disruptor Stun Gun: A non-lethal weapon. It can be used to temporarily knock out mind-controlled humans or disable security bots.
Recycler Charge: A grenade that creates a miniature black hole, sucking any object around its area and turning them into material fragments which are used to craft items.
Enemies:
While Prey has your standard hostile security bots (Called Operators), the alien species called Typhon are the main enemy and you fight against them for the entirety of of the game.
They are a shadowy, inky-like and vary from different classes of creatures, including:
Cystoids: They are the smallest Typhon creatures around and live in Cystoid Nests, but not exactly intelligent (As soon as they sense movement, they attack). They make up their size with explosive firepower.
Mimics: A small crab-like creature that can turn into any object that isn't bolted down (That includes trash cans, weapons, chairs, and so on).
Phantoms: Foot soldiers of the Typhon. They are the most common enemies you'll find around the game. They come in different flavors: Thermal Phantoms, which uses fire. Etheric Phantoms, who can duplicate itself and emit toxic clouds that cause damage. And Voltaic Phantoms, which uses electricity.
Poltergeists: As the name says itself, they are invisible. Sometimes they hide around the environment and you wouldn't notice them until it plays with objects around the environment. And sometimes, they attack you and lift you off the ground, making you easy prey for other aliens.
Telepaths: They aren't fast, but they are pretty deadly. They uses telepathy to enslave any human who's in their presence and uses deadly shockwave blasts to cripple the player.
Nightmare: The biggest and most dangerous of the Typhon. It can chase you throughout the space station. If you acquire too many alien abilities through Neuromods, it will become aware of your presence and try to hunt you down.
Why Prey is not a Dishonored clone:
Despite the similarities, Prey is not a Dishonored clone and there are several reasons why. Yes, Dishonored and Prey share similarities in terms of the freeform gameplay and giving players a playground for them to play and experiment abilities to complete and solve problems in whatever way they wish. In short, Arkane makes games that embrace player agency and empowers the player to complete goals in whatever way they see fit, kinda like immersive sims.
But that's where the similarities end. So while Dishonored allows you to go mission-to-mission with a hub in between, Prey's setting is interconnected allowing you to explore it anywhere at your own pace (With some obstacles that forces you to find a way to solve them, of course). Basically, the whole station is one continuous level
Also, Prey has more RPG elements than Dishonored (Status ailments, abilities like tech, repair, fire-arms etc...)
In other words, Prey is more similar to System Shock (or Bioshock for those who haven't played System Shock) than Dishonored or Thief. For all intents and purposes, Arkane's Prey is a spiritual successor to System Shock.
And one last thing, Prey runs on Cryengine, for those who are concerned that it might be using Dishonored 2's Void Engine.
Here's the latest trailer and the 8 minute gameplay video for those who are interested: Gameplay trailer 2 and 8 gameplay viseo
But before we go to what the game is, let's make one thing clear. This is not the Prey you're looking for. Its Prey in name only. It's not a sequel or a remake to 2006's Prey. It sucks, but other than not willing to give Bethesda your money, there's not much we can do about that. Now that's out of the way, let's dive right rin about the game, shall we?
Prey is a sci-fi thriller and a first-person action RPG taking place on a space station Talos I. You play as Morgan Yu (Can be played as male or female), a Director of Research for Transtar corporation and a test subject. After a huge outbreak from an Alien species called the Typhon, killing a lot of people in the station and having free reign, it is up to the player to take the fight against them.
Setting:
Prey takes place in an alternative timeline where President JFK survived his assassination, putting more funding into the space program. The space station, Talos I, was occupied by various groups, taking different decors from retrofuturism to Art Deco over the years.
Years after the US shut down the station due to an attack from the Typhon against research scientists, a corporation called Transtar took over Talos I, advancing research into the Typhon and harnessing their abilities to create Neuromods (Giving various abilities to humans)
More details can be found in this video: The History of Transtar
Powers:
Like Dishonored, Prey has powers. But you don't get powers from a god-like figure, you learn them from the Typhon aliens themselves using a device called Psychoscope. Along with other abilities, like firearms, repairs and hacking, they can be acquired or upgraded with Neuromods (Which you do it by injecting a needle to your eye). And like Dishonored, inventive players can chain powers together (i.e Mimic + Kinetic Blast) for creative uses. The powers are the following:
Mimic: Allows you to turn into any object that isn't bolted down, including a coffee cup. When upgraded, it allows you to other objects like turrets to shoot down any hostiles. You learn it from the Mimics themselves
Kinetic Blast: A strong physics pulse ability. It can be used to push objects, push environmental hazards away, or simply damage enemies.
Lift Field: You learn this ability from the Poltergiest enemies. Lift Field allows players to create a reverse gravity field to lift off enemies or objects. It can be used as a makeshift elevator to access new areas or hidden places.
Leverage: A physical ability that allows you to lift heavier objects and throw them across the environment to clear paths or kill enemies instantly.
Mindjack: You learn this ability from the Telepath. It allows you to assume control over another human.
Psychoshock: A massive ball of psionic energy that can be used against biological targets. It also disable a target's psi temporarily.
Weapons:
Prey has your standard weapons like pistols and shotguns. However, given Talos I is mostly a research space station, don't expect a rocket launcher or any huge traditional firearm. In addition, weapons can be degraded, so use them with care. But it also has other kinds of weaponry like:
GLOO Cannon: Short for Gelifoam Lattice Organism Obstructor. This weapon uses glue-like foam to subdue and freeze enemies, sealing off gas leaks, or creating makeshift ladders to hard-to-reach places.
Disruptor Stun Gun: A non-lethal weapon. It can be used to temporarily knock out mind-controlled humans or disable security bots.
Recycler Charge: A grenade that creates a miniature black hole, sucking any object around its area and turning them into material fragments which are used to craft items.
Enemies:
While Prey has your standard hostile security bots (Called Operators), the alien species called Typhon are the main enemy and you fight against them for the entirety of of the game.
They are a shadowy, inky-like and vary from different classes of creatures, including:
Cystoids: They are the smallest Typhon creatures around and live in Cystoid Nests, but not exactly intelligent (As soon as they sense movement, they attack). They make up their size with explosive firepower.
Mimics: A small crab-like creature that can turn into any object that isn't bolted down (That includes trash cans, weapons, chairs, and so on).
Phantoms: Foot soldiers of the Typhon. They are the most common enemies you'll find around the game. They come in different flavors: Thermal Phantoms, which uses fire. Etheric Phantoms, who can duplicate itself and emit toxic clouds that cause damage. And Voltaic Phantoms, which uses electricity.
Poltergeists: As the name says itself, they are invisible. Sometimes they hide around the environment and you wouldn't notice them until it plays with objects around the environment. And sometimes, they attack you and lift you off the ground, making you easy prey for other aliens.
Telepaths: They aren't fast, but they are pretty deadly. They uses telepathy to enslave any human who's in their presence and uses deadly shockwave blasts to cripple the player.
Nightmare: The biggest and most dangerous of the Typhon. It can chase you throughout the space station. If you acquire too many alien abilities through Neuromods, it will become aware of your presence and try to hunt you down.
Why Prey is not a Dishonored clone:
Despite the similarities, Prey is not a Dishonored clone and there are several reasons why. Yes, Dishonored and Prey share similarities in terms of the freeform gameplay and giving players a playground for them to play and experiment abilities to complete and solve problems in whatever way they wish. In short, Arkane makes games that embrace player agency and empowers the player to complete goals in whatever way they see fit, kinda like immersive sims.
But that's where the similarities end. So while Dishonored allows you to go mission-to-mission with a hub in between, Prey's setting is interconnected allowing you to explore it anywhere at your own pace (With some obstacles that forces you to find a way to solve them, of course). Basically, the whole station is one continuous level
Also, Prey has more RPG elements than Dishonored (Status ailments, abilities like tech, repair, fire-arms etc...)
In other words, Prey is more similar to System Shock (or Bioshock for those who haven't played System Shock) than Dishonored or Thief. For all intents and purposes, Arkane's Prey is a spiritual successor to System Shock.
And one last thing, Prey runs on Cryengine, for those who are concerned that it might be using Dishonored 2's Void Engine.
Here's the latest trailer and the 8 minute gameplay video for those who are interested: Gameplay trailer 2 and 8 gameplay viseo
