Rate top gamesPretty much the pinnacle of immersive sims thus far. Prey provides interesting enemy design, a dazzling array of abilities and weapons, and a beautiful, immaculately planned environment to use them all in.
Pros:
- Amazing level design
- Amazing level design
- Interesting enemy design (visual and gameplay)
- A general feeling of cohesiveness you rarely get
- Innovative mechanics
- Interesting story (including minor subplots to be unraveled)
Cons:
- Facial animation of npcs can be quite a distraction
Other reviews24
Does it have great soundtracks? No.
Does the game offer stunning visuals? Nope.
Is the ending spectacular? Not that either.
So why did I rate it as Exceptional? The short answer is "gameplay". I'm not aware of any other game (maybe apart from Alien isolation) which offers suspense like Prey.
You start as Morgan, a researcher on a spaceship and during the game progression you discover an alien source which is taking over the spaceship. There are plenty of versatile missions which don't feel repeated. The sound effects and game mechanics are superb. The upgrade path also requires the player to be mindful as there's limited supply of resources.
The best thing about this game is how the player mentally adopts the game with its progression. You're clueless in the beginning and gain sense of your surroundings as you go.
Highly recommended for seasoned players. Not recommended for the faint of hearts.
Does the game offer stunning visuals? Nope.
Is the ending spectacular? Not that either.
So why did I rate it as Exceptional? The short answer is "gameplay". I'm not aware of any other game (maybe apart from Alien isolation) which offers suspense like Prey.
You start as Morgan, a researcher on a spaceship and during the game progression you discover an alien source which is taking over the spaceship. There are plenty of versatile missions which don't feel repeated. The sound effects and game mechanics are superb. The upgrade path also requires the player to be mindful as there's limited supply of resources.
The best thing about this game is how the player mentally adopts the game with its progression. You're clueless in the beginning and gain sense of your surroundings as you go.
Highly recommended for seasoned players. Not recommended for the faint of hearts.
«Blew my mind»
«Can’t stop playing»
This game makes me tense every second, and that's one of the reasons I like it! The story is interesting and the development intrigues the player. Nonetheless, the decisions you make in your skill tree makes a difference in your gameplay, wich is very nice for RPG fans
«Can’t stop playing»
I didn't expect the game to be so great.
I liked the gameplay in general.Although at the end of the passage, after pumping, you do not want to collect everything in a row and fight with everyone,90% of the game you think through the best action strategies and are constantly in suspense because of the variety of enemies.
It is interesting to study the station and pass side quests.
A great soundtrack that complements the gameplay,not hinders it.
The ending was a little disappointing, because there are no special differences between them
Final score 8.5/10
I liked the gameplay in general.Although at the end of the passage, after pumping, you do not want to collect everything in a row and fight with everyone,90% of the game you think through the best action strategies and are constantly in suspense because of the variety of enemies.
It is interesting to study the station and pass side quests.
A great soundtrack that complements the gameplay,not hinders it.
The ending was a little disappointing, because there are no special differences between them
Final score 8.5/10
«Can’t stop playing»
«OST on repeat»
Oh man I enjoyed this game so much.
Fantastic world building, the combat and abilities were great and it left a mark on me for sure.
I hoovered up all the emails, notes and voice files I could find and relished in every detail.
Definitely underrated.
«Blew my mind»
«Underrated»
Journal Style Review:
Interesting start story wise. Gameplay feels very static though. It has a AA feel, not AAA. The graphics and art style are pretty generic. They aren’t atrocious but they aren’t very interesting either.
Early on I’m interested in the upgrades this game has to offer. I’m not excited about the enemies though. I feel like fighting mimics and robots and other goo monsters will lose its satisfaction Pretty quick. Although I don’t have any psi abilities yet, that might increase the satisfaction. If this game turns out to be better than it initially feels it will have to be because of the story, the puzzles, and probably most importantly it’s going to need a well balanced rpg system where I have to pick and choose which ways to upgrade my character and gear effectively. It seems like it might do a pretty good job at that though. I like the way they deal with materials and the fabricators. I’m liking the neuromod skill trees. I’m struggling to decide which upgrade to unlock next, that’s the way it should be.
This game feels clever. I get the sense it’s well thought out. Which makes it a bummer that the handling is so poor. Why does the movement and gunplay feel so rough.
I have to give the game credit for one of the best video game jumps scares in awhile. Pushing buttons on the screen to calibrate it and then a phantom appears behind and I was caught completely off guard and yelled and jumped. Well done game. You got me.
The game has been getting better and better. Im enjoying it more even though the combat is still not great. The dynamic between which psi abilities you upgrade vs other upgrades vs fabricator purchases is well done. And although the gunplay is still not great, the different ways to tackle combat has expanded. Do I use this piece of equipment or lead with a psi blast etc etc. I’m starting to see some of the appeal the combat has to offer.
I stopped playing 5 hours in to play Ghost of Tsushima. It is going to take a bit to remember what I was doing and to get back into it.
I’m dying a lot. Its partly because I was rusty and I burned through my resources so Now I have like no ammo. But it’s also because I’m trying to kill everything so I can explore and loot every area, but I’m getting the sense I shouldn’t be playing that way. Some areas are too tough early on that it isn’t worth the resources.
I’m slowly re learning the style of the game. Playing Prey after GoT is a big change up. GoT is so casual and peaceful and Prey takes a lot of focus. I’m getting there again though.
This game is alright. That’s how I feel about it. It has some fun clever moments, but also the combat and gameplay is pretty bad. It has some fun resource management and upgrade tree options, but also sometimes I just get lost or die doing the same thing for multiple times in a row because I put myself in a hard position.
This game is best played in sessions of reasonable length. You can’t just pick it up and play for 30 mins. Ideally you sit down and play for 2 hours. Also I haven't tried but I can tell this isn’t a game to play stoned.
The nightmare is a cool idea but it doesn’t work. You just hide in a random area or even better leave the room and it doesn’t find you. It isn’t intense like they are going for, it’s boring.
Loads times are not fast enough.
The gloo gun is really fun to use to climb to new areas. It’s very creative.
I dislike the zero gravity parts. The controls are so awkward, it’s not fun.
I sewered my saves and I need to get from one side of the station to practically the farthest part in a very short amount of time. A bit of a bummer. I’m essentially doing a speed run dodging past enemies and planning the absolute quickest route possible. Kind of a fun challenge but also a piss off.
Aaaaaand it turned out I could just use the lift...must have been a small goo monster nearby disrupting it that I couldn’t find.... fuck me
Pretty great final ending scene. The overall ending leading up to the final reveal was all pretty good and then I really liked the idea of the final twist. But I’m happy to be done also. Overall the game wasn’t that great. It’s a low tier B+.
Concise review:
Amazing: nothing
Great: occasional creative puzzle solving (Gloo Gun Climbing), final twist reveal
Good: Resource management system, Upgrades systems, story and atmosphere
Average: occasional creative combat solutions
Bad: overall visual presentation, enemy variety, number of times I was lost or confused
Awful: gunplay, movement, load times
Final score: B+
Interesting start story wise. Gameplay feels very static though. It has a AA feel, not AAA. The graphics and art style are pretty generic. They aren’t atrocious but they aren’t very interesting either.
Early on I’m interested in the upgrades this game has to offer. I’m not excited about the enemies though. I feel like fighting mimics and robots and other goo monsters will lose its satisfaction Pretty quick. Although I don’t have any psi abilities yet, that might increase the satisfaction. If this game turns out to be better than it initially feels it will have to be because of the story, the puzzles, and probably most importantly it’s going to need a well balanced rpg system where I have to pick and choose which ways to upgrade my character and gear effectively. It seems like it might do a pretty good job at that though. I like the way they deal with materials and the fabricators. I’m liking the neuromod skill trees. I’m struggling to decide which upgrade to unlock next, that’s the way it should be.
This game feels clever. I get the sense it’s well thought out. Which makes it a bummer that the handling is so poor. Why does the movement and gunplay feel so rough.
I have to give the game credit for one of the best video game jumps scares in awhile. Pushing buttons on the screen to calibrate it and then a phantom appears behind and I was caught completely off guard and yelled and jumped. Well done game. You got me.
The game has been getting better and better. Im enjoying it more even though the combat is still not great. The dynamic between which psi abilities you upgrade vs other upgrades vs fabricator purchases is well done. And although the gunplay is still not great, the different ways to tackle combat has expanded. Do I use this piece of equipment or lead with a psi blast etc etc. I’m starting to see some of the appeal the combat has to offer.
I stopped playing 5 hours in to play Ghost of Tsushima. It is going to take a bit to remember what I was doing and to get back into it.
I’m dying a lot. Its partly because I was rusty and I burned through my resources so Now I have like no ammo. But it’s also because I’m trying to kill everything so I can explore and loot every area, but I’m getting the sense I shouldn’t be playing that way. Some areas are too tough early on that it isn’t worth the resources.
I’m slowly re learning the style of the game. Playing Prey after GoT is a big change up. GoT is so casual and peaceful and Prey takes a lot of focus. I’m getting there again though.
This game is alright. That’s how I feel about it. It has some fun clever moments, but also the combat and gameplay is pretty bad. It has some fun resource management and upgrade tree options, but also sometimes I just get lost or die doing the same thing for multiple times in a row because I put myself in a hard position.
This game is best played in sessions of reasonable length. You can’t just pick it up and play for 30 mins. Ideally you sit down and play for 2 hours. Also I haven't tried but I can tell this isn’t a game to play stoned.
The nightmare is a cool idea but it doesn’t work. You just hide in a random area or even better leave the room and it doesn’t find you. It isn’t intense like they are going for, it’s boring.
Loads times are not fast enough.
The gloo gun is really fun to use to climb to new areas. It’s very creative.
I dislike the zero gravity parts. The controls are so awkward, it’s not fun.
I sewered my saves and I need to get from one side of the station to practically the farthest part in a very short amount of time. A bit of a bummer. I’m essentially doing a speed run dodging past enemies and planning the absolute quickest route possible. Kind of a fun challenge but also a piss off.
Aaaaaand it turned out I could just use the lift...must have been a small goo monster nearby disrupting it that I couldn’t find.... fuck me
Pretty great final ending scene. The overall ending leading up to the final reveal was all pretty good and then I really liked the idea of the final twist. But I’m happy to be done also. Overall the game wasn’t that great. It’s a low tier B+.
Concise review:
Amazing: nothing
Great: occasional creative puzzle solving (Gloo Gun Climbing), final twist reveal
Good: Resource management system, Upgrades systems, story and atmosphere
Average: occasional creative combat solutions
Bad: overall visual presentation, enemy variety, number of times I was lost or confused
Awful: gunplay, movement, load times
Final score: B+
Too large of a focus on combat with a boring combat system that frankly had it even been good would not have been appropriate for the enemy types in this game. I get that you're supposed to upgrade to approach encounters in different ways, but it's too little too late and acts more as mitigation of a bland system than an interesting system to play around with. Every combat encounter takes away the immersive sim from the immersive sim and the handful of stealth options feel more like Deux Ex Mankind Divided than OG Deus Ex. Huge disappointment coming from the developers of Dishonored.