Prey (2017) not looking good

[Mr. Analog]

Let's take a look...

• Complete "Reboot" of the original Prey
• Extremely aggressive marketing campaign
• Playable demo (good!) except for PC (bad!)
• No early Review copies (!!warning siren!!)

I haven't been able to ignore this game, the marketing has been targeting my demographic very hard. For people that never experienced the original you played as a Native American dude who gets caught in the middle of a mysterious alien invasion, turns out you have magic powers that is basically Portal (well, literally, you can create portals) and the environment had variable gravity turning levels into MC Escher paintings. It was cool, interesting and a mild hit in a year that saw lots of mega-hits. So its pedigree is a cult classic with a small but loyal following.

THIS game is totally different, in this game you visit Space-Rapture and fight shapeshifting smoke aliens in a game of extreme PropHunt. You're given multiple tools to fight stuff, for one you also gain the ability to transform into items, you also gain a multi-tool that gives you options like shooting 3D foam you can platform on, much like Dishonored the idea is that you can beat your foes through a combination of mobility and strategy using your tools.

On the surface this hits all the bullet points:
-Dishonored
-Bioshock
-Portal 2
-Prop Hunt

So why does it look like it will suck? From the get-go it's not Prey 2, this is probably the worst part, they use the name (which for people who didn't play the original means nothing anyway) and completely tore it down and rebuilt it so that it's NOTHING like the original. At this point just slap a new name on it, don't sour an existing IP.

Secondly Bethesda's track record of making console games and then PC ports has been tarnished by Dishonored 2, the console versions ran okay but the PC port had a lot of problems, that's something any PC gamer is going to be concerned about.

Third, the targeted marketing. Bethesda wants me to love this game. It's been pushing ads at me for 8 months, over and over, from teasers to static ads to "suggested content" it's been relentless. It tries to push all my buttons; cool environments, unique weapons, intelligent enemy AI blah blah blah. All this stuff that sounds exciting and interesting but the implementation so far as I have seen is somehow drab and uninteresting. The enemy design is boring, the AI doesn't look very smart, the abilities are simplistic and appear to be designed around the most basic puzzles (can't fit in a gap? transform into something that can. can't get to a ledge? 3D foam your way up) hell even writing it sounds cool but seeing it in action looks ... boring??

The look and feel of a game can make or break it, some games are 90% about flavor and the rest falls into place, you'd think that art deco meets retro space age would be right up my alley ... and it kinda should be given my interests BUT that veneer is extremely flimsy most of the game looks like a giant fantasy warehouse (sometimes with Zero G). It wants to take those retro levels from Portal 2 and put them into Bioshock's Rapture and then put that in space, sounds awesome, but then the art design falls on its face somehow and just looks like a jangled mess. I don't know what they were trying to achieve but the result was not a unique look and feel. I think the real reason I'm cheesed off is because I want to like this game, but I just can't. Lack of early review copies is also a huge warning signal, usually that means that the execution of the game is either sloppy or lacking or buggy as hell.

It has "Steam sale" written all over it already

Prediction; we're going to get a game with lofty concepts that runs like @%&# on PC and is mediocre at best.

My only hope is that it will strike interest in the original Prey and people will discover that instead.

[Darren Dirt]

Agreed with your last paragraph.

I remember that game coming out and having some truly unique gameplay features (but drowned out by high profile releases). And it started with an engaging story too, pretty dark too IIRC, so your adventure was justified and your character journey solidly motivated.

This... this just seems to scream "SUITS" as in bean counters not gamers who decided what spices to throw into the soup mix

[Darren Dirt]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prey_(2006_video_game)

"Prey is ranked third on Game Informer's list of The Top 10 Video Game Openings."
Not surprising! It was like an X-Files episode, complete with Art Bell on the radio taking calls about the @%&# that was going down!

Lunchtime LetsPlay video watching imo... thanks for the brain bug

[Mr. Analog]

There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the new direction since development on the original Prey 2 ceased.

Arkane studios (Dishonored) took over development and quickly tossed out everything from the original and re-worked it into this... whatever it is.

Actually something that never clicked until just now... this is the same team that did the multiplayer portion of Bioshock 2, this is notable because that game also mimicked but did not accurately portray the atmosphere of the actual game. I don't fully know why but Prey 2017 feels off somehow, we know it copies elements from a lot of other sources but it feels like it's a copy of itself??

It's almost like the uncanny valley, but for game design.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prey_(2006_video_game)

"Prey is ranked third on Game Informer's list of The Top 10 Video Game Openings."
Not surprising! It was like an X-Files episode, complete with Art Bell on the radio taking calls about the @%&# that was going down!

Lunchtime LetsPlay video watching imo... thanks for the brain bug

Your welcome!

I really wish the original was on Steam or GoG, after thinking about it I gut the itch too but I have no idea where my disc(s) are

[Darren Dirt]

The Wikipedia page for Prey 2017 says it all.

They had a partly finished game, they needed a name.

Apparently coming up with a new name is so difficult or risky, they said "hey, we own PREY so let's just use that."

And thus it was so.

The wiki even says it is more like a spiritual successor to System Shock rhan any other connection to other games.

[Mr. Analog]

If it was a sequel to System Shock AND they had more interesting enemy design (seriously smokey spiders? JFC!?) then I think I would have been more receptive to it

I mean other companies have also made mistakes retooling sequels, Portal 2 initially did not have Portals so

[Mr. Analog]

Argh... it just seems exactly like something I want to play in every respect. The reviews are in after a few days and the PC version isn't crippled, in fact everything looks really good

AUGH I wanted to hate this so much...

[Darren Dirt]

snob

Hope it's actually fun and you have fun playing it.

[Mr. Analog]

snob

Hope it's actually fun and you have fun playing it.

I will report back this weekend

[Darren Dirt]

...looking forward to reading your TPS.

NewCoverSheet.docx is attached.

[Mr. Analog]

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah I'm gonna have to *sip* ask you to go ahead and come in this weekend

[Mr. Analog]

So, Prey runs amazingly well on my machine. There are some graphical glitches related to textures that are a problem but for the most part its good. "Very High" graphics mode and nothing below 60fps yet (like ever, multiple enemies, @%&# flying around, etc)

The only thing I'm kinda bummed about is I think I figured out the twist already, like in the tutorial area

Spoiler

Boy those scientists seem awfully disappointed that I couldn't hide in that room with just one chair...

[close]

[Melbosa]

The only thing I'm kinda bummed about is I think I figured out the twist already, like in the tutorial area

If you are right: things that make you go /doh!

[Mr. Analog]

The only thing I'm kinda bummed about is I think I figured out the twist already, like in the tutorial area

If you are right: things that make you go /doh!

Basically yeah heh

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

[Mr. Analog]

So after a long break from the game I came back to it and now I'm about halfway through the main questline so now maybe its time for more thoughts.

Good stuff:

• Everything can be crafted. You can find the blueprints for just about everything, including skill points (i.e. neuromods)
• Cool environment. The design is interesting and the EVA segments are really fun
• Cool equipment. The GLOO gun is pretty handy, I wish they had found more use for it
• The story. Unwrapping the mystery so far has been fun
• EVA. Going into zero-g is an amazing feeling and really could have been something. Being able to travel outside the station was really interesting. So far very underused

The Not So Good stuff:

• Combat is boring. The enemies are bullet sponges
• Combat is hard to see. Lots of dark environments + black shadow aliens = a lot of kiting
• Ammo is scarce. Sure you can craft ammo if you have the scrap for it but when you are unloading a magazine of pistol rounds into ONE enemy it's kinda pointless anyway (and yes, I have gun boosting neuromods installed, doesn't help much)
• Typhon / psychic abilities feel clunky and useful only in very specific instances
• Enemies respawn. Did you clear an area? If you return not only is it repopulated but those enemies are tougher
• Character logs are boring and cliched. The only reason to pick up notes or listen to logs is for passwords
• The music is Bad. The theme song you get at the very start of the game is pretty good, but everything else from the ambient in-game music, the battle music and even the music you can play on recordings is just awful. Lifeless vaporwave elevator music
• When you get new stuff it stops the action to explain what you just got. Normally this isn't bad UNLESS the first time you find something is while you are in combat
• ...and it doesn't always trigger. I didn't get the message for one item until two areas later
• Food is useless, it recovers a little bit of health but otherwise takes up valuable suit space
• The character models are BUTT UGLY (dead characters look fine, living ones all look like Jabba the Hutt)

If you liked Bioshock this is gonna be a fun experience for you, this game is almost exactly that but with a crafting system (and less Randian philosophy, also less charisma). They add some nice touches here and there to keep stuff interesting and of course there are lots of references to the alternate timelines and movies that you'll enjoy if you are a sci-fi fan. I find myself struggling to care about any of the characters though and that's a problem. I hope things pick up again before too long, I've read a lot of reviews that say to stick with it past the 16 hour mark but honestly? If it's not fun to play off the bat what's the point

Pick up on a Steam sale!