The team of Raphael Colantonio seems to have marked in Prey a practically unrealizable objective, trying to fill his game with some of the most fabulous mechanics that the game has created in the last twenty years. And so, as one of the Mimics o
f the game capable of imitating multiple objects, Prey seeks and draws inspiration from countless masterpieces in the industry. Each step forward, you find yourself thinking that “this you have already lived” in that other game.
From the 3D metroidvania structure with abundant backtracking throughout the space station you pass to the memory of that System Shock through its mapping system and grid inventory. From the powers and Art Deco style of Bioshock to the system of missions and elections of his brother Dishonored . The multiple possibilities of access through skills, hacks
and powers of a Deus Ex to even the system of crafting (cubes included) that evoke even with a subtle nod to Minecraft. Even some missions in which we fight against the chrono to save some members of the crew, who will help us and grant more secondary missions if we rescue them, remember that pressure of the clock that we had in Dead Rising .
Video Analysis
Prey seeks and draws inspiration from countless industry masterpieces
Inspiration, in itself, is neither positive nor negative. But, as we said, the Colantonio team seems to have wanted to cover too much to the point that some mechanics can either be frustrating or not at all comfortable. It has that touch of the experimental Arkane before emb
Light and shadow
The GLOO cannon stands out for its own merits. Like the weapon of portals or the gravitational one, it is that multipurpose tool that does not harm enemies, but that is indispensable and changes the rules of the game. You can save ammu
Typhoons are similar in appearance, but each of them requires their own strategy to deal with them.
I can not continue to break down all the skills and options that the game has because the analysis would never end. But
the truth is that enough of these possibilities are not as useful as others. While you can always trust the reliability of your shotgun and its improvement, delving into the mimic ability does not seem worthy of the neuromods expe
nse it entails. And while the crossbow of rubber dartsit seems the most useless weapon that we found in the game, we have already seen cases where used creatively it can become a great way to play. But at the moment, it’s hard to see how steal
th can help you in a game where, in the end, you always have to make a lot of noise, and where the rides through the station are so long that a race ends earlier with the slowness of trying to go unnoticed .
Our arsenal is not very broad, but that is how other creative weapons such as the GLOO cannon or the recycler grenade are given prominence.
Because as I said at the beginning, Prey can be frustrating. The combat offers many possibilities, but it is also erratic and offers little feedback to the player, to the point of dying multiple times to find out exactly why. Exploit the weaknesses of each of the, on the other hand, enemies quite similar to each other, helps reduce a life that at first seems not to go down or shotguns, but even following the rules of the game does not become entirely satisfactory. Even less when zero gravity comes into play, where the limitation of movements is very sharp.
Consciously search that you can not control it, the more you extend by the space station the more possibilities are opened
It is, however, in that freedom that gives the player where his beauty lies. To create a barricade of turrets that keep the Typhon at bay, use their own kinetic and psychic waves to counteract their strengths or simply run away from them when the bullets are scarce (and believe me, in some moments they will) is part of that free pass that Arkane gives you to play as you want. It not only results in combat. Prey wants you to have the feeling that you are taking advantage of him, like when you solve a Legend of Zelda Sanctuary on the fast track : Breath of the Wildin the wrong way, but valid. Arkane has created enough tools for you to get into all of your rooms (well, almost all) using hacking, machine repair, brute force, weapons, Typhon skills or even none of them.
