Prey Xbox Series X Review

[Tripp Powell]

Ineed to get into this office. That's not entirely true. I want to get into this office, and Prey has taught me that where there's a will, there's a way. The door is unhackable, and its keycard could theoretically be anywhere on the Talos-I space station. It's time to get creative. The windows into the office are breakable, but the gap is too small for me to squeeze through. Also, my standard trick of using the Mimic power to turn into a smaller object won't work. There's no window ledge to perch on, and mugs, understandably, cannot jump very high. There is, however, a computer terminal in view of the window. I've got an idea.

You play as Morgan Yu, and I don't really want to divulge much more than that. Prey's confident opening sequence is as intriguing as it is disorientating. It deserves to be experienced first hand, knowing as little as possible. Here's what I can say: you're on a space station infested with alien creatures. Luckily for you, that space station exists to research and produce Neuromods, designed to make humans faster, stronger, smarter and scientifically magic. So that's going to be a big help.

It's a little bit BioShock, albeit with science instead of Randian sociology. Talos-I, like Rapture, is an idealistic place driven and ultimately undone by its hubris. But where BioShock offered a city made up of linear districts, each seemingly a mini-fiefdom controlled by a deranged king, Talos-I is more open and more immediately chaotic. The disaster is fresh, and the majority of the handful of survivors are concerned primarily with staying alive. Yu has an overarching mission, but executing it first requires finding a way to unlock the various areas of the station.

I got a great sense of Talos-I as a functioning place, both through the design of the station and the stories found within. Everything makes sense within the ecosystem, such as the crew quarters where people went to unwind and play pen-and-paper RPGs. There's an IT department, server rooms, medical centre, and even an HR office. Away from the darker, more foreboding areas dedicated to weird science, there's a sense that this was a place where people lived and worked. It also looks great, with a contemporary art deco facade that gives way to a more traditionally utilitarian space station design in restricted areas.

Combat is at its worst when you're swinging wildly with a wrench, trying to hit a skittering, erratic Mimic. I like the visual design of the Typhons, but I also question the wisdom of having the most frequent foe be a small, spider-like enemy that's difficult to see.

My dissatisfaction with combat was most keenly felt in the opening hours, before the Neuromod upgrades armed me with the relevant passive buffs and active abilities that make battles more interesting. Combat is at its worst when you're swinging wildly with a wrench, trying to hit a skittering, erratic Mimic. I like the visual design of the Typhons, but I also question the wisdom of having the most frequent foe be a small, spider-like enemy that's difficult to see in low light environments.

The sound design helps sell the eerie menace of these creatures. As I played, I started to pick up on the individual sound cues that hinted at a nearby threat. That also helped alleviate another early problem: the pacing. When I first played, I never felt like I could relax into an area to soak up the stories of its emails and audiologs, because I was always expecting yet another Mimic attack. But once I was able to parse the language of its sound design, I got a much better feel for when I was safe and able to explore without consequence.

Alien powers do come with a trade off, most noticeably that, if you take on too many, the station's turrets will mark you as a threat. Still, I think it's worth it. I can't imagine going through the entire game without being able to transform into a tray of ramen, although such a restriction would probably make exploration even more of a satisfying challenge. Outside of abilities, you also have a range of other tools, such as the excellent GLOO gun, which fires a hardening resin that can be used both for traversal and to temporarily disable enemies. And everything can be further buffed by chipsets, passive buffs installed into your suit and Psychoscope, that let you further focus your build.

My own playstyle took a broad mix of all categories, and was defined partly by things I wanted to do, but also as a reaction against things I didn't. The weakness of the early combat, for instance, pushed me towards improved sneaking, and my dissatisfaction with the basic guns led me to improving the damage buff of sneak attacks, as well as unlocking some heavy hitting alien powers.

The upshot of this is I was a good chunk into the 30 hours Prey took me to complete before I'd unlocked enough combat options to feel like I could satisfyingly resolve a fight. Even then, I was disappointed by the lack of variety present in the enemy AI. Most have just a few basic tricks, and require only a rote series of steps to take down. Had the combat been more dynamic, I'd have warmed to it more easily.

While my predilection for exploration options left my combat abilities undercooked for a significant amount of time, I do still appreciate Prey's resource economy, and how interconnected it all feels. The linchpin of this is recycling and fabrication, a way to turn your junk into valuable resources used to 3D print almost any resource in the game. It's taken decades, but I've finally found a crafting system that I like.

You can use fabrication stations to make virtually anything, from weapons and ammo to Neuromods and health kits. First, you need to find a blueprint, which is a welcome excuse to explore. Then, you spend some of your four resource pools to craft what you need. The resource cost depends on the usefulness of the item. So foam darts are incredibly cheap, but Neuromods are not.

It also means you're always rewarded for exploration, as everything you find can be turned into something you need. I loved scouring through the station for loot, both as an excuse to find a way into places I shouldn't be, and because there's also some great stories along the way. Where BioShock and Deus Ex like to play up the dystopian misery, Prey is also careful to include touches of humour in its audiologs and emails. It feels like a more fleshed out and believable place because of it.

I recommend taking time to complete some of the sidequests you'll discover as a result of some of these past communications, as well as those offered by the survivors you'll meet along the way. Sometimes it can feel like the rewards you gain for completing such quests aren't worth the effort, especially given how much you can simply fabricate. But narratively, many have a strong payoff, and certain quests feed into the post-credits ending sequence, which strings together a lot of Prey's concepts into an audacious if not wholly satisfying conclusion.

Many of Prey's issues are a consequence of its broad range of options. Attempting to cater to a variety of play styles is laudable, but also means that Prey isn't as good a stealth game as Dishonored, nor as good a combat game as BioShock. But while the individual parts have problems, Prey is nonetheless greater than the sum of them. Prey is worth playing, mostly thanks to the strength of Talos-I as a setting, and the excellent environment design. It's fun to explore, full of interesting stories, and also looks and sounds great. Frequently, Prey's strengths build to create a tense and compelling atmosphere. And then it usually undermines it all with yet another goddamn Mimic.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry."}), " -0-10/js/authorBio.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Phil SavageSocial Links NavigationEditor-in-ChiefPhil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.

Prey is a first-person shooter video game developed by Human Head Studios, under contract for 3D Realms, and published by 2K Games, while the Xbox 360 version was ported by Venom Games. The game was initially released in North America and Europe on July 11, 2006. Prey uses a heavily modified version of id Tech 4 to use portals and variable gravity to create the environments the player explores.

The game's story is focused on Cherokee Domasi "Tommy" Tawodi as he, his girlfriend, and grandfather are abducted aboard an alien spaceship known as The Sphere as it consumes material, both inanimate and living, from Earth in order to sustain itself. Tommy's Cherokee heritage allows him to let his spirit roam freely at times and come back to life after dying, which gives Tommy an edge in his battle against the Sphere.

Prey had been in development in one form or another since 1995, and has had several major revisions. While the general approach to gameplay, including the use of portals, remained in the game, the story and setting changed several times. The game received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its graphics and gameplay but criticizing its multiplayer component for a lack of content.

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