Because the PREY which interests us today has in reality nothing to do with the 1997 project or even the 2006 title. Another publisher, another developer, another universe: it is not even a reboot of the license, but quite simply the use of a name which had its heyday before falling into disuse. However, the use of the term "prey" is still very relevant because the game clearly places you more in the shoes of the prey than that of the hunter. After all, you play as a scientist with a passion for neural modification, not a soldier who specializes in firearms and close combat. Your name is Morgan Yu (male or female, the choice is given to you at the start of the game) and you wake up on March 15, 1932 in your apartment. Time to put on your work suit, read one or two emails and interact with a few objects, and you're ready to pass a final series of tests that will allow you to access the Talos 1 research space station. This introduction naturally serves as a basic tutorial, and yet it will go down in video game history. It has some very nice surprises in store for you, whether in terms of staging, level design or scenario. From the beginning of the adventure, the developers of Arkane Studios hit very hard. We bet that this scene will very quickly join Half-Life in the pantheon of the best introductions!
From the beginning of the adventure, the developers of Arkane Studios hit very hard. We bet that this scene will very quickly join Half-Life in the pantheon of the best introductions!
Moreover, your first fights in Talos 1 will take place with a claw wrench, which is reminiscent of Gordon Freeman's crowbar or BioShock's adjustable wrench. Since we are in a space station, the threat is naturally extra-terrestrial. She takes the form of black, stringy creatures called Typhoons. You will come across very small explosives, big beefy ones, and even vicious ones capable of transforming into any surrounding object to better surprise you. A very good gameplay idea, which leaves you in a permanent state of tension. When the slightest trash can, chair or coffee cup is likely to jump down your throat, it's hard not to sink into paranoia. But what a pleasure when you have a hollow nose and you shoot in advance on a "Mimic" who thought he was well protected in his disguise!
DON'T LET GO OF THE PREY FOR THE SHADOW
Not stingy with good ideas, Prey offers protean gameplay, which leaves a lot of choice to players. Certainly, it will always be better to choose discretion rather than direct confrontation, especially at the start of the game. But the masochists will still be able to try to kill the extra-terrestrial creatures "man to man". By being clever and combining the different weapons, powers and surrounding objects, it is possible to get by. However, discretion remains a safer path. Here we will take an air duct to avoid a group of enemies and there we will use an electronic pass to open a new passage (or we will move a heavy object which blocked the passage if we have enough strength, or we will repair a device if you have the skills, etc.). Finding passwords, hacking workstations and reading many emails are also on the agenda, à la Deus Ex. More oriented on skill and speed than thinking, the hacking mini-game lacks a little depth compared to that of the competitor signed Eidos, but that's not a big deal because PREY has many other tricks up its sleeve. The spatial environment, for example, gives the opportunity for some very nice passages in weightlessness. And the game is equipped with a well-thought-out crafting system, via the recurring presence of recyclers (which allow you to break down the various objects that you have collected into organic, mineral, synthetic and exotic materials) and fabricators who use these same materials to create new objects, as long as we have previously found their manufacturing plans.
We then find ourselves able to slow down time for a few seconds, to create alien allies from human corpses or, and this is the highlight of the show, to transform into an object as the Mimics do. It's unheard of in a AAA game, it's fun and it also serves the gameplay since it is still possible to move.
The resources being rare, do not hesitate to use these machines, in order to obtain neuromods (which allow to increase the number and the power of our powers), ammunition or additional weapons. Some weapons are moreover rather original, starting with the GLUE (Ultra Impeding Liquid Jelly) cannon which projects a kind of insulating foam, thanks to which one can protect oneself from an electric arc, extinguish a flame or even temporarily immobilize a enemy. Quite quickly, and by a subtle staging, the game even shows us that it is possible to create stairs using foam blocks, in order to progress differently in the levels. The presence of a plastic crossbow that shoots foam darts is also surprising, but with a little common sense it can be very useful (to distract an enemy or activate a remote switch for example ). The prize for originality is also awarded to the Recycling Charge, a grenade that absorbs all objects and enemies within its range and immediately transforms them into recycling materials. Divided into different sections (scientist, engineer, security, energy, transformation, telepathy…), the powers are not left out. At first glance quite down to earth (repair, strength, hacking, stealth, endurance, recycling…), they take a completely different turn as soon as we begin to be able to absorb the abilities of the Typhoons. We then find ourselves able to slow down time for a few seconds, to create alien allies from human corpses or, and this is the highlight of the show, to transform into an object as the Mimics do. It's unheard of in a AAA game, it's fun and it also serves the gameplay since it is still possible to move! Transform into a small object and you can sneak into otherwise inaccessible places. Morello cherry on the cake: once transformed into an object, the extra-terrestrial creatures no longer consider you as a human and therefore leave you alone.
GENDER MIX
As you will have understood, PREY is rich with a thousand possibilities and offers gameplay that could almost be described as emerging, so much it leaves the player free. Arkane's new creation continually rewards exploration and imagination. The counterpart of this richness lies in a slightly too large number of menus. The incessant comings and goings in the interface break the fluidity of the gameplay and chop up the action a little too much. Yet the developers have clearly tried to minimize this problem, as evidenced by the care given to the mining operations. When you open a closet or loot a corpse, pickable items appear superimposed in a small, unobtrusive window that doesn't interrupt your movement and other actions. And it remains possible to enlarge this window in order to have a more traditional interface, which notably offers a textual description of the objects. This attention to detail is also found in the level design, which presents us with credible offices and technical installations. The environments are also sublimated by a most attractive futuristic art deco artistic direction. On the other hand, the graphics are really nothing extraordinary from a purely technical point of view. The fluidity is perfect, but between the true-false mirrors that reflect nothing, some models that are a little too sketchy, and above all an awful texture bug that makes many elements blurry, we really can't talk about a graphic slap. But what does the bottle matter, as long as you get drunk!
