Game Reviews -- Prey 2017

Prey a sci-fi action first person shooter made by Arkane Studios and parent company Bethesda. In Prey you are Morgan Yu, lead scientist aboard the Talos-1 space station, working on a scientific breakthrough meant to alter humanity forever. As the first test subject, you are granted incredible powers at the cost of a fractured memory. But the experiments have gone awry and hostile alien lifeforms have overrun the station. As you fight your way through the station you must use unique weapons and select what powers you want to use to ultimately decide the fate of Talos-1 and all of humanity.

You start the game in your apartment getting ready to head up to Talos-1 for the first time. At least that's what you think is going on, upon further inspection you realize that things are not what they seem. As a result of the tests you have been a part of you have lost a huge chunk of your memory. Without spoiling too much you eventually end up on Talos-1 and find that the entire station has been overrun by alien life forms. The smallest aliens called Mimics, can take the shape of any inanimate object, a chair, a cup, a lamp, anything. So when exploring, every room you enter, even though it may look empty and safe, could actually be crawling with alien lifeforms ready to attack you.

Then there are more humanoid like aliens called Phantoms, shown above. These are the remains of the Talos-1 crew now possessed by the aliens. There are also a handful of other aliens on board the station, some much larger than the Phantoms, who regularly stalk you.

To defend yourself you have the usual types of guns, pistol, shotgun, but you also get some pretty unique weapons that you won't find in other shooter games. The Gloo Gun lets you blast enemies and stop them in their tracks, or shoot the walls to make your own staircase to reach high areas that you wouldn't be able to reach normally. There's even a Nerf Gun that does no damage to enemies but can be used to shoot through a broken window to hit the lock on a door you can't open. In addition to weapons you get these things called Neuromods that give you various powers to use. Some of these are derived from the aliens themselves and if you choose too many of these the station's security system will see you as an alien making you decide if it's worth it or not to acquire them.

The station is huge with many secrets to discover, there are even zero gravity areas where you float weightlessly around. You can even leave the station itself and float in space all around it. There are survivors to find and it's up to you to decide whether or not to save them or ignore them. The plot twists and turns and keeps you guessing right up to the end. Overall I had a blast with Prey and even though it does have some tedious parts it's still a great game.

I give it a score of:B+