Prey

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1308 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,012 out of 1308
  2. Mixed: 155 out of 1308
  3. Negative: 141 out of 1308
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  1. FR5DDY
    May 5, 2017
    5
    The unsatisfying mele combat and the first hour are just bad. Visual glitches everywhere, unscaring enemies with uninspired designs. The craft system is a misstep. It just doesn't work with this game. The story is ok, but nothing refresing. Stamina for mele attacks. 2 mele attacks and Yu is tired. But he can carry heavy gun. Really?
    I've seen this game before better executed,
    The    The unsatisfying mele combat and the first hour are just bad. Visual glitches everywhere, unscaring enemies with uninspired designs. The craft system is a misstep. It just doesn't work with this game. The story is ok, but nothing refresing. Stamina for mele attacks. 2 mele attacks and Yu is tired. But he can carry heavy gun. Really?
    I've seen this game before better executed,

    The narrative where Yu does everything that anyone says doesn't fit with the fact that he is a genius,    … Expand
  2. hooner
    May 10, 2017
    5
    A big disappointment. I remember System Shock 1 & 2 well, and this game has not 1 ounce of the atmosphere or character of those games. Yes sure, the graphics are disappointing, but that's not the be all and end all to be honest, its the "feel" of the game that is wrong.

    You are marooned in space and it feels like you are marooned in a shopping mall, its very underwhelming and the coffee    A big disappointment. I remember System Shock 1 & 2 well, and this game has not 1 ounce of the atmosphere or character of those games. Yes sure, the graphics are disappointing, but that's not the be all and end all to be honest, its the "feel" of the game that is wrong.

    You are marooned in space and it feels like you are marooned in a shopping mall, its very underwhelming and the coffee mug/alien novelty wears off quick.

    Crafting is shallow, gun-play is poor, stealth not really viable and has 1 dimensional enemies you get bored of after 2-3 hours.

    Music cues are good though, and this is the only real part that adds atmosphere. Runs well on my PC which is toward the higher end of the performance spectrum, no crashes or bugs so far (12 hours in).

    So far in 2017 we have been spoilt for quality games on PC and PS4, this is not one of them and is ultimately a totally forgettable experience.    … Expand
  3. Prrgangsta
    May 17, 2017
    6
    So I just finished Prey and I have to say that it was okay. The multiple paths made exploring the space station interesting. The neuromod abilities were really helpful both in and out of combat. Multiple endings encourage you to replay it.

    But some things hold it back like the fact all the enemies look the same except for their aura. Moving throughout the ship causes loding screen after    So I just finished Prey and I have to say that it was okay. The multiple paths made exploring the space station interesting. The neuromod abilities were really helpful both in and out of combat. Multiple endings encourage you to replay it.

    But some things hold it back like the fact all the enemies look the same except for their aura. Moving throughout the ship causes loding screen after loading screen to appear which get annoying. And finally the fact that Prey 2 was cancelled for this disappoints me. Say what you want, but Human Head had something beautiful and Bethesda ruined it.    … Expand
  4. MikeMenkes
    May 8, 2017
    6
    This game really isn't particularly consistent except where its consistently derivative. It is borrowing the story telling styles of Half Life and Bioshock and Portal, and although on the whole I can at least objectively say there is an effort to be more creative and clever in the story department than we've seen in the Dishonored series, it suffers personally to me because the narrativeThis game really isn't particularly consistent except where its consistently derivative. It is borrowing the story telling styles of Half Life and Bioshock and Portal, and although on the whole I can at least objectively say there is an effort to be more creative and clever in the story department than we've seen in the Dishonored series, it suffers personally to me because the narrative style is an unpleasant mash of Arkane's story telling trying to act like someone else, and I'm not fond of Arkane's story telling. On PS4 the graphics are weak. There is no sense of dynamic lighting, the background textures are almost polygonal, and the character design is too derivative of Dishonored, and the look of 19th century whale punk cartoonishness doesn't quite fit the narrative, and is a piece of what's driving me away from the narrative. The game play just isn't sufficient to overcome that, because it's floaty and simple and really just relies on simple surprise tactics you overcome simply by assuming every inanimate object is a Dark Souls Mimic chest, and that gets tiring. If you were looking for a space opera homage game or desperately wanted Half-life 3, this game isn't going to satisfy that. Its just OK.… Expand
  5. danbolivar
    May 25, 2017
    7
    I found Prey to be one of the most repetitive games I've ever played. The game is basically linear, it makes you run back and forth between the station decks picking up little clues, safe numbers, items... which unlock doors, safes and things on entirely different levels. Back and forth, back and forth... it get's really BORING once you have to go past the same hum drum stuff you passedI found Prey to be one of the most repetitive games I've ever played. The game is basically linear, it makes you run back and forth between the station decks picking up little clues, safe numbers, items... which unlock doors, safes and things on entirely different levels. Back and forth, back and forth... it get's really BORING once you have to go past the same hum drum stuff you passed before.

    What really made me uninstall is that even though loot doesn't respawn in boxes and cabinets, the MOBS do! You work your way and plan you finally kill the damn things when, poof, a few hours later when you revisit a room, the DARN THING IS THERE AGAIN!!!

    If the game is going to have me going back and forth, the least it could do is NOT resurrect the monsters!!!! Hated it, uninstalled it... POOF it's gone.    … Expand
  6. dingobreath
    Sep 29, 2019
    6
    When I first started playing this game, I thought it was something special. It starts off fairly well and make you want to play more to see how the story plays out. The game ultimately is let down by unbalanced game play and repetitiveness. While the game can be scary as enemies can disguise themselves and jump scare you at any moment, the actual enemy designs are cartoonish and are notWhen I first started playing this game, I thought it was something special. It starts off fairly well and make you want to play more to see how the story plays out. The game ultimately is let down by unbalanced game play and repetitiveness. While the game can be scary as enemies can disguise themselves and jump scare you at any moment, the actual enemy designs are cartoonish and are not imposing at all. The only thing that makes things frustrating here is that guns are very very weak after several hours in the game and the difficulty does spike quite a bit.

    There is variety on how to solve each section of the game, IE open door by finding key card or, find a vent to sneak through etc. But actually battling enemies can be a chore. If adventuring is more your thing, you will enjoy this, but those who like a little more action may not like it.

    +setting it on a space station
    +varied jump scares
    +detailed levels and some nice design

    - repetitive game play
    - enemy variety design is poor
    - some cheap 1 hit deaths from elements (lightning)
    - Cant aim down sights with guns

    avg game for me.    … Expand
  7. enixkingdom
    May 8, 2017
    6
    Despite having unlocked some neat skills, I just can't get over the fact that the gunplay is quite sluggish and enemy design feels so uninspired, fighting mimics (which you'll be doing a lot) quickly got tedious for me and is just not creepy at all. This in my opinion has a negative effect on the atmosphere of the game, because the scary feeling of being stranded in a space station aloneDespite having unlocked some neat skills, I just can't get over the fact that the gunplay is quite sluggish and enemy design feels so uninspired, fighting mimics (which you'll be doing a lot) quickly got tedious for me and is just not creepy at all. This in my opinion has a negative effect on the atmosphere of the game, because the scary feeling of being stranded in a space station alone is watered down with these monotonous encounters. As a fan of Bioshock and Dishonored, I thought this would be my cup of tea and while this is not by any stretch a bad game, it is just above average in general.… Expand
  8. fastdak25
    May 15, 2017
    7
    If I could I would go back and skip buying this. The further into the game I go (about 15 hours as of this review) the more frustrating the game gets. First off it's difficult, which normally I wouldn't complain about but in Prey (even on easy) it's a struggle to maintain everything (ammo, health, armor) and the enemies take outrageous amount of shots to kill comparatively. Even pointIf I could I would go back and skip buying this. The further into the game I go (about 15 hours as of this review) the more frustrating the game gets. First off it's difficult, which normally I wouldn't complain about but in Prey (even on easy) it's a struggle to maintain everything (ammo, health, armor) and the enemies take outrageous amount of shots to kill comparatively. Even point blank can take several shots with the shotgun to kill larger enemies. I'm now finding it necessary to just sprint past them to get to an objective. I've hardly been able to create anything in the fabricator as all my parts go to ammo and health packs. I would love to branch out some neuromod points into more useful skills, but they're limited to find and due to the aforementioned problem I can't really afford to craft them.

    I'll still give it a 7 though as they did a good job of creating the feel of an older PC game, almost like Half-Life. No hand holding (well except the flashy objects and enemy "wall hack" markers) and no cut scenes. Just tossed into the game after a quick prologue and you're off. The game can be fun if you let it, just know that resource management (which I probably have just been bad at) has been the most important aspect so far.    … Expand
  9. OutlawTX
    May 7, 2017
    5
    The amount of 9s and 10s for this game is ridiculous. Prey is a mediocre game at best AND worst. Gameplay wise, it reminds me of a mix between System Shock and Bioshock but unfortunately not as good as either. Glaring audio issues ( I had to turn the volume down for "music" and effects and crank the volume on my TV just to hear what people are saying.), bugs (enemies shooting throughThe amount of 9s and 10s for this game is ridiculous. Prey is a mediocre game at best AND worst. Gameplay wise, it reminds me of a mix between System Shock and Bioshock but unfortunately not as good as either. Glaring audio issues ( I had to turn the volume down for "music" and effects and crank the volume on my TV just to hear what people are saying.), bugs (enemies shooting through closed doors, lagging menu anomalies, slow loading textures and lock ups at load screens.), an absolutely wretched hacking process, and kind of wonky controls. With the issues fixed I'd give it a high 7 but as is, it's just as annoying as it is fun. I wish I would have waited and bought it used.… Expand
  10. katieelizabeth
    May 7, 2017
    6
    The game doesn't feel like an evolution of similar in the genre - both Dishonoured games and all of the Bioshock games just felt more engaging and interesting compared to Prey. It also doesn't run well on a PS4 Pro - definitely not even close to 60 frames per second - feels more like 25 or 30. If you were to get the game, the YouTube videos of the PC version look much better and runThe game doesn't feel like an evolution of similar in the genre - both Dishonoured games and all of the Bioshock games just felt more engaging and interesting compared to Prey. It also doesn't run well on a PS4 Pro - definitely not even close to 60 frames per second - feels more like 25 or 30. If you were to get the game, the YouTube videos of the PC version look much better and run smoother compared to the PS4 version. As I was playing, I honestly just felt like the urge to replay older, better games. I will say some of the music in the game is really awesome though.… Expand
  11. claytastic
    May 10, 2017
    7
    Coming into this, I knew it wasn't going to be anything like the original Prey from 2006, which I was totally on board with because I hated that game. I was very excited to see what Arkane could bring to this practically unheard-of series. Even though they failed to do this with Dishonored 2, they breathed new life into it, but still made a game with some very rough edges.
    The story was    Coming into this, I knew it wasn't going to be anything like the original Prey from 2006, which I was totally on board with because I hated that game. I was very excited to see what Arkane could bring to this practically unheard-of series. Even though they failed to do this with Dishonored 2, they breathed new life into it, but still made a game with some very rough edges.
    The story was the main reason I bought Prey. When I saw the first trailer at E3 last year, I was immediately hooked. Luckily, the overall concept is still interesting, and it does throw some pretty surprising twists throughout its entirety, but the time in between those is very slow-paced. For example,, I was watching a video of something, and before I got to see the end, it got shut off, so I had to go all the way to the other side of the ship to fix it, then head all the way back to the place I started to finish the video and find out what I already knew. Keep in mind that Talos 1 is the size of half the moon, so you can understand why this upsets me.
    I'll also say that for an FPS, the combat is terrible, and probably the worst part of the game. There's no way to aim, so you'll find yourself shooting all over the place until you hit your target, Now this sounds alright, but add in the fact that resources spread very thin, and you'll realise you're just wasting ammo. It's better to just use the GLOO gun on enemies until they're frozen, then whack them with your wrench, but this gets boring quickly, and when dealing with a large crowd of enemies, it can be hard to pull off. There are work-arounds for the lack of aiming, but none of them are fantastic substitutes. Combat focus slows down time to help you line up a shot, but this isn't always that effective, since you are slowed down as well. If you press R3 and zoom in, it makes the crosshair for the gun smaller, but it's not accessible enough, and given how fast enemies are, it's not the most ideal choice in the moment.
    So what's good about Prey? Well, for starters, it's secretly one of the best horror games you could buy right now. Walking around Talos 1, I was constantly filled with a sense of unease, knowing that somewhere around the corner, there could be a typhon. It does an incredible job at world building and making you feel on-edge throughout it's entirety. But that's not the full extent of Prey's terrors. The enemies are what truly make it a genuine horror experience. The typhons are already creepy in design, but add the fact that some of them blend in with the environment, and you've got a recipe for some actually unexpected and scary jumpscares. The ones I'm referring to are called mimics, which are just the shadow equivalent of head crabs from Half-Life, and they can transform into objects in the environment. Sometimes, they're easy to spot. If there are two coffee cups sitting next to each other on a table, more likely than not, one of them is a mimic. But sometimes, they disguise themselves as collectables, so if you go to pick up a health pack, it might just turn out to be a mimic that wants to drain the life from you're body. The best part is that you can get these powers too. You can turn into a small object and get underneath a door or a window, or turn into a turret to be better equipped to fight the mimics. The only problem is that if you have these powers, the regular turrets will recognise you as an enemy and shoot at you, which I love.
    Another thing Prey does well is the soundtrack, and sound design as a whole. The music is composed by the Hans Zimmer of video games, Mick Gordon, who convinced me he was a god after I played through DOOM. The music is amazing, and really fits the game's setting. I don't complement games on their soundtrack often, so that means you should give it a listen, even if you don't buy the game.
    Prey also has a lot of good RPG elements that were also present in Arkane's previous titles, specifically Dishonored. There are skill trees with 6 different categories, each giving you different abilities and powers. You use neuromods, which are these things you inject into your eye to gain new abilities, and they have a pretty crucial role in the story, so that's also neat. But this isn't the only great RPG element of Prey. It has successfully made junk useful. Just trust me when I say pick up literally everything you find because even if it's some broken piece of equipment or a banana peel, you can recycle it, and turn into some cubes that can be used to fabricate different items like weapons, ammo, and eventually neuromods. This is a genius mechanic that has only be previously done in Bethesda's own, Fallout 4.

    Overall, Prey is a game that I could see many people playing for hours on end. But even though there are multiple endings and a few side quests I missed, I don't feel compelled to go back and play through it again. That said, I still had a lot of fun with it, and I'd recommend it if it were on sale or at a lower price. 7/10.    … Expand
  12. SuperkenGaming
    May 7, 2017
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Prey
    From Fun and Scary to Slow and Boring
    Prey is a first person survival horror game that seems to be heavily inspired by deus ex…
    you start the game by choosing your male or female character…
    You’re an experiment... and then things go wrong... the space station you’re living in has been overrun by aliens and guess who they’re after?
    You of course…
    The game starts out pretty interesting and terrifying...
    There are mimics around…
    this is all you know
    and at first all you have to fend for yourself is a wrench...
    And these mimics... they can be anywhere…
    as they take the shape of random items in the world…
    Randomly running into them was terrifying and made for many great jump scare moments…
    honestly a wrench and mimics is all this game needed it… but it didn’t stop there…
    it tried to do too much and they game becomes a boring drag because of it..
    This game reminded me a bit of deus ex and bioshock…
    mostly on the deus ex side though…
    There are neuromods around the world that you can pick up to unlock new skills
    these skills include the basics like being able to lift large objects, increase your health, or be able to hack locked doors…
    and you have to choose carefully because these skills are expensive and neuromods practically hardly exist compared to the prices…
    made even more ridiculous when you unlock even more mimic type skills from scanning enemies later on in the game.. it’s just too much for how little the game pays out…
    Speaking of too little to go around…
    health, and pretty much everything else…
    It doesn’t matter which difficulty you play this game on.. It’s going to be brutal…
    enemies are sponges even against fully upgraded guns... they do insane damage…
    And the food you find around only gives about 5 health... which is nothing... med kits are extremely rare…. And your health only regenerates to around 30…
    so you’re gonna die a lot…
    you can recycle trash at machines for materials or use recycle bombs for materials and then use these materials to craft medkits and ammo.. But still... these items aren’t all over the place and doesn’t necessarily make med kits or ammo extremely accessible... they’re still rare even with this crafting machine
    No worries you can just stealth around enemies…
    sort of…
    because they have magnets in their head…
    the game tricks you into believing they’re attracted to noise because of certain lure bombs you can use
    but this is a lie… I know this is a lie because there’s one mission in particular where you have to collect voice samples… one part of this mission challenges you to stay alive while a song plays.. After hiding in the room and failed I thought okay, clearly these enemies are attracted to the noise... ill click play and run down the hall and hide away from the room…
    I did this and guess which room the enemies came to?
    Not the one with the song playing... the one I was in just sitting there waiting for me to enter their line of sight to they could attack me…
    and this waiting happens a lot... they won’t move, they will sit and wait until they can see you
    it’s annoying and emersion breaking
    This game has its moments…
    its surprisingly varied considering you’re stuck in a space station…
    it’s fun and thrilling at times running from enemies while you try to find key cards and information to progress…
    But it’s also just as annoying since the game is inconsistent with telling you where to go to progress…
    sometimes your location is marked on the map.. sometimes you have to just feel your way around and search everything while dealing with monsters…
    The game also have a few progression bugs that will cause you to back in and out of a save..
    Which isn’t too bad since you can save at anytime youd like…
    As well as performance issues if you play too long..
    the inventory and weapon wheels start to lag…
    Bugs aside, Prey ultimately suffers from imbalance…
    There are far too few materials, health, or ammo for how spongy and excessive enemies are in this game..
    they become a nuisance instead of a scare…
    I could easily see this being a game of uncertainty with only a flashlight, a wrench, and some mimics…
    But instead Prey sets out to frustrate you for 16 hours… its becomes die and try again to get just a little luckier this time while dealing with over powered monsters… While I definitely did enjoy moments of prey… I didn’t enjoy most of the moments of prey… I give Prey a 7/10    … Expand
  13. guysix45
    May 10, 2017
    5
    Absolutely joyless. This game is full of great ideas and doesn't execute nearly any of them fully. Not only that, but you die constantly because of inconsistent enemy behavior and running into random areas while floating in space. The story is cliche, poorly written, and just full of tropes that have been executed far better in other games. Avoid. It's an unfinished mess.
  14. SuperDuck23
    Jun 3, 2017
    5
    A video game being relentless is certainly not a bad thing, but when relentlessness is paired with dreary and repetitive gameplay it isn’t a good mix at all. It's just not fun. Despite the admirable design of the locations and enemies, playing Prey just felt like a chore.
  15. dypsomaniart
    Jun 2, 2017
    5
    If they could please release a patch to give it a decent ending this game would be much better. As it is I was left feeling pretty deflated and disappointed after finishing this game. The story just dwindles into nothing important or satisfying. I wouldn't waste my time if I could do it over. Total let down.
  16. goldstandard
    Jun 24, 2017
    7
    I like the open world space station, gave the game a feel of non-linearity which is something more game developers should try. I like the fact that exploration was rewarded usually with neuromods or weapon upgrade kits and stuff, although only a few of the side missions were challenging. The space station can be sterile and uninteresting through your exploration of it and the loading timesI like the open world space station, gave the game a feel of non-linearity which is something more game developers should try. I like the fact that exploration was rewarded usually with neuromods or weapon upgrade kits and stuff, although only a few of the side missions were challenging. The space station can be sterile and uninteresting through your exploration of it and the loading times when travelling between areas is horribly tedious. The RPG elements are pretty good, and using abilities to your advantage in combat was rewarding. The ending was a let down. Overall decent game, that was ambitious but didn't do the greatest job of executing its vision.… Expand
  17. painava
    Mar 17, 2020
    7
    What I enjoyed: Talos I, spacewalks, music and difficulty. I didn't enjoy: long loading times, bad quick-menu and menu. Some fights were also very cramped (i.e. lot of enemies in tight spaces).
  18. Yallmae
    May 5, 2017
    5
    I will say this game is ok i say its not a masterpiece but not bad either. A really solid 6 for me. Game has massiv input lag on ps 4 really annoying with out this i would maybe give it a 7. Game is a bit short i finished it in 9 Hours and also really easy i mean its not that hard of a game. The monster are also not very scary yes iam a big fan of system shock and *uck me that game wasI will say this game is ok i say its not a masterpiece but not bad either. A really solid 6 for me. Game has massiv input lag on ps 4 really annoying with out this i would maybe give it a 7. Game is a bit short i finished it in 9 Hours and also really easy i mean its not that hard of a game. The monster are also not very scary yes iam a big fan of system shock and *uck me that game was scary as **** but prey the monster are really boring and not scary at all dont know they look like placeholders did they forget to implant the real enemies ? i hope that will get patched like the input lag until than my score will be a 5.… Expand
  19. Wasptar
    May 6, 2017
    6
    First impressions of PREY are not good. The graphics are uninspiring, the interface is clunky and the gameplay feels like a clumsy fusion of Bioshock, Deus Ex and Dead Space. When will developers realise that picking up junk for crafting and reading backstory snippets on terminals is really boring and kills the atmosphere! The initial melee action with the wrench and subsequent Gloo gunFirst impressions of PREY are not good. The graphics are uninspiring, the interface is clunky and the gameplay feels like a clumsy fusion of Bioshock, Deus Ex and Dead Space. When will developers realise that picking up junk for crafting and reading backstory snippets on terminals is really boring and kills the atmosphere! The initial melee action with the wrench and subsequent Gloo gun feel awful compared to brilliance of Destinys controls. On console it feels like another PC port that lacks the polish and game engine to meet the standards we now expect. On a positive note, at least the demo allowed me to realise that purchasing this unoriginal, poorly executed sci-fi shooter would be a mistake.… Expand
  20. Berrlett
    Jun 22, 2017
    6
    Where do I start with this and where do I finish ?
    The best thing I can say about it, it’s an ok game, wait for a big price discount if you want to play it.
    1. The game course is very informative, you have endless emails and audio logs and so on to give you clues, key cards and codes, most of the time you can’t listen or read because you’re ganged on by an endless bunch of aliens that    Where do I start with this and where do I finish ?
    The best thing I can say about it, it’s an ok game, wait for a big price discount if you want to play it.
    1. The game course is very informative, you have endless emails and audio logs and so on to give you clues, key cards and codes, most of the time you can’t listen or read because you’re ganged on by an endless bunch of aliens that appear out of nowhere.
    2. You’re stuck in Talos 1 a huge space ship/shuttle that consist of numerous sections and compartments, offices, living quarters, medics and so on and you will have to travel back and forth waiting for the game to load every time you go through a gate to complete missions or unnecessary, endless line up for side missions.
    3. You READ a lot, well you have to, each enemy has a strategy of attack so don’t waste valuable shotgun ammo every time you’re faced with a big guy, instead, scan enemy and read instruction to build your plan of attack and even then, select carefully your primary weapon, secondary weapon, your special power and draw enemy to a suitable environment (nice ay).
    4. When in space, zero gravity, make sure you quick save often as you’re pretty much lost in vast space with no map looking for a tiny needle while ganged on big time by all sorts of aliens.
    5. You find millions of cards, key cards, codes, email hints yet all doors are locked.
    6. Play it, but you’re warned, it has its good moments but it’s an annoying game.
    You can only feel a bit of my disappointment, my game of the year 2016 was dishonoured 2.    … Expand
  21. squeezo828
    May 27, 2017
    7
    Prey is a game that is either really good or really bad depending on what part of the story you're on. The game does an amazing job of making you feel like you are on the space station Talos 1. Immersion is this games biggest strength. Audio clips, emails, files, and dead bodies are scattered all over the station giving you a look into the past before things were, or as things were goingPrey is a game that is either really good or really bad depending on what part of the story you're on. The game does an amazing job of making you feel like you are on the space station Talos 1. Immersion is this games biggest strength. Audio clips, emails, files, and dead bodies are scattered all over the station giving you a look into the past before things were, or as things were going to **** You really get a sense of seeing what happened to these people. What the aliens did to them. Its wonderful stuff. The graphics also help with the immersion factor. It's not jaw-dropping gorgeous by any means, but the design aesthetic is done really well. Also constantly seeing the moon or earth out of the many huge windows really keeps reminding you that you are in space. Combat is good in this game. Not great mind you. The weapons are all very neat and somewhat original, but using them is the problem. It never seems to really become natural. The shooting mechanics are clunky. You'll find yourself missing shots you shouldn't have missed. Ammo is also very scarce in this game. You can recycle junk you find to craft more, but later on in the game when enemies become more abundant, you will constantly hear the clicking sound of a gun with no bullets as you hopelessly swing your trusty old wrench around. And let me tell you about this wrench. You will use this thing for the entire game. Its the only thing that will keep you alive in tough times. But using it is much worse than the guns. You just swing it around hoping to hit your target. The small aliens, called mimics, are always on the ground crawling about, forcing you to try to smash them. You'll find yourself just mashing the trigger button, spinning in a circle trying to kill these guys. This isn't really fun. Not because of the difficulty, its not actually that hard. Its just not fun. Plain and simple. Later in in the game these machine-drone things called operators will start to appear. They are **** They kill you quicker than you can throw your controller at your tv out of frustration. And you are always low on ammo, as previously mentioned, so you really have to just sprint from room to room avoiding them at all costs. Oh and they respawn indefinitely, so killing them is utterly pointless even if you have ammo to spare. This is Preys biggest misstep in my opinion. The game is best when you are creeping around, killing 1 or 2 enemies at a time. Having to sprint to the next objective or get insta-killed really breaks the immersion I just praised earlier. The load times are atrocious. It sometimes takes up to 1 minute to reload after you die, or walk into the next area. This really becomes a problem when you are not quite sure where to go. The game has several different areas. Different parts of the station. Loading between these parts takes forever. And you don't know where to go sometimes, so you could walk into the next area *queue the 1 minute loading screen* realize you are not supposed to be there, and then turn around and leave *queue another 1 minute loading screen* The game loads soo slow I probably spent 10% of my entire play-through staring at the loading screen. I won't really talk about the main story but I will just say that its ok. Nothing special. Its not going to stick with you after you finish the game. The ending is designed to make you sit back and think, but it didn't really have that effect on me. I've mostly complained about this game, but I did actually like it. Its one of those games where you have to play it for yourself and see what I mean. It will frustrate you at least a few times, but you will have fun. Its not worth the full 60 dollar price tho. I recommend picking the game up when it drops to about 30 bucks. Heres a quick little summary of my pros and cons below:

    Pros:

    visual design
    Immersion
    interesting areas
    exploration

    Cons:

    combat
    lack of ammo
    glitches
    loading times    … Expand
  22. PlayorNaygames
    Jun 21, 2017
    6
    Prey is a first-person shooter that tries very hard to emulate Bioshock, in that you use powers and the environment to kill enemies, not just traditional weaponry. Prey's biggest flaw is that it wants to be both a survival horror game like Resident Evil and an action thriller like Bioshock, but it pulls off neither effectively. Elements from both game-play styles get in the way of eachPrey is a first-person shooter that tries very hard to emulate Bioshock, in that you use powers and the environment to kill enemies, not just traditional weaponry. Prey's biggest flaw is that it wants to be both a survival horror game like Resident Evil and an action thriller like Bioshock, but it pulls off neither effectively. Elements from both game-play styles get in the way of each other. Let me explain.
    From the survival horror aspect, the game tries to emulate the clunky controls, resource starvation, inventory management and creepy sounds/jump scares of a Resident Evil game. Problems:
    A. Enemies are too numerous and re-spawn each time you load into a "zone". Not just scripted events like Resident Evil, these are almost full respawns of enemies and there is no limit to how often they can respawn. You are given too few resources to deal with all of these enemies, even with upgrades. The enemies rarely drop useful resources. This strongly discourages going back to open rooms that were previously locked, or going back to do side quests.

    B. You get very powerful by the end of the game in some aspects, to the point that the game would be very easy if you just had the resources you wanted. You can still use certain powers to escape and run/sneak by everything if you don’t have what you need. It sucks all the tension out of the game encountering so many enemies and for the most part easily overpowering them.

    C. No storage box to hold extra inventory. It feels like you’re required to take the extra inventory space perks.

    D. Lacks enemy variety/bosses. The enemies that are here are very fast, semi-random behavior, and very powerful. Early on especially, but even later, enemies can feel cheap. Tracking these quick enemies as they teleport and scurry about, some even transforming to objects in the game to hide can be frustrating. They still do high damage late, but you have more ways to deal with them.
    E. Story is mostly told through e-mail and audio logs. The audio logs are well done, but I find it hard to care about these people I’ve never met. It’s not interesting. I read enough e-mail at work, so I’m not sure why the devs thought reading e-mails would be fun, it’s not. I stopped reading the e-mails about mid game. The story is absolutely silly, in that it’s supposed to be set in an alternate reality of the year 2031. I guess we’re supposed to suspend our disbelief that people in the future will use tons of paper, post-it notes, and white boards, despite having modern computers, still smoke like it’s the 50’s (the game says they’ve apparently cured cancer, so smoking is considered as dangerous as a can of soda; WTF smoking still has many other issues), still leave passwords lying around exactly how companies today tell you not to, ect. Yet they also created a very impressive space station, escape pods, 3-D printing, matter deconstruction, ect. It doesn’t mesh well. It also borrows so heavily from Bioshock aesthetically that I found the game rather boring to look at. The enemies don’t help
    matters as they are just blobs of black. They lack personality and are neither scary nor impressive.

    Prey is also a problem as an action game as well. Again you’ll see why:

    A. Pacing issues cause the game to slow down. You get to scoot around the space station, but it is so slow and the U.I. is bad about labeling the way-points all the time, so it’s easy to get lost. It’s also large, so it’s slow to get around. Also, every time you leaving a zone or load your game, it takes literally 3 minutes for the game to load. This is on a PS4 Pro with boost mode enabled and a custom installed hybrid hard drive, which is faster than stock. Unacceptable considering how simple the game is.

    B. Lack of resources make the game not as fun as it could be. If it’s an action game, ammo/health shouldn’t be that hard to come by. Prey has an identity crisis.

    C. Cheap damage from environment. You can take absurd amounts of damage to your space suit running into things in space, or stepping on a puddle of fire, touching electricity that will jump out at you from a broken panel, ect. Since this is a first person game, these things are harder to avoid than you would think, and many times it’s easy to do this by accident and take massive damage, even with mods to reduce damage. It’s very annoying.

    D. The U.I. gets in the way. You only get 3 programmable hotkeys for weapons/items, so you’ll constantly be going in and out of the menu to sway/use items.

    Can you have fun with Prey? Sure, I liked the game enough to finish it. I got it on sale for $40 too, but I'd still say if you've play this type of game before, hold out for a price of about $20 to get your money's worth. The campaign is about 30 hours, but that's not to say all of those hours are enjoyable. Most of the game feels like a worse version of past games, executed with average effort.    … Expand
  23. Gussy
    May 14, 2017
    6
    After 40 hours of playing and finishing the game, i realized that the illusion of choice that it gives you, is just that, by the end you will realize that everything you did and every choice you made, amounts to nothing as :SPOILER ALERT: the whole game is a simulation.... Really pretentious, really disappointing for such a mechanically great game, with a great setting, to just say screwAfter 40 hours of playing and finishing the game, i realized that the illusion of choice that it gives you, is just that, by the end you will realize that everything you did and every choice you made, amounts to nothing as :SPOILER ALERT: the whole game is a simulation.... Really pretentious, really disappointing for such a mechanically great game, with a great setting, to just say screw it, by the end and throw it all away for a generic twist that just wastes everybody's time… Expand
  24. rodericrinehart
    Jan 2, 2018
    6
    Prey has elements that are 9/10 or better and other parts that are 4/10 or worse. It has a solid story, good atmosphere and ambience, and only crashed once. I couldn't stand the repetitive traveling in zones and I really didn't enjoy the combat. I would've much preferred a 6 hour game with the story compacted in there. Honestly, I would've preferred Prey as a walking simulator - and I'mPrey has elements that are 9/10 or better and other parts that are 4/10 or worse. It has a solid story, good atmosphere and ambience, and only crashed once. I couldn't stand the repetitive traveling in zones and I really didn't enjoy the combat. I would've much preferred a 6 hour game with the story compacted in there. Honestly, I would've preferred Prey as a walking simulator - and I'm someone who loves Deus Ex and Dishonored and enjoyed Bioshock, but I was just waiting on this game to end the last half or more. The stealth options are not anywhere near what Dishonored or Deus Ex bring.… Expand
  25. Bitek
    Feb 26, 2019
    7
    The game has Bioshock / Dead Space / Aliens Isolation vibes. Visuals are nice and they do remind me of Dishonored, which would make sense since both games were created by the same studio. Audio is excellent and it adds a lot to the experience. i highly recommend playing this game with surround sound headphones. There are different styles of playing this game because there are many ways toThe game has Bioshock / Dead Space / Aliens Isolation vibes. Visuals are nice and they do remind me of Dishonored, which would make sense since both games were created by the same studio. Audio is excellent and it adds a lot to the experience. i highly recommend playing this game with surround sound headphones. There are different styles of playing this game because there are many ways to develop your character. For example you can focus on firearms and play this way or you can concentrate on developing alien skills and play the game that way. Prey is a very solid sc-fi / horror survival game. I am definitely recommending this game.… Expand
  26. Steyraus
    Oct 12, 2021
    5
    Some dope reviewers call prey an " Imersine sim".. It is not that, there is combat, rpg and survival mevhsnics..You dont just walk around being imersed..Prey has very interesting game loop with cool origional ideas. Recyling inventory down to it base molecules is very satisfying and adds to a robust and compelling leveling system..
    Infortunatly! this is a woke game, if you blue pill you    Some dope reviewers call prey an " Imersine sim".. It is not that, there is combat, rpg and survival mevhsnics..You dont just walk around being imersed..Prey has very interesting game loop with cool origional ideas. Recyling inventory down to it base molecules is very satisfying and adds to a robust and compelling leveling system..
    Infortunatly! this is a woke game, if you blue pill you will see all the usual crap that turns a potential masterpiece into a Mid experiance.    … Expand
  27. HaloFever
    Jul 5, 2020
    7
    Prey is like the baby of Bioshock and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I should love it and I did at the beginning. But the developers did not understand what they had because Prey progresses into a mess of a game plagued by loading screens.

    My play through clocked in at over 27 hours. I estimate that at least 4 hours of that time was spent in loading screens. At the beginning, loading    Prey is like the baby of Bioshock and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I should love it and I did at the beginning. But the developers did not understand what they had because Prey progresses into a mess of a game plagued by loading screens.

    My play through clocked in at over 27 hours. I estimate that at least 4 hours of that time was spent in loading screens. At the beginning, loading screens are a non-issue. You are in a survival/horror game with a rich backstory set forth in e-mails, audiologists, and the environment. The game does not have invisible walls, and as a player, you can make your way to areas that you probably should not. Enemies are frightening and each one requires a bit of strategy. I loved freedom to play at my own pace and choose my own upgrade path. If only the developers had embraced this play style.

    By the end, I had to move around Talos on fetch quests and this means running from loading screen to loading screen. Enemies repopulate areas and I found the most expedient path was running right past them to the loading screen. As an example, a main mission might require me to make an item to move along the story. This can mean moving to the domed garden part of the station through 3 loading screens, picking up the plans to fabricate the item, moving through another loading screen the make it, and then 3 more loading screens to install it in the power core. Then the main mission requires another trip to the domed garden which means 3 more loading screens. Meanwhile, the game goes from one or two strategic encounters per area to a dozen evil robots and aliens spawning per loading screen. Some upgrades let you recharge your weaponized abilities over time, so you can recklessly let loose blasts all over the station to wipe out these dozens of enemies. Or you can do what I did and sprint from loading screen to loading screen because you want the game to be over with some semblance of completion.

    The early game also sets up some odd expectations. No one appears to be alive except semi-sentient floating robots and hostile aliens. This is very much like Bioshock and the sense of dread is major theme of the game. Straying off the main mission path means spending more time among the dead. Then the game takes a major shift and populates the world with living NPCs. You are not given a clear path but the game does seem to make a binary choice between serving the living and expediently completing the game. An odd feature of this is that the game has many escape pods but no option to escort the living NPCS to them. Another odd feature is that the NPCs somehow move around the station unimpeded while the player character will face the hoarded of hades after each loading screen.

    All-in-all, a beautiful premise and stellar gameplay are bogged down by a failed commitment to the premise and a failed understanding of gameplay. Missions could have been encapsulated in one or two areas to minimize loading screens. Remember Bioshock? You mostly moved forward without looking back. This is because new areas are fun and old areas are a chore. Developers knew this over a decade before releasing Prey. Remember Deus Ex: Human Revolution? The developers patched the game after fan outcry because the game forced players to fight every boss with brawn instead of brains. The developers had to commit to the player choice of fighting smart, and they added options to defeat bosses with stealth and strategy. Pray makes no such commitment to the path the player chooses.

    A sign of poor design in any game is that it becomes a mindless shooter like Call of Duty. Prey falls prey to this trope in a couple of ways. First off, the game increases the enemy pressure at a near exponential rate until the screen is a disorienting explosion of lights. Secondly, the game gives the player offensive superpowers that regenerate over time, negating the need for ammo and strategy. On that second point, my advice is not to spend time with side missions until you collect those superpowers because enemies will very quickly outmatch the player without them.

    All-in-all, Prey is a good experience that could have been one of the greatest of all time. I remember around the time of this release there was a debate about the commitment from the studios to single player games. Prey is not simply a single player game, it is rather esoteric and few reviews describe the games appeal. The game has a great story and delves into humanity and the value of emotional connections. Maybe some day the game will be remastered for the PS5 and its load screen free NVM hard drive. That would go a long way toward making Prey the game it should have been.

    Full disclosure: I bought this game used for less than $5 from GameStop. I feel bad that the studio did not see a dime from me. Despite my gripes, I do not believe Prey is a throw-away title.    … Expand
  28. TitanCastle
    Nov 21, 2017
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After 40 or so hours of prey i can say that is a good game, BUT i can feel very unfair (played in hard), the enemy design, visually is OK at best since they took the RE 7 approach by making everything a black blob, but mechanically they dropped the ball pretty hard, mimics are fine, poltergeist to, and even the weaver feels ok even thou he spawns tracking projectiles. but the phantoms feel really unfair since they can spawn Area of effect projectiles in your position, and they can hit you continuously and through walls, since this is a first person perspective it really hurts when they spawn something behind you. One Last thing, the ending movies are REALLY BAD and the post credits scene was really disappointing since absolutely nothing of what i did mattered in any way… Expand
  29. Rovencis
    Jul 28, 2017
    5
    I expected much more from this title. The engine of the game is very weak, the story does not have a definite point, a map that does not help at all and the characters very clumsy. It's very strange that Bethestha makes such mistakes.
  30. njja02
    May 15, 2018
    6
    Prey is Arkhane's best game, but overall it still disappointed me. It starts off great, and there are many different game-play elements that I really liked. But the story and pacing start to drag more and more as I went on. By the end it felt unsatisfying.
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Awards & Rankings

72
#72 Best PS4 Game of 2017
26
#26 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
11
#11 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 68 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 68
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 68
  3. Negative: 0 out of 68
  1. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Jul 7, 2017
    90
    This is one of the cleverest games we’ve ever played. It constantly wows with many multiple solutions to almost every problem. If you have a talent for thinking outside the box, chances are Arkane is three steps ahead and ready to accommodate your lunacy. [July 2017, p66]
  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Jun 24, 2017
    80
    While not the masterpiece it could have been, this imaginative, immersive sim provides an impressive, dense sandbox with plenty of exciting toys to play with. [July 2016, p.93]
  3. Games Master UK
    Jun 22, 2017
    78
    Harsh difficulty mars an otherwise engrossing sci-fi journey in a fascinating setting. [July 2017, p.76]
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