TA Playlist Wrap-Up: Prey

I keep having this… dream. I’m just staring into the black, between the stars. There’s something there. I know there is. I just can’t see it… but it sees me. I can feel it… hate us. I know you know what I’m talking about. Or you will soon.”
– Morgan Yu

You enter a darkened laboratory, lit only by weak emergency lights and the sporadic flicker of a sparking control panel on the wall. You hastily scan the room, looking for food, ammunition, or any other helpful resources. After grabbing some items from a storage crate, you turn toward a table in the center of the room, but wait – wasn’t there just a single stool there a second ago? Now there are two. Maybe you just didn’t notice it before, except… did that second stool just twitch? The hunt begins, but are you the hunter… or the Prey?

Welcome back to another month of the TA Playlist! June’s Game of the Month poll came on the heels of Microsoft’s announcement that it was closing several studios, the latest in a long line of layoffs and studios across the video game industry. With that in mind, we offered up four games from recently-closed studios, including Hi-Fi RUSH and Ghostwire: Tokyo, from Tango Gameworks, Saints Row from Volition, and the eventual winner, Prey, from Arkane Austin.

Arkane Studios got its start in Lyon, France, in the late 1990s before opening up a second studio in Austin, Texas, in 2006. After Arkane was acquired by ZeniMax Media (parent company of Bethesda Softworks), and following the release of their hit Dishonored, Arkane Lyon started working on Dishonored 2, while Arkane Austin began development of an entirely new game, envisioned as a “spiritual successor” to System Shock and Arx Fatalis, a game that would eventually become 2017’s Prey.

Now, the first thing many people notice about this game is that it has the exact same name as another game released in 2006. That Prey (2006) was developed by Human Head Studios under contract for 3D Realm, and published by 2K Games. They started work on a sequel, but after a few years of development problems, the rights to Prey were sold to ZeniMax, and eventually, the sequel was scrapped.
I8ITackyticsI8I said:

I loved the 2006 Prey from 3D Realm and was excited for this one as a reboot of the series after Prey 2 had previously been teased, I didn’t realise it was completely different, I guess that was Bethesda’s intention.

The original Prey also featured an alien threat, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Prey (2006) featured a Cherokee protagonist named Tommy Tawodi, who finds himself called to be an unlikely hero aboard a living alien ship known as the Sphere, using spiritual powers given to him by his ancestors to take on the invaders and save the world.
Boots Orion said:

I agree on the Cherokee cosmology aspect of the original Prey being fantastic. It’s a shame an actual sequel never got released. Tommy was a cool character. I don’t think Bethesda should have used the Prey name given the two games are otherwise unrelated. But…it’s their asset to use however they wish.

Bethesda still wanted to make use of the property, and they decided there was just enough similarity in concept to justify putting the “Prey” title on Arkane Austin’s new game. Some described it as a reboot, although even that’s being a bit generous, as there is really no reference in Arkane’s “Prey” to relate it to the 2006 game. This turned out to be a controversial decision, as some fans of the original Prey were put off by Bethesda’s use of the title for a game that really had absolutely no connection to the original.
BLOOdREDkN7GHT said:

Never got into this game. I liked the 360 Prey but this one didn’t do anything for me. Would have been better if they changed the name so it was its own game.

Catching ZZZs said:

I was a big fan of the original Prey (2006) and was really looking forward to a new one coming out, but once I found out that this game had nothing to do with the first one and was a completely different thing, I honestly lost all interest. I have heard good things but it looks like a daunting completion. Maybe one day I’ll try it, but not any time soon.

It’s hard to say whether the game would have done better or worse by some other name. It’s possible that the Prey brand carried enough weight to bring more sales than it would have gotten otherwise, but it’s also possible that the controversy over the name did more harm than good. In an alternate universe where Prey 2 was developed and this game received a different title, would it have launched its own franchise?
Allgorhythm said:

Completely different game. Apart from the title, the 2017 game shares no DNA with the 2006 game. Bethesda acquired the publishing rights of the 2006 game from 3D Realm. This allowed Bethesda to use the Prey name. The developers, Arkane Austin, objected to that because they felt they were creating an original game. For marketing purposes, Bethesda over-rode the objections. […]
I think both the 2006 and 2017 games were great. But, the connection between the games is an artificial one. I sympathize with Bethesda. They spent a lot of money getting the property with the intent of continuing the story of the 2006 game. It shows just how risky the video game business is.

But enough about the title, it’s time to move on to discuss the game itself. Be warned, there may be some spoilers ahead, and if you haven’t played the game yet, you might want to skip on down to the statistics section to avoid any of the surprises that Prey has in store for you. After all, one of the core ideas in Prey is that you never know quite what’s really going on, what’s real, and what’s an illusion, so avoid spoilers at all costs if you’re interested in this game!

Prey is set in an alternate universe where the Soviet Union encountered an alien species known as the Typhon in the late 1950s, just as the Space Race was getting underway. The alien threat forced the Soviets and the United States to work together, leading to advancements in science and technology and changing the course of the Cold War. For the next several decades, US and Soviet scientists worked in secret aboard a space station to study the Typhon, but the project is abandoned following a fatal accident in the 1980’s. Years later, the TranStar Corporation purchases the space station to continue the study of the Typhon, using what they’ve learned to develop the Neuromod, a technology that can implant knowledge and abilities directly to a person’s brain.
Wicelow said:

That’s pretty much Bioshock in space. I’ve been saying that to myself the whole time. I enjoyed it very much even if the number of replays to tackle everything is quite heavy. Even the DLC (which took FOREVER to go on sale) was great, once you get into it. Please play it, it’s worth it for the ambiance and retrofuturistic look alone, but is also great gameplay-wise.

The game begins in 2032, with Morgan Yu preparing for his (or her, if you so choose) journey to the Talos I space station to begin working for TranStar. After getting dressed, you board a helicopter to the TranStar HQ, in what turns out to be a very stylish opening credits sequence. Your brother Alex greets you at TranStar, but says that before you can get to work, you’ll have to go through some routine entrance evaluations.

The tests seem simple enough, but the lead scientist, Dr. Bellamy, seems confused by your results. Things go off the rails when a second coffee cup mysteriously appears on Dr. Bellamy’s desk, then suddenly morphs into an oily black four-legged-spider-like creature and attacks the doctor. A green gas fills the test chamber, and as Morgan passes out, the last thing you hear is Alex telling someone to “clean it up.”

Reelbiggerfish said:

One of the best openings to a game that I can remember!

You awaken back in your apartment, seemingly living the same day over again. However, upon walking out the door, things have changed. The maintenance worker in the hallway, who greeted you the previous morning, is now dead. You can’t get to the helicopter. There appears to be no way to leave the building until you get desperate enough to try to break the glass doors to the balcony. In a moment that brings new meaning to “smashing the fourth wall,” you find out that the window is a massive video screen, and your whole apartment is just a sound stage under observation for some sort of experiment.

As you start to explore, you’re met with a couple of big surprises. You’re not on Earth, you’re already aboard the Talos I space station. It’s not 2032, but 2035 — you’ve been reliving the same day in the simulation for three years. What’s more, this isn’t something that’s being done to Morgan against their will… a video recording reveals that Morgan volunteered for the tests of new Neuromods, even knowing they would lose their memory each time the Neuromods were removed.

An operator (a type of flying, robotic drone) named January fills Morgan in on further details. The Typhon have breached containment and are threatening to overrun the station, and must be stopped before they can reach Earth. As you work your way through the station, you’ll be faced with several different subspecies of Typhon, from the Mimics (the spider-like creatures who can turn into chairs, coffee cups, or just about any other object in the game) to the humanoid Predators, with various elemental attacks, to the gigantic Nightmare that hunts you and will destroy you in a single hit.
Cylon 118 said:

Yeah, this game is surprisingly difficult even on normal. Especially at the start, when you are weak and don’t know what you are doing, and at the end, when the military drones turn up. But the vast majority of the middle of the game felt very fair. Finished it once, still have plenty of cheevs, but will give it a bit of a break before going back I think.

January was programmed by a previous version of Morgan, prior to having the Neuromods removed, in order to instruct Morgan on how to self-destruct the space station in the event of a Typhon outbreak. Morgan must make his way through the various sections of the Talos I station in order to implement this plan, with Alex trying to stop him, and Typhon lurking around every corner.

Should you follow January’s plan to blow up the station, even though it may kill the humans on board? Or is Alex right to look for an alternative solution, even if it poses a greater risk to Earth itself? Is Alex a friend or foe? Should you try to rescue the survivors of Talos I, or leave them to their fates in order to focus on the Typhon threat? Is it moral to kill a few dozen people to save billions? Do you push the fat man in front of the train, or do you sacrifice yourself? How you answer these questions might decide the fate of humanity… or is that all an illusion as well?
smashingrascal said:

Prey is up there with one of my most-favorite games. Not only does it have a very cool setting it also looks amazing. What I love most is the amount of nooks and crannies. So much of the game is filled with little secrets, stashes, and alternative routes. Not to mention that areas that seemingly require an ability can be accessed with some clever thinking, often earlier too. Making an ability-less playthrough just as enjoyable.

Prey is listed as a First Person Shooter, although Arkane themselves referred to it as more of an Action-RPG “immersive simulation.” In addition to a pistol and shotgun, Morgan acquires a variety of weapons, tools, and abilities that allow you to deal with the Typhon in other ways than just shooting them, similar to the systems used in Dishonored. Arkane stressed that one of the core design elements of the game was to allow the player to decide how to tackle any situation, rather than forcing them to play in a certain way.
Stevo6483 said:

I really enjoyed this game when I played it years ago via Game Pass. Was such a cool location to explore with different approaches to most situations depending on what upgrades you took. Was a fun completion despite the need for multiple playthroughs.

Prey also has a reputation for being a sort of horror game, and while there are some instances of heightened suspense and even a few jump scares when a Mimic disguised as a microscope suddenly lunges for you, it doesn’t really qualify as a horror game.
Adayin said:

In terms of pure survival horror, something like Alien Isolation is much, much better. That game actually had me crawling out of my own skin in some scenes, and I got a few good jump scares from cats while playing it. Prey is pretty tame in terms of its “horror”.
But I have to say that Prey’s story is overall far more engrossing if you’re like me and pay attention to the actual game instead of just bouncing from achievement to achievement. The characters are deep, their stories intriguing (especially the relationships between characters), and I enjoyed the big plot twist at the end, even if they did project it a bit.

While many of our commenters praised the gameplay, the aesthetics, and the storyline, the game does have its critics. One gamer in particular had an apparently horrendous experience due to game-breaking bugs:
Guitar LInc0ln said:

Certainly an understandable reaction given some of the problems this commenter described in their full post. However, it seems that sort of issue was not too common, as no one else mentioned having the same sorts of bugs in their playthrough. Most other negative comments were more generic in their criticisms:
Flumptigan said:

Enemies disguised as coffee cups, why is this not in all other games? The best idea of recent years. Apart from that, awful. My overall advice; don’t play it

Rinckenstock said:

Deeply average game, neither great nor terrible. Certainly not as good as Ghostwire, which was my pick for the month

Of all the criticisms, however, the most common complaint was something that you’ll probably only find discussed here on TrueAchievements – the “missable” flags.
lokisapocalypse said:

This game looks interesting but 52 / 58 missables? That’s a bit nutty.

Kaelylia said:

I find the game looks pretty nice, played a bit of it, but man…I do agree that the missables are a crazy bunch. I need to reinstall this and try to pop a few more achievements.

Gortus said:

After a very busy month, I finally sat down to take a look at this and the first thing I saw was 51 missable achievements. Checking this thread, I found claims that I should be reassured since it requires two playthroughs anyway. That’s the opposite of reassuring. I’m afraid this (possibly excellent) game is going to have to stay put in my backlog for now.

Dysconect said:

I remember seeing the intro alone and being very interested in this game. Meant to have one of the best intros to a game. The concept of the game seems dope and I’m really sure I’ll love this game once I jump in. Only thing that stops me is the missables and I think double play through but still heard it’s one of the best from this studio. Enjoy guys
edit: The intro was pretty cool.

There are indeed a lot of achievements flagged as missable in this game, and you’ll need at least two playthroughs to get the full completion. This is similar to Arkane’s previous hit, Dishonored, which required multiple playthroughs to earn achievements for high chaos, low chaos, and not upgrading any skills.
Allgorhythm said:

That last point may be subjective – tediousness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder – but it certainly seems to be part of the design philosophy of these games to offer you a choice of how to play and use achievements to encourage you to try different playstyles in multiple runs. But that’s why we have walkthroughs, right? The Prey Walkthrough currently has 344 likes, so if you’re concerned about taking the most efficient route to the completion, be sure to check that out.
That said, my suggestion would be to save the walkthrough for your second or third time through the game. If you haven’t played Prey yet, and want to get the full experience, go in blind, explore, and be surprised by the twists and turns the game throws at you. Prey has an engrossing story, and the deeper themes of identity, morality, and the nature of reality can be as rewarding to discover as any achievement.

Of course, this is still an achievement-hunting site, so without further ado, here are the stats for the month!

In all, 940 tracked gamers played along with Prey (including both the console version and the Windows stack) during the month of June. 543 of those tracked gamers were starting the game for the first time, while 15 earned the completion during the month. A total of 5,876 achievements were unlocked during June, worth 100,355 GamerScore and 281,921 TrueAchievment score – an overall ratio of 2.81 for the month.

The most-earned achievement for the month was “Know Thyself” for using a Neuromod to unlock your first human ability. This is probably the first achievement you’d run into naturally during the game, although it is possible to earn certain achievements sooner if you know what to do (hint – be careful around helicopter rotor blades). Know Thyself was unlocked 409 times in the console version and another 109 times in the Windows version.

At the other end of the spectrum, the least-unlocked achievements during the month were “I and It” and “Awkward Ride Home”, from the Windows version, at four unlocks each. Both are end-game missable achievements that require you to meet certain criteria throughout the game. However, the least-unlocked achievement from the console version was from the Mooncrash DLC. “Galaxy Brain” is awarded for installing all Neuromod powers on all characters in the DLC, was popped just 12 times in the console version, and 17 times overall, making it the least-unlocked achievement across both versions combined.

With two full playthroughs required to get the full completion, not to mention the Mooncrash DLC, it’s no surprise that we had a very low number of participants who were able to start and finish the game during the month of June. In fact, only four gamers made our June 2024 Shout-Out List. Obama PeaceDuke had the fastest completion, with 206 hours and 41 minutes total from June 2 to June 11 in the Windows version of the game. For the console players, Xaledin logged the fastest time, starting on June 1 and completing the game 219 hours and 53 minutes later on June 11. Scoli and Koying san 1 also earned spots on this month’s Shout-Out list… congrats to all of you!

This article was even later than usual because I wanted to actually finish my playthrough of Prey before starting to work on it to avoid spoilers. But I’ve already played July’s Game of the Month, Fable (the original version, not Fable Anniversary), so hopefully, I’ll get the July Wrap-up out a bit sooner. But now, August has already started, which means it’s time for you all to get working on this month’s TA Playlist feature, Lies of P. As always, you can earn your participation badge by unlocking an achievement in the game or by making a substantive comment in this month’s Spoiler-Free and Spoiler Discussion Threads.

See you next month!