The Weekend Hangover: Prey 2017

The Weekend Hangover is Too Much Gaming's Monday rumination of the games or game we played over the weekend. Sometimes there is alcohol involved in the hangover we’re nursing, but most other times there’s just too much gaming.

Arkane Studios’ Prey - released back in 2017 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC - was one of those games in that year that was in the back of my mind. I wanted to play it so badly but couldn’t find the time. I finally caved last weekend. An FPS survival horror game met with praise from critics and influencers and was updated with its first DLC this year called Mooncrash. It’s been great so far.

The mysteries in Talos 1 reminded me of the days I explored BioShock’s Rapture for the first time, or when I went through Citadel Station in System Shock. Heck, after 3 hours with Prey I had the urge to boot up Dead Space, a personal favorite. Prey is a greatly inspired by the games I’ve mentioned, a game that promotes experimentation with your equipment. You are left with the aftermath of an alien outbreak to explore, and piecing everything together with what was left behind is why I appreciate games like Prey.

Prey encourages creativity when dealing with threats in the game. You are always at a disadvantage despite the abilities you gain down the line, and success can be found to those that apply proper resource management and make use of the environment around them.

The GLOO Cannon - a utility weapon that lets you shoot a glue-like substance that hardens - has plenty of applications and is mostly the go-to weapon so far. It’s similar to the Gravity Gun in Half-Life - a tool that never loses its purpose during this lengthy campaign. Weapons like these make every area in the game unique each time you visit, especially when reaching barred areas. I’ve climbed a tall wall thanks to the GLOO Cannon, properly placing climbable hardened glue from my weapon to reach the top. Was climbing it the way I did the proper way to progress? Probably not, but I made it and that’s all that matters. The freedom to make your own solutions is what makes Prey enticing to play for hours.

I'm past the 10-hour mark and I still feel like everything can go wrong in an instant. Even with all the equipment and neuromods(passive skills) I've picked up along the way, plus all the consumables stocked up, I don’t feel safe at all. Playing it on hard feels right. The tension is constant but the amount of resources available is enough for me to see this through. The story is intriguing but feels like it could fall flat anytime now, but that's okay. I’m loving my stay in Talos 1, and I’ll probably be here longer than expected.

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