Prey: When an FPS draws its inspiration from the 7th art (Test)

Initially, Prey is an FPS released in 2006. A sequel was announced by Bethesda in 2011. Following a rather chaotic development and many rumors, Prey 2 was finally canceled at the end of 2014. However, it was made clear that the franchise was not abandoned. The promise was kept as a reboot appeared out of nowhere at Bethesda's E3 2016 conference. This time, it was Arkane Studios with Raphaël Colantonio at the head of the project (already known for being behind the Dishonored franchise). The reboot of Prey was then announced as a dystopia taking place in a hypothetical future where President Kennedy would not have died in Dallas. In addition to these rather original inspirations, the game was also a worthy heir to many films such as John Carpenter's The Thing, Ridley Scott's Alien but also Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall. Only good films presented in Paris in an exclusive event at the beginning of May. After all that, we were waiting to see what this reboot would give.

A really well thought out scenario

It's going to be really complicated to talk about Prey 's story without spoiling you. In general, the starting pitch has few surprises and we can talk about them freely. But in this case, the prologue already contains its share of surprises that can really turn your brain. So I will try to be as evasive as possible. So you play Morgan Yu who wakes up like a day after baked on the Talos I space station. This one seems relatively infamous since it is infested with an alien race, the typhoons. These critters can be particularly treacherous since they have relatively practical powers such as camouflaging their presence by taking the appearance of an object. Morgan will have to find a way to end these things and incidentally try to survive. But that's not all. He is also stricken with amnesia, and will have to do everything to find out what happened and make the best possible choices.

The importance of his choices

Prey was presented as an experience that leaves choices to the player. The first (which can influence certain events) is the gender of your character. Because you will notice that Morgan can be a female or male name (in French it is written not the same, but hey quibble not either). You will therefore have a fairly important freedom of action since you will have the opportunity to advance the main quests as you wish, to do this or that side quest or to save employees of the station (or to let them die, why not). Depending on what you do, you will influence to achieve one of the different endings (and everything you do counts, trust me). You will also be able to choose whether or not to master typhoon powers which will also matter. You will already be lit by the turrets that will not differentiate between you and the aliens, but these powers could be a great help in your journey. In a straight line, Prey can be completed in a relatively short time, but the consequences of your actions ensure excellent replayability, especially the exploration side that has enough to extend the gaming experience.

Talos I is yours!

If you're thinking of rushing into the heap by exterminating hordes of aliens in front of you, maybe you should consider playing Doom, a relatively different but nevertheless excellent title. In Prey, it will be mainly a question of moving slowly. Already because you risk jumping on your chair by being attacked by a mimic disguised as an oxygen tank, but especially because the game is full of objects, side paths and secrets of all kinds. Computers will often offer you email exchanges that will enlighten you on the situation and what happened before the infestation, but also passwords. I can only advise you too much to search everywhere to find access cards but also superfluous objects that you can recycle. These, once passed through a recycler, will give you different types of materials (mineral, exotic, ect) that will serve you to craft different rather useful objects such as care kits, or ammunition (and you will never have too much, I assure you!). Talos I is quite extensive, and even though the progression is quite limited due to the access cards and other passwords you'll need, the impression of linearity will be relatively limited due to the various paths possible, the extremely useful and immersive exploration, all reinforced by a good level design. 

An effective technique but nothing more

Prey is not ugly (don't mess around either) but we would have liked a little more finesse in its slightly aging textures. We have the impression of being in front of Dishonored, except that we feel a little more the motivation of the economy rather than a real artistic choice. Especially since environments that are essentially based on the interior do not present a great complexity. On the other hand, Morgan's helicopter trip in the prologue clearly shows the limits of the game engine. The worst thing is that despite this, the loads are rather long. A bit of a shame, but at least it's relatively well optimized on PC (thankfully). 

Prey may not be the dream title if you wanted to de-zing the alien galore. That said, he succeeds perfectly in his bet in terms of posing an oppressive dystopia. It fleshes out its context very well by having you search everywhere. A lot of information is hidden in Talos I, and your choices will really influence the outcome which seems quite surprising. The game also sometimes succeeds in very well thought out reversals of situation at the turn of your many explorations in Talos I. The atmosphere is one of the strong points of the title and the whole, relatively coherent, may well make you want to try the experience again by taking completely different choices. A successful bet for Arkane Studios and Bethesda , who sign here an excellent reboot, and an excellent game that manages to create its own identity despite its illustrious inspirations clearly claimed.