Neb on 5/5/2017 at 00:01
Good first impressions. The very beginning felt a little underwhelming, but the pace kicks up. Almost an hour in and it definitely feels like System Shock 2/Bioshock, with a hint of Deus Ex: Invisible War - of all things.
Vae on 5/5/2017 at 00:04
So a plagiaristic hodge-podge...good to know.
froghawk on 5/5/2017 at 02:20
Were you expecting otherwise from Arkane? That's what they do best - tributes to LGS/IS/Irrational classics with fantastic gameplay.
Neb on 6/5/2017 at 00:39
I'm loving it so far.
I went into it not really thinking much about the enemy design, but I think it plays fine. There are no places to casually loot because you don't ever feel truly safe, even when backtracking. Weapons are mostly short range and ammo is scarce, along with the enemies loving to close range on you quickly. Most fights are either chaotic ambushes or tense moments where you try and weigh up what's going to give you the edge before you go running in (even more so when enemy info bar shows a human name and you wonder whether they can be saved later. I don't know the answer to that.) Enemies don't seem easy to cheese, and every scrap feels like attrition rather than something to master cleanly. The best strategy is to slow or immobilise them with powers, turrets, or the gloo gun, etc, because they're fast and sneaky.
The general design is great, but at its core nothing you wouldn't expect. Plenty of rewards for climbing to off limits areas, stuff drifting around in space, creative ways to get safe and door codes.
twhalen2600 on 6/5/2017 at 00:53
Prey has been a game I haven't read about or followed much, besides the E3 2016 trailer and the trailer from a few days ago. I knew hardly anything about it starting it up this evening, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I picked up the wrench, broke the glass in my apartment, and discovered a new System Shock 2. The sense of isolation, the dead bodies, the mysterious person communicating to you...perfect.
My only complaint so far is that the load times are a tad too long, and I'd prefer a story totally detached from our history rather than an alternate timeline. But still, I know I'm going to love this one. I mean, there are even psi hypos! Things like that, and the wrench, make me feel like I'm in heaven.
Sulphur on 6/5/2017 at 04:59
Yep. Quicksaves and manual saves.
It's very much SS2 by way of Bioshock's art deco aesthetic in space. I like my opening hours with it for all the reasons Neb outlined. It hasn't done anything to really surprise me so far, and it definitely doesn't have the sheer dread SS2 dripped with (exchanging that for quick bursts of tension when you get in a scrap), but in other respects it almost feels homey in its Shock-ness.
Vicarious on 6/5/2017 at 11:58
That might be a premature thing to say but so far it really feels like a spiritual successor to Shock2 done right. Like it's what BioShock was supposed to be. That might change as I'm very early into the game but as of right now I really like it. I'm excited to continue.
JohnnyTheWolf on 7/5/2017 at 05:12
Quote Posted by Vicarious
That might be a premature thing to say but so far it really feels like a spiritual successor to Shock2 done right. Like it's what BioShock was supposed to be.
Really? How so?
Vicarious on 7/5/2017 at 11:09
Systems-based gameplay, extensive exploration, open-ended design, ammo / resource scarcity, the constant sense of danger and of fighting the unknown, persistent gameworld and countless other features like that. It's not as hardcore as Shock2 but also nowhere near as mainstream and player-friendly like BioShock. Probably the closest thing to Shock2 that I've played yet.
Keep in mind that I'm still early into the game. Maybe in the end it ends being trivial or run-of-the-mill or maybe I'm completly incompetent that even on Normal it's not a walk in the park for me... But those are my current impression.
