Beware of the Shapeshifting Aliens in this Space Horror Shooter Game
Prey is a first-person sci-fi horror and action shooter video game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Released in 2017 and a reboot and reimagining of the 2006 game Prey developed by Human Head Studios, you play the role of a survivor aboard the Talos I. A space station orbiting the moon in the year 2032, Talos I has been overrun by hostile aliens and now you have to escape and find a way to destroy all of the alien enemies before they find their way to Earth.
Don’t Be Fooled
The story of Prey follows Morgan Yu, who wakes up to find themselves living in a research space station, now being terrorized by amorphous aliens known as the Typhon. Morgan can’t remember their past, but they know that they have to survive the ordeal and find a way out. They’ll quickly discover that they possess supernatural abilities similar to the Typhon. With that and a variety of weapons they can scavenge in the run-down ship, you can help Morgan gain access to areas of the station by acquiring key items and more abilities—eventually allowing them to fully explore the station in an open-world setting. Other than exploring the mysteries behind the past they can’t remember, Morgan’s end-goal is to defeat the Typhon and escape, and you’ll have to choose whether to build a weapon that will leave the research space station intact or blow it all up. You need to make key choices along the way, as well—either saving or ignoring other survivors aboard—and it will all culminate with your fate in the end.
Get Creative
The further along you go in the chaos dealt by the aliens, the more you’ll need to fight or sneak your way to safety. Morgan can gain alien abilities to develop a distinct combination of powers and upgrade their unique skills. Like any survival horror game, you have to rely on your environment, as well. Scavenging for useful items and resources, crafting makeshift weapons and healing items, and exploring the wrecked space station for clues to use on puzzles and obstacles are all necessary to ensure you make it out alive. Even though Prey lets you tackle enemies head-on with amazing alien powers, there are still areas and parts of the combat wherein you need to use your wits and ability to improvise. This will play alongside your character decisions, as well. Survival horror often makes use of the human element and having other characters in a horror story makes for tough decisions that can affect your survival. Morgan may be their character, but you are the one in control.
A Stellar Space Horror World
As a survival shooter, Prey gives enough of that combat rush to bring back the nostalgia for guns-vs-aliens type of games like Doom and Halo. As a survival horror game, however, it fully immerses you into a world that’s filled with uncertainty and doubt. It’s actually a difficult game mechanics-wise and the story can be pretty predictable for those experienced with this kind of plot, but Prey doesn’t skimp out on the eye-candy and gives you the freedom to take control of the destiny forced into your hands.
