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LTTP: Prey - What if Shodan was a Typhon?
- Thread starter FliX
- Start date
PREY. IS. AMAZING. PLAY. IT. NOW!
I really need a Prey 2, but I don't believe we will get one... :(
I really need a Prey 2, but I don't believe we will get one... :(
Man, what is it with Arkane and audio issues? I tried to play Dishonored 2 a couple of weeks ago and it was literally unplayable due to the audio cutting off constantly and just generally being garbage.
I'm in the weird situation where I played this game before ever playing any Deus Ex games. And with Prey under my belt, I've found it very hard to enjoy either Human Revolution or Mankind Divided.
I played it in 2018 and can honestly say It was my favorite game last year. God the atmosphere is seriously top notch and I really loved the gameplay. I was hooked from the get go.
So a typical Arkane game.
Prey, Dishonored, Dishonored 2, all masterpieces. Arkane is a God-tier developer and I hope they'll be around for many years to come.
Still my favorite game of this generation. The story was really good and the characters, the ones you meet in person and the ones you only learn about from emails and data logs, were really well done. I always loved finding new emails, medical reports and such to find out more about them. They were so well done and gave me a really good idea about the characters personality. You never meet most of them but i still felt like i really came to know them very intimately.
I loved the gameplay as well. Never had a problem with the shooting or felt lag got in my way when i aimed. Though i played on PC. The weapons were all useful, especially when upgraded. The GLOO gun was the highlight though.
When it comes to the art direction i think the game is perfect. The Talos 1 space station is so well realised and the art decor gives it that really unique look. There were so many times i just stood on a spot for a while thinking how marvelous it looked.
I didn't have any problem with the last part of the game and all the backtracking. Again maybe because i played on PC and so the loading times weren't really an issue. I just loved going through sections again and seeing how different they looked after the big bad arrived.
All in all i can't really say i found much i took issue with other than the sound mixing. But that was certainly not enough to lower my view of the game.
I loved the gameplay as well. Never had a problem with the shooting or felt lag got in my way when i aimed. Though i played on PC. The weapons were all useful, especially when upgraded. The GLOO gun was the highlight though.
When it comes to the art direction i think the game is perfect. The Talos 1 space station is so well realised and the art decor gives it that really unique look. There were so many times i just stood on a spot for a while thinking how marvelous it looked.
I didn't have any problem with the last part of the game and all the backtracking. Again maybe because i played on PC and so the loading times weren't really an issue. I just loved going through sections again and seeing how different they looked after the big bad arrived.
All in all i can't really say i found much i took issue with other than the sound mixing. But that was certainly not enough to lower my view of the game.
It was the surprise of the year for me.
I definitely wasn't impressed with the videos and the gaming press was for some reason very harsh with it at first.
It turned out to be the closest thing to a proper System Shock successor we got in years. Basically everything I wanted (and didn't get) from the mediocre Bioshock franchise when it was announced.
I definitely wasn't impressed with the videos and the gaming press was for some reason very harsh with it at first.
It turned out to be the closest thing to a proper System Shock successor we got in years. Basically everything I wanted (and didn't get) from the mediocre Bioshock franchise when it was announced.
Mankind Divided is very lackluster, Human Revolution was better. When Mankind Divided gets going, it is already over, really strange game which came off as if they cut out many things.
It would be a easy 9/10 from me, but that audio mix is one of the worst things, and for such immersive game it's kinda sad that they never fixed it.
Prey was great.
The rumor is that they are now making a live service (GAAS) game because that is the direction Bethesda is moving (Fallout 76, Elder Scrolls Online, Elder Scrolls Blades, Fallout mobile game, etc) and they were hiring for a live service position.
The rumor is that they are now making a live service (GAAS) game because that is the direction Bethesda is moving (Fallout 76, Elder Scrolls Online, Elder Scrolls Blades, Fallout mobile game, etc) and they were hiring for a live service position.
It started off so well, I loved the opening sections and the mimic enemies were great, but the more I explored Talos the less I liked it as a place and I found the humanoid enemies (ie bipedal human shape glitchy black blobs, can't remember their name) really dull both to fight against and emotionally. For me it needed more compelling enemies to really make the place feel dangerous and interesting.
I loved the screens everywhere which you can smash and get behind like at the start, or the waterfall in the aboretum and I loved that each crew member had a name and their body could be found but ultimately it failed to hook me in long term.
I loved the screens everywhere which you can smash and get behind like at the start, or the waterfall in the aboretum and I loved that each crew member had a name and their body could be found but ultimately it failed to hook me in long term.
I've heard that rumor and it would be a criminal waste of talent.
Arkane are basically the best studio around when it comes to design high-budget immersive sims, at this point.
Prey for me was the best SS game we have had since SS, I never got around to picking up Mooncrash but I totally will at some point.
I did start another playthrough recently to mop up some achievements but I suck at playing anything a second time. Not a fault of the game though, it was amazing from start to finish. I loved the almost empty station feeling that I haven't felt since Alien Isolation, genuinely felt immersed in the environments.
I did start another playthrough recently to mop up some achievements but I suck at playing anything a second time. Not a fault of the game though, it was amazing from start to finish. I loved the almost empty station feeling that I haven't felt since Alien Isolation, genuinely felt immersed in the environments.
I absolutely loved it. It's true that at times it's very action heavy (specially going to the last act), but man, it's an amazing inmersive sim.
Fantastic game and Mooncrash is very interesting also. That Prey/Dishonored 2 sale combo would be a total steal if I didn't have both already.
Anyone struggling with higher Typhon just needs Psychoshock.
Anyone struggling with higher Typhon just needs Psychoshock.
Oh, you might be right. I thought they were but it might just be one. That said:
I think it's easy to handwave the ability to get an "immoral" ending by simply having this ending be the only one you witness. As in, there are plenty of other times Alex has pulled a typhon (or even you, if we assume only one typhon) out of the simulation at the end, explained what they were trying to do, and then put you back in the simulation; you just see the last time it happens. This works even better if you assume each run of the simulation is a new typhon. I don't recall, though, if you are a product of some human engineering attempts besides the simulator, or if you're 100% raw typhon and you've just had a VR helmet strapped to you without any further modification.
All THAT said, I do agree that the ending probably loses a lot of people, and that you're maybe not wrong to think it's a trash ending. I think it worked for me but I can also see why it would seem like a rushed or poorly thought-out conclusion, and to be honest I guess I'm not 100% sure myself. In any case, it definitely didn't affect my enjoyment of the rest of the game either!
My favourite game of 2017,believe it or not. I rate it above Zelda and Horizon,which were amazing,but holy hell Prey was something else.
It ticked all the boxes I want in a game. Story,gameplay mechanics,open ended approach,God-tier level design(still finding secrets in this game), atmosphere,immersion,skill tree progression. I can't get enough of "Shock" games and I really miss the Bioshock franchise these years,this game me my shock fix in space.
Unforntunately it went under the radar,due to a crammed release window,bad marketing choices from Bethesda and a gamebreaking bug made IGN rate it a 4.0,which certainly hurt the game's reputation. The review has long been updated since with an 8,but ouch that hurt
Anyway, can't recommend this game enough
It ticked all the boxes I want in a game. Story,gameplay mechanics,open ended approach,God-tier level design(still finding secrets in this game), atmosphere,immersion,skill tree progression. I can't get enough of "Shock" games and I really miss the Bioshock franchise these years,this game me my shock fix in space.
Unforntunately it went under the radar,due to a crammed release window,bad marketing choices from Bethesda and a gamebreaking bug made IGN rate it a 4.0,which certainly hurt the game's reputation. The review has long been updated since with an 8,but ouch that hurt
Anyway, can't recommend this game enough
I still havent finished this, but I can't get myself to play it
I'm currently at:
At first the game left me an incredible impression. THAT moment in the beggining was mind blowingly good. Then the story, the setting, the mechanics, so far so good. But it kind of started to get.. too long. Talos I is interesting, but personally not varied enough to keep the sci-fi art deco style fresh. Same with encounters or enemies.
It's not "bad" by any means. Typhoons are quite interesting in imagination and enemy types to keep encounters fresh, but overall that first impression is never matched in the 20 hours I've been playing the game.
I'm currently at:
After puting Dahl? to sleep, and restoring life support
At first the game left me an incredible impression. THAT moment in the beggining was mind blowingly good. Then the story, the setting, the mechanics, so far so good. But it kind of started to get.. too long. Talos I is interesting, but personally not varied enough to keep the sci-fi art deco style fresh. Same with encounters or enemies.
It's not "bad" by any means. Typhoons are quite interesting in imagination and enemy types to keep encounters fresh, but overall that first impression is never matched in the 20 hours I've been playing the game.
If it helps, you're basically almost done if you ignore any remaining sidequests. There's maybe 2 more tasks to complete.
OP
OP
Very briefly started playing mooncrash yesterday evening. Not quite sure what that is yet to be honest. Any general pointers as to what to do/not to do? I haven't died yet but am lead to believe that I will and that it is roguelike? Or should I just continue playing it blind and seeing what happens?
The roguelike elements will be introduced once you escape or die. It does a good job of steadily introducing how the gameplay loop and procedural generation works, rather than throwing everything at you at once. One thing to note is that the base layout will always be the same but items, enemies and environmental hazards will randomise when you die or reset the simulation, with more significant hazards introduced later. I'd keep playing to see how it develops.
One piece of advice, bear in mind that characters have unique skills and the map persists over to the next character if you successfully escape, so it can be good to leave useful items in easy to reach places for the next character. You won't need to worry about it too much early on but it becomes vital later.
Looks like I was remembering wrong, I just watched the ending on YouTube and there are situations where Alex will say
"Start it over, this isn't the one."
I believe the PC is a Typhon that's been modified in some way to gain empathy, which is a completely alien concept to a regular Typhon. Alex makes a comment along the lines "We were always concerned with giving ourselves your abilities, we never considered giving you ours." I'm not sure if that means they gave the Typhon some sort of Neuromod or how it works exactly, but definitely the point of the simulation is to try to make the Typhon empathetic towards humans.
Which, like I said, falls apart for me when it is taught that humans just hate all Typhon.
The whole scenario just seems like a really dumb way to test empathy in the first place. I thought the game was actually really clever in the way it presented its moral quandaries. There's some interesting moments where you can choose to help people, but you're fairly sure they're going to die anyway.
That leads to some interesting moments, but in hindsight I just don't get what Alex is trying to accomplish. If the Typhon ignores every opportunity to help people, can you really say it lacks empathy? Or is it just making a difficult decision to prioritize saving the entire human race instead of comforting a handful of people in their final hours? And how does the Typhon feel when it learns the truth about the simulation? Is it angry that it was lied to? Does it still identify as Morgan? It's just bizarre to be able to naturally role-play the character for 99% of the game and just ask "What would I do in this situation?" and then suddenly in literally the final moments be told "Actually you're an alien. We'll give you a minute for that to sink in... now do you want to be on Team Alien or Team Human? Cool! Game over."
I believe the PC is a Typhon that's been modified in some way to gain empathy, which is a completely alien concept to a regular Typhon. Alex makes a comment along the lines "We were always concerned with giving ourselves your abilities, we never considered giving you ours." I'm not sure if that means they gave the Typhon some sort of Neuromod or how it works exactly, but definitely the point of the simulation is to try to make the Typhon empathetic towards humans.
Which, like I said, falls apart for me when it is taught that humans just hate all Typhon.
The whole scenario just seems like a really dumb way to test empathy in the first place. I thought the game was actually really clever in the way it presented its moral quandaries. There's some interesting moments where you can choose to help people, but you're fairly sure they're going to die anyway.
That leads to some interesting moments, but in hindsight I just don't get what Alex is trying to accomplish. If the Typhon ignores every opportunity to help people, can you really say it lacks empathy? Or is it just making a difficult decision to prioritize saving the entire human race instead of comforting a handful of people in their final hours? And how does the Typhon feel when it learns the truth about the simulation? Is it angry that it was lied to? Does it still identify as Morgan? It's just bizarre to be able to naturally role-play the character for 99% of the game and just ask "What would I do in this situation?" and then suddenly in literally the final moments be told "Actually you're an alien. We'll give you a minute for that to sink in... now do you want to be on Team Alien or Team Human? Cool! Game over."
Rushed is a good description, like I said earlier it totally feels to me like they wanted one more twist just for the sake of it, which is so unnecessary when the plot already has so many intriguing twists and turns throughout.
But again, it didn't necessarily affect my overall enjoyment too much either, it's absolutely one of my favorite games of the generation. The setting and environment design alone is easily among the most memorable of any game I've ever played. Just a shame it ends on such a down note, for me anyway.
I'll preface this by saying that I'm happy to end the discussion here if you actually don't want to get dragged into a long discussion about the ending. I love talking about this stuff but of course not everyone does, and I also don't want to come off like I'm saying you have to enjoy the ending. I can definitely see why people wouldn't like how the game ends and my opinion isn't any more valid than yours.
Anyhoo:
I don't think empathy is necessarily about "hey will people like me if I do nice things for them." To me, empathy is about being able to understand where the other party is coming from. The goal is to get the typhon to understand why humans are the way they are, why they might see the typhon as a threat, why they hate the typhon despite not knowing their true intentions. It's also to give the typhon a sense of how humans live, separate from their feelings on the typhon (which suddenly makes all those random journals and audio memos you come across feel like more than just voyeurism for voyeurism's sake).
The Morgan Yu typhon doesn't have to be a goodie two-shoes for that goal to be accomplished, it just has to understand. So I can see why Alex would bring the typhon out of the simulation even if the ending you chose is basically "fuck everyone, I'm outta here." Making it that far means you've seen enough of what humans are like to maybe begin to bridge the gap between humans and typhon. Where I think this starts to conflict is if you take one of the early endings where you find the escape pod for the first time and immediately nope out of Talos V. That's considered unworthy even of Alex discussing the simulation with you afterwards, whereas murdering everyone but NOT leaving early is enough for Alex to at least reveal who you are--where's the line between "throw it in the trash" and "let's talk it out first"? But I can think of reasons why the line is where it is, and it doesn't quite break my suspension of disbelief.
And also, yeah, the whole "hey welcome back you're a typhon please work with us and totally not murder us? sound good?" is very quick and weird. But I think you'd need the "kill all humans" decision in there no matter what, because it's such an obvious route to pick. As for the "humans are neato" decision, there are a lot of ways to play that: the typhon is confused and disoriented still, or the typhon isn't immediately seeking revenge or anything but is still unsure of its new human allies, or any number of options that don't have to involve "yup I'm team human now let's get that peace accord signed!" But for sure, the ending doesn't do enough work here. I kind of think the decision is there solely so you can enjoy murdering everyone.
The Morgan Yu typhon doesn't have to be a goodie two-shoes for that goal to be accomplished, it just has to understand. So I can see why Alex would bring the typhon out of the simulation even if the ending you chose is basically "fuck everyone, I'm outta here." Making it that far means you've seen enough of what humans are like to maybe begin to bridge the gap between humans and typhon. Where I think this starts to conflict is if you take one of the early endings where you find the escape pod for the first time and immediately nope out of Talos V. That's considered unworthy even of Alex discussing the simulation with you afterwards, whereas murdering everyone but NOT leaving early is enough for Alex to at least reveal who you are--where's the line between "throw it in the trash" and "let's talk it out first"? But I can think of reasons why the line is where it is, and it doesn't quite break my suspension of disbelief.
And also, yeah, the whole "hey welcome back you're a typhon please work with us and totally not murder us? sound good?" is very quick and weird. But I think you'd need the "kill all humans" decision in there no matter what, because it's such an obvious route to pick. As for the "humans are neato" decision, there are a lot of ways to play that: the typhon is confused and disoriented still, or the typhon isn't immediately seeking revenge or anything but is still unsure of its new human allies, or any number of options that don't have to involve "yup I'm team human now let's get that peace accord signed!" But for sure, the ending doesn't do enough work here. I kind of think the decision is there solely so you can enjoy murdering everyone.
Luckily, everything holds together really well even if you pretend the ending never existed, I think.
Compassion.
The hope is that this creature, your character, recognizes and sympathizes with the needs of the humans, and can be their agent.
I loved the juxtaposition of the creepy atmosphere of the ship and the tranquil ambient music from the speakers. The cycle of feeling scared and then immediately placid was frequent. Thinking about it makes me want to do another playthrough.
Great game. Sadly the loading times on PS4 as brutal. I hesitate to ever replay it because of it.
Not sure if anyone is still looking at this thread but I am wondering if anyone has an estimate of how far through the game the Bridge is. Its my first playthrough. I just got there, found the captain's body. I went back up to the Arboretum and my first Nightmare appeared.
I love this game but I get tense trying to deal with the Typhons. I had to put it down for a few months and came back to it. Exploring the space station is 95% of the fun for me. I just want all of the enemies to go away and leave me to wander around and find the crew members. Does anyone know details on what the difficulty slider effects, do the enemies take more damage or do they just become dumb? The game isn't really about the combat for me. I haven't used any Typhon mods and want to avoid it for as long as possible. I think I will upgrade my stealth and the weapon upgrade ability and hope for the best.
I love this game but I get tense trying to deal with the Typhons. I had to put it down for a few months and came back to it. Exploring the space station is 95% of the fun for me. I just want all of the enemies to go away and leave me to wander around and find the crew members. Does anyone know details on what the difficulty slider effects, do the enemies take more damage or do they just become dumb? The game isn't really about the combat for me. I haven't used any Typhon mods and want to avoid it for as long as possible. I think I will upgrade my stealth and the weapon upgrade ability and hope for the best.
Just began a replay of this yesterday on NG+. On vacation but the weather is spotty so I didn't want to start something completely new in case i felt like going outside to enjoy the weather.
Man, this game just sucked me back in. I really wish there were more games like this on ps4. For the record, I loved Dishonored but couldn't get into Dishonored 2.
Man, this game just sucked me back in. I really wish there were more games like this on ps4. For the record, I loved Dishonored but couldn't get into Dishonored 2.
Yup.
I was raving about it. Friend was annoyed and finally tried it and he loved the shit out of it.
It was great, indeed. I just felt like the first few hours of the game were a bit too harsh with how low on resources you are and the game is throwing these ranged enemies at you that you will be hard pressed to defeat with the wrench.
As the game progressed and I became able to craft ammo for the encounters I failed to sneak past, it became a lot more enjoyable. Loved the ending too.
As the game progressed and I became able to craft ammo for the encounters I failed to sneak past, it became a lot more enjoyable. Loved the ending too.
Prey is a borderline masterpiece and I'll always stan for Arkane. If the game had more enemy variety(at least design wise) we would be talking about a GOTY contender in my humble opinion. It's just a shame that immersive sims don't sell that well, gamers need to rise up. Also a FYI, Mooncrash is on sale on PSN, at least on Europe and guess what, it's pretty great.
Oh, it's this thread. I must tell you OP, you're partially responsible for me listening to semi-sacred geometry... a lot of times. Funny that I never noticed this song playing the game (twice).
Also finished this recently and loved it. So satisfying how the ending comes together with all your major choices. I was sitting there agape thinking about what it all meant. Alex Yu's voice actor is great in general, but his delivery in that ending scene is fantastic.
Pretty hyped to try Mooncrash. This review by SkillUp details it pretty well if anyone's wondering how it works.
It's £7 on the UK PS Store, so I'mma go ahead and grab it!
Also, has anyone tried Typhon Hunter? Sounds like it might be pretty fun. (The premise reminds me of that HL hide and seek mod where you can disguise yourself as any in-game object.)
Pretty hyped to try Mooncrash. This review by SkillUp details it pretty well if anyone's wondering how it works.
It's £7 on the UK PS Store, so I'mma go ahead and grab it!
Also, has anyone tried Typhon Hunter? Sounds like it might be pretty fun. (The premise reminds me of that HL hide and seek mod where you can disguise yourself as any in-game object.)