Given the critical acclaim received by "Dishonored 2" last November, Arkana Studios' next release, "Prey" has quite big shoes to fill. But for those who attended the special hands-on session of the game recently in California and had the chance to play through a portion of it, "Prey" could definitely make the grade.
"Prey" was first announced during E3 2016 as Bethesda offered up to Arkane Studios the licensing for the franchise. This game is totally different from the game that was released 11 years ago, except that "Prey" also features sci-fi first-person shooters. Technically, the game that is set to arrive this year is more of a reboot than a sequel.
In this game, the player is Morgan Yu, and he is tasked to conduct certain experiments in a controlled environment plagued with alien enemies known as Typhon. According to a review written by Paulmichael Contreras of PlayStation Lifestyle, the most interesting thing about these aliens is that their behaviors are not scripted and that they are capable of taking on the form of any random object. As soon as they are triggered, they attack.
Another review by Am New York says that the new game has striking similarities with the "BioShock" series that took PC and Xbox 360 by storm a decade ago. Despite that, "Prey" does not feel like a rip-off of the game from 2007.
Reviews about the game generally claim that it has the ability to give players a sense of tension and fear as to what lies around the corner. In the game, a man code-named January guides Morgan after discovering that he is actually being experimented on. As Morgan unravels the mystery in Thalos I, the player is equipped with versatile abilities and tools that can help him solve puzzles and attack the enemies in a variety of ways.
According to "Prey" creative director Raphael Colantonio in his interview with Gamespot, the game is estimated to hold anywhere from 15 to 40 hours of gameplay. The game is set to launch on PS4, Xbox One and PC on May 5.
Watch the highlights of "Prey's" first hands-on preview here: