Prey (2017) - The Most Underrated Game Ever?
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- I understand why Prey didn't get overwhelming praise when it came out. It was well-received, but no specific element stood out as exceptional. With this video, I wish to argue why the story was better than we remember, and why that alone should elevate our collective appreciation for Prey. In fact, some of the ideas and concepts that the game deals with are so intriguing, that it might make Prey, in my mind, one of the most underrated games ever.
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1. Introduction: 0:00 - 4:02
2. Synopsis: 4:03 - 6:02
3. What the Typhon Really Are: 6:03 - 9:27
4. Comments on the Narrative's Presentation: 9:28 - 10:55
5. Neuromods and their Ethics: 10:56 - 12:28
6. Missed Narrative Opportunities: 12:29 - 12:57
7. Morgan's Identity Crisis: 12:58 - 14:25
8. January's Powerful Philosophy: 14:26 - 16:24
9. The Post-Credit Scene is GENIUS: 16:25 - 17:50
10. Conclusion: 17:51 - 18:20
#prey #bethesda - Ігри
Prey is easily in my top 5 games. The world building and the station itself is amazing.
What else is in your top 5?
Same
@@why_so_serious idk I hate video games. The Last of Us 2, Disco Elysium, Yakuza Kiwami, and maybe The Phantom Pain or Dead Space, if it's post-PS2.
@@PunishedGayMelGibson At least, you're honest about it. I hate video games to some degree as well mainly because of skill gap (I suck hardcore at most of the games I choose to play, but I still play when I can/have the chance or feel like it) and not engaging with games at an early age or continuing to do it and forming addiction and obsession to beat and experience games and their stories and immerse into the world.
There's so many games out there I could have played if I had the money and the exposure/beforehand knowledge to them.
Check out Gloomwood's early access release, should come out tomorrow. Might scratch a similar itch.
One thing I really love about prey is its a somewhat recent game that reminded me more of games like doom 3, riddick, The darkness etc with how you interact with the world and so on but expanded in a way that the consoles of their time couldn't handle. Also that opening section of the game was brilliant and when that glass broke so did my mind lol
I didn't find doom 3 to be very interactive, unless I'm missing something. Can you elaborate on that one?
I agree.
@@QuantumTelephone There's no way to elaborate on that, it's just a straight-up faulty comparison
It's got a whole lot in common with System Shock 2, Deus Ex and Bioshock, and very little in common with Doom, Riddick or The Darkness.
Chronicles of Riddick on the original Xbox was one of the coolest games made. Even in the shadow of Halo.
"We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us."
Thanks for the great video once again Max! Prey truly is one of those games that deserves recognition.
Prey is extremely underrated. Immersive Sims need more love in general
I think there are a bunch of reasons this game flew under the radar for most:
1: It's an immersive sim, these games have proven to be a niche since System Shock. Other big titles in the genre like Deus Ex, Thief and System Shock 2 weren't huge financial hits either.
2: Poor marketing: naming the game Prey. Bethesda insisted on using the brand name Prey they still had lying around even though it's not really an appropiate name for the game. This also struck a painful nerve at the players who were really looking forward to Prey 2 by HumanHead Studios which got canceled in the process. A better name for this game would have been PsychoShock or NeuroShock. Or even Typhon.
3: The stupidity of the industry's journalists: IGN giving the game a 4.5 at launch and Gamespot branded it with a 'generous' 6.0! How those 'professional journalists' still dare to show their face after debacles like this is a mystery to me. What is however completely asinine is that years after it's release many of those online journals started publishing articles and videos about how everyone slept on this really good game. Pretending they didn't miss the boat by a landslide. Same happened to Demon's Souls and Dark Souls really. Once it became a game with a cult following the journalists felt like they had to make up for being late to the party with sycophantic articles trying to establish how much they live and breathe the franchise because that gives them 'gamercred'. It even lead the embarrassing fact that Dark Souls 2, considered the worst in the series by the absolute majority of the playerbase, has the highest metacritic out of all Dark Souls games. And the Demon's Souls remake is somehow a better game in 2020 than in 2009. Prey got a second 'review' a few years down the line trying to 'undo the damage'. The truth is that games that require a few days of really sinking your teeth in them usually don't bode well with journalists trying to rush a review out the door. It also wasn't an well-established IP so having flaws is now a good reason to bite a few points off the score.
Never the less, do yourself a favor. Pick up Prey on Steam. When it's on sale it's usually around 5-7 bucks. It's wonderful and the Mooncrash DLC is great too. Have a good one!
IGN and GameSpot have earned their spots as trash rags after the shocking number of games I've slept on due to their reviews. I used to put a lot of stock into what GameSpot said, then IGN, then I just stopped trusting "professional" reviewers altogether.
ign gave cuphead a bad review because the reviewer couldnt get past the tutorial. they are all clowns.
Neuroshock would have been an incredible title
Great points. I just finished it yesterday and hands down it's one the best games I have come across. I do agree with you pointing out the bad reviews and unfairness these so called journalists did against it. I hope the mooncrash dlc is as good as the main game.
I got it for $3.25 including tax.
I think that scanning the Typhon enemies to find weaknesses was a great touch. It made me read the lore, so I can find the best way to defeat my current enemy. That's a combo of gameplay, lore, world building and ludo narrative harmony coming together.
very much like metroid prime, it felt good to try and freeze up an enemy to scan, or sneak around and scan them without them noticing you.
I just finished playing this for the first time and had to find a video like this. Wow. Just wow. This should be on every gamers list. Exploration is one of my favorite things to do in a game and the first time I stepped foot in the Talos 1 Lobby, I was like a kid in a candy store. The vibe of this game is so awesome. Reading every piece of material a game like this gives you isn’t usually for me but I wanted to know everything behind the events of Talos. Just a lovely lovely game. The moment I realized the test from the beginning was to see if the person would use human or Typhon abilities is when I realized this is one of the best game narratives of all time.
Really wish I could selectively edit my memory so that Prey's more mind-blowing moment could be re-experienced blindly, but I also want to keep some of my knowledge of how in-depth the game is so that I know to really take my immersion seriously.
The game has four absolutely mind blowing moments:
1. Breaking the balcony window
2. First time space walking
3. Apex consuming the station
4. The post-credit reveal
I too wish I could relieve these moments without prior knowledge.
Guess you guys need a neuromod removal XD
@@robbanbobban2 a simple one (side quest) that really got me was when you listen to the audio of the Russian lady's dad. That thing was dark.
Dharpa apparently is able to delete certain memories now as a way of combating ptsd. Whether i'd risk it to replay prey, is another story.
I played "Prey" a long time ago, by accident (it had an insulting discount of Steam and I was in the middle of a consumer fever). As far I remember in my first (and only run) I didn't took any typhon augmentation (the idea of becoming the same monster that wants to kill me felt weird). Instead I invested in accuracy and survival stuff, and relied on stealth, headshots and kinetic launches.
I took Alex's hand and that's it. The game felt like a fever dream. Is like that good book that you plan to return to read again after many years.
I took typhon abilities because if the end goal is to blow up the station might as well use the most powerful abilities. I mean in real life if I know I'm dying anyway I'd do it.
bravo! me too! i actually didnt realize i did use the first morph one.. and i was like, i dont even know how to use this, forget this,.. jacked up my hacking skills and as you said all the other mods for accuracy etc.. and i seem to do fine, im not done with the game, but am happy to know i will be able to make it through without having to upgrade those as i am having trouble finding more neuromods.. haha
From time to time I just type "Prey 2017" on UA-cam just to remind myself of how good this game is. It's awesome to see that people keep releasing new videos about it. Arkane's games just hit different.
To answer your question: I shook his hand and accepted that, though this experiment could be considered cruel, it was an effort to make peace between two species. At any point they could've killed me and started over with another.
I felt that the base response of killing for a perceived betrayl would be petty and all too human. I chose to embody their ideals over their actions, especially since I spent the whole damn game trying to preserve my personal humanity at the cost of empowerment.
I understood, forgave them for their fears, and applauded the effort.
It's weird... I didn't had the option of taking his hand or killing him. He just said i failed and he was going to start over... Is it beacause of the choices i made thouout the game?
@@arnaudloche2725 hmmm must've been beyond saving. Lol you must have forsaken your humanity somehow. Idk
Getting all or most humans killed, failing or ignoring most side quests will result in that ending...
It is the same as the December ending, which he didn't mention for some reason...
I felt like shaking his hand and betraying were equally good choices. Betraying makes sense, because they lied to you all this time and they are using you to reach their goal and they captured you, running tests on you that they erase every time they see fit or straight up kill you. Shaking their hand makes sense because maybe the Typhon actually can see their vision based on what the player did in the simulation, or maybe its like the Typhon got brainwashed or tricked into favoring the humans. Anyhow I felt surprised by the 2 choices, especially since I didnt expect the ending at all, I expected an happy ending Bioshock 1 style since I got the most empathetic ending on my first run and without using any Guides! I didnt save ALL the humans, some got killed by random shit but I saved enough to get the Trophy I guess 😂
Prey is a masterpiece
The end of the game is still a "dream sequence." Whether you shake Alex's hand or kill them all is a test to see if the experiment worked. It's just another simulation; and, if you choose to kill them all, you are killed, and another Typhon is put in your place for another experiment. Or, you will be tested on again and again until the correct choices are made.
That Typhon will never truly know if it is ever set free from the simulations. It thought the simulations were real to the point it was killing other Typhon. How could it possibly know it's ever out of the simulations? Therefore, it would probably learn to make the right choices, but for the sole purpose of seeking freedom.
This reminds me of the most terrifying thought behind the Turing Test: "I do not fear when an A.I. passes the Turing Test. I worry when an A.I. fails the Turing Test on purpose." What if the Typhon does the same thing? What if it's just passing the tests because it thinks that's what the humans WANT to hear? Then, when it's finally free...it will kill them all.
But, as you said, "that typhon will never truly know if it is ever set free from the simulations", therefore it will never kill them all.
@@ironl4nd that way leads to madness. If you're seven "wake ups" deep and STILL not convinced this is real i truly believe no sentient mind could survive that level of paranoia and stress.
@@ironl4nd But, what if ONE DAY, it decides that it doesn't matter whether it chooses to kill them all or to not kill them all; because, the Typhon will think it's always in the simulation? What if, ONE DAY, it chooses to kill them all on that one day that it was actually set free? Then, the humans will kill the Typhon because it simply THOUGHT the wrong thing.
Simulation theory is a bitch. How do you know if the simulation you woke up from is real or another simulation? You don't.
@@Kinos141 EXACTLY! That's what the Typhon has to wonder throughout it's whole life, now. But, I'm pretty sure it's a simulation for that one Typhon...I mean...text boxes asking you to shake someone's hand, or kill them all just don't appear out of nowhere.
Prey is the sort of game that no one bothers to make anymore, not until we grow moss waiting for those system shock remakes. That alone sets it apart, along with its own little things like the gloo gun environment interactivity, great game, solid enough story.
Well, System Shock remake has been released. Did you play it yet?
@@viktorvondoom9119 no I super want to but currently I'm in military service, I barely played re8 in the course of 2 months whenever I could xd. Will pick it up soon now tho
@@Winter_Lantern Bummer! Ive been the same though (although not military service). Ben looking out to it for years and now its finally here and no time. One day!
I've been singing the praises of thos game for the last 5 years, and the Mooncrash dlc is one of my favorite dlcs ever. Arkane has never and will likely never create a better game than Prey. Also, Max, have you ever played Get Even? It's a flawed but really unique experience that seems like it'd be something up your alley.
I loved the game, but for me it can't beat the first Dishonored. The audio mixing in the game is pretty poor. If you've ever played it with no music, it is pretty bad (which is disappointing because I get tired of the constant horror music). The backtracking gets pretty bad. The enemies teleporting makes them not fun to fight. Very good game, but not as flawless as I would like.
thanks! gonna get mooncrash next time i sign on now!!! which will be later on ! haha
@@sakalaathletics is the first dishonored better than the 2nd? i downloaded backwards apparently, but its fun, just seems like it is missing something
@@johnlombardo7816 Dishonored 2 is still a great game, but 1 is just better all around. 1 was also made by the same studio (Arkane Austin) behind Prey, whereas the studio behind 2 (Arkane Lyon) made Deathloop.
@@johnlombardo7816 I would say that 1 is better. 2 is still good, but the movement just feels a bit clunkier. 2 still has some great level design, and you will enjoy it.
What a masterpiece, impacted me as if it was half life 3; might be an immersive sim but still feels like the spiritual successor to HL... black mesa and the talos space station both were the places which mesmerised me most
Max I swear to god I'm in love with your format. Your content is so enlightening and entertaining, it's eeeasily on my top5 channels on UA-cam.
Prey is a true RPG there are so many choices you can make that you don't think you can due to it being a game.
Edit: I saved everyone and shook his hand.
Prey is one of my favourite games! Never thought about the story through an ethical and moral point of view but I still really enjoyed it, and this video made me love it even more. Can't believe it didn't get more praise. I feel like it was an uphill battle just because it was called Prey and people were expecting something else. Great video!
... this game gives a whole another meaning to the genre known as immersive SIMULATOR .....
Prey is definitely a unique game in this Modern Age with all of the focus on open world sandbox or FPS multiplayer/ Battle Royale type games
A game set alone on a someone deserted space station with a shapeshifting alien being
with the freedom to go about the station as they see fit to demolish and destroy everything in their way and obliterate all humans and the alien presence or the opposite to save all humans and protect Them
also the choice to reject the alien scientific breakthrough known as neuromods. And to forge your own way
it is an open area, but a small one
The issue with the usual "it was all a dream/simulation" ending often found in media is that it takes away from the plot.
If none of it was real, then why should our choices or emotions matter?
But in Prey, (at least the way i understood it) the simulation is based on the real Morgan Yu's memories.
The things we went through did actually happen, they just didn't happen to us.
This and the context of why Alex puts us through the simulation at the end adds to the plot rather than taking away from it.
It's a brilliant way to utilise a classic twist.
I think the simulation is like a sandbox based on Morgan's memories, the robots talk about the things you did in your playthrough like they saw it for the first time
4:56 the events were not a neural simulation, they actually took place. They tested neuromods on morgan and then removed them again which resets their memory to a point before the neuromod was inserted. This is also the reason why morgan's eyes get more and more red, to morgan it seems like a single day has passed because at the end of each one they forget it took place.
Edit: 5:15 january is not a copy of morgan, only its voice sounds like morgan. It is not able to do anything outside the goal morgan has programmed into it
I played Prey blind on hard with limited to no HUD. It was a fantastic mystery and horror experience for me. Genuinely had chills when i would go out in space
I took Alex's hand.
Probably about 5 times at this point xD I love this game. I don't play a lot of games, I barely got a gaming PC but Prey is something I can play any time. I have tried several difficulties, I also did one run without installing any typhon-based neuromods. And I still have so much stuff to do! Every time I play, I find something I have missed in all my previous runs. And I never really dabbled with all the possible abilities, so I'll do that too sometimes in the future.
It's really my comfort game and I may be biased but I truly believe it's a good game.
I love Arkane, and recently got Prey to play for the first time! Looking forward to playing it 🙌
Will definitely watch your video after I've finished, Max 💛
Easily my 2nd favorite game of all time. I'm glad I finally got around to watching you're video. I'm always down to hear someone's thoughts on this beauty. A true immersive sim lobe letter. I'm gonna try to make a good video on this and Weird West.
Thanks! What’s your first? 😊
@@anaudin My all time favorite is RDR2
Just played through Prey, I got the “I am Thou” ending, taking Alex’s hand. It was amazing. I felt so accomplished for getting the “best” ending and I actually had fun using only human abilities and moving at super speed in slowed time blasting through typhon with a shotgun.
I shook his hand. Watching this video has me downloading this game again. I really love this video! Thank you for uploading and putting in the work to make another quality video!!
It's very interesting how Prey actually gets to make the meta narrative that Bioshock Infinite tried to do. In Prey the simulation it's a way to disclose the artifice of a contructed softwere enviroment that is videogames, but instead of simply acknowledging it the post credits scene actually close the meta narrative on the central theme of empathy, the way I see the final choice it's actually a question for the player's empathy for this specific arrangements of zeroes and one that we call Prey. This also ties really well to the framing device of Mind Games: Prey it's a mind game inside a mind game inside a mind game, all constructed to find the core of the player empathy.
To explain a bit the comparison with bioshock infinite: Bioshock infinite turnout not to be an immersive sim but it started as one and the meta narrative ken levine tried to make of Infinite lighthouses and questioning player's actions would be the logical jump from the "would you kindly" twist, however I think Prey actually is the one who got to advance that intent of meta narrative in this post credit scene. Prey is a better companion to bioshock than bioshock infinite is.
After watching your video for only a few minutes I decided to buy the game. I ve finished it today and I am so happy, you brought it to my attention. It is a beautiful, intelligent and immersive experience and I will recommend it to other players from now on. Oh and by the way, I killed everybody at the end
I just beat Prey a few days ago, it was great. I really enjoyed it. I can see a lot of replay value.
The DLC is also a masterpiece
What did you pick Max?
Love your content, your brain is a philosophical powerhouse, you see the subtext and meaning and make it in a way that my monkey brain can actually understand, and when I'm done watching your videos it makes me want to throw my own faeces at my laptop.
Thank you for shitting up my laptop and opening my mind.
Love you bro. Take care of yourself, hope you're doing well
This game needs to be known by more people man
I just finished Prey yesterday for the first time. Amazing. Fantastic. Incredible. I played System Shock 2 back in 2000, and dozens of times since. I have longed for a game like Prey since then. I was disappointed with BioShock. It felt like a less-realized version of Shock 1 & 2. Prey felt like the opposite. Playing on near maximum difficulty aside from oxygen, I achieved Do No Harm, I saved everyone, and never used a Typhon neuromod. I saved the station and opted to maintain my commitment to a pacifism toward Alex and humanity in the end.
The end scene was glorious. Because the main storyline of Prey is a simulation, it implies that the world of Talos 1 is an immersive sim within an immersive sim. I didn't think the "it was all a dream" angle, overdone as it is, was the wrong move here. The game is testing you, and testing Yu. Yu is not the Typhon, you are. We the player are the true alien in the world of Talos 1 and Alex and the Operators. It is utter genius. How would you behave in a simulated world where your actions had no consequences?
I loved the multiple outs, where taking any escape pod, or Alexs's pod in particular, were options presented before the finale came. Adding this narrative out really felt like there was some kind of player agency the entire time and that the game was not so much on rails as too many games are.
I loved the easter egg of the Arx Fatalis player skills/stats being presented as on character sheet for the in-game RPG. Wonderful shout out to another underrated game (well, Arkane's game also).
I went on and on to friends and anybody who would listen about how great Shock 2 was back in my 20s, this is the first game, since then, that I have felt that way.
Whether or not I was Morgan wasn’t the question, it was who I wanted to be knowing the truth…. And I wanted to be someone who cared, just like the Morgan I played caring about everyone. So I took his hand….
Who I was, who I am, neither of those matter for they could change in but an instant, who I want to be is what matters, for that will never change.
I'm reminded of the Helios ending in Deus Ex. "The barriers between us have fallen, and we have become our own shadows. We are our choices."
Max I just wanted to say I love your videos, I hope we can get more of your mind and thoughts put into videos, thank you for your work.
Can't wait for the Suffering: Prison is Hell and Ties that Bind this October.
Heyy Max i love your work, its great and really makes me think about everything literally every small detail and i want to thank you for it.
@11:59 the thing about it is... If we are regurgitating skills then we are hardly is at all evolving. This game raises some deep conscious questions that don't have one sided beliefs. This makes the game a true piece of art!
Prey is a supreme masterpiece, the greatest immersive sim, a game with beautiful emergent gameplay, compelling character progression, and a wonderfully engaging storyline.
"emergent"
Such a great game. I loved the ending, and chose the positive one. The game asked so many good questions, and rewarded curiosity and your own deep thinking.
The ending blew me away, loved this game so much! Gotta be in my top 10 fav games for sure
one reason I think Prey's ending works so well is that it isn't just an "it was all a dream" moment. I mean, the events the player character Typhon goes through really did happen in the game's world, to the "real" Morgan Yu. I adore Prey and how much it has to say - or rather ask - about the nature of reality and perception.
The 'Temet Nosce' concept runs through the guts of this fantastic construct.
One of my favorite game of all time and i'm totally ok with the cliché ending, cause it's serve a purpose .
I have recently been replaying this to get some of the achievements like 'No Needles' and 'Split Affinity'. Loved it then. Loved Mooncrash, and now enjoying it again after several years away.
To me Prey 2017 is the game that Bioshock should have been in the end. The Bioshock games, especially Infinite, devolved from a successor to System Shock to a mindless shooter (albeit with excellent partner AI) but Prey 2017 kept all the elements that made SS1 and especially SS2 so good. I don't know if it's the most underrated game of all time, but it's definitely the most underrated of last gen.
I saved during the post credits scene so that I could see how both endings went. I did choose cooperation as part of the contiguous playthrough, whatever that may imply.
I think the reason that story being told this way works here because the story is ultimately about a Typhon learning to empathize. You have to make the conscious choice to find out more. You have to care enough about the people in this world to find out more. If you dont look for hints about whats going on, you dont care enough for it to matter anyway.
I guess. For me that's the worst part of this game is the ending. It felt cliche and lazy doing yet another it's a simulation not real endings in yet another film, book, or game. It also leaves a cheap feel to the actual consequences of your actions. As in there are none because...it's a simulation. I think a grounded ending would have worked better in this game but it's too late now.
Music throughout the video was really nice and calming:)
"In a World full of lies, Yu shouldn't take everything at face value"
-a short comparison of Prey to real life events
I missed this game at launch because I'm a patient gamer, and I usually only play games after they are filtered by time, I don't buy incomplete games day 1 no matter how much hype there is. I believe this one had a marred launch of some sort iirc-- But I eventually did come back to it and am glad I did!
Prey lasted the test of time. It stands on it's own merit. It's not perfect, but it's so great. The isolation and paranoia they created is insane. The moral questions they posited in game came into effect IRL in 2021 when over half the world took experimental injections, while the others saw that it would most likely have dire consequences and opted not to. All the sociopolitical questions raised in this game came into real life fruition in 2021-2022. These questions they raised in Prey in 2017 were 100% completely realistic--Immersive Simulation at it's finest.
Now, many people are deeply regretful of their neuromods, but unlike in Prey, they are unable to remove them and return to their condition before having them installed.
It makes Prey that much better of an Imm-Sim seeing the moral questions they raised ACTUALLY coming to fruition for people. REAL LIFE EVENTS expanded so much more on the questions they raised. The way these questions were left to the player to discover and think about, or ignore and skip was a touch of brilliance--just like real life! Some choose not to engage with those ideas.
Depending on whether someone accepted the neuromods, I remember when people wanted other people put in camps, children taken away from their parents, people forcibly neuromodded, or wholly unable to participate in the society they have no choice in.....or possibly even worse-terminated. Those evil people that think it's been forgotten what they advocated for--they are dropping like flies. I guess in a World full of lies, Yu shouldn't take everything at face value! (dat pun)
Despite running a good as possible run of prey, when faced with the final choice, I killed them all.
The betrayal and layers of lies upon lies was too much. What was I then, did they take that? Many other questions like that seeped into my mind when the game asked me what would I do. Looking back, I was had hoped there was some 3rd option, but the shock of it all heavily influenced my initial choice, which was to kill. It took me over 2 minutes to decide. I'm glad they didn't introduce a timed mechanic with that last option.
I took his hand, but i sat for a looooong time thinking.
I didn't even know until after a second run that if you stray from a certain path (SPOILERS), Alex rips you out of the sim a bit more jarringly and says they'll have to dispose of you for being too hostile before trying again, with another hybrid.
How do you get that to happen?
Hi Max I loved playing prey it just got better and better for me and I also really enjoyed this video. I didn't like your question at the end though because it actually hit me harder than I expected the reasons being I'm pretty sure that I picked to kill him. I put myself in the shoes of the typhon character and that mad it very easy to kill him but because I like so many others didn't read everything and didn't realise a lot of the things you have brought up so I didn't think of it as what would "I" do I made my decision based on what would the typhon do, "I" made the choice and I think that taking the view point of the typhon made it easier for me to pick the decision that "I" instinctively wanted to choose. This has made me think deeper about myself more than any other of your videos, so I want to thank you for that because that is a rare thing indeed. Thank you Max👍😊
Glad to see people talking about this game. It just barely missed the mark for my tastes, but it was clearly on to something because it’s setting and circumstances were thrilling for the first half or more
9:37: "I'm better than other people". Great way to connect with your audience! 👍🏻
Great video, love Prey. Did piece together that Yu=You from the Nietzsche angle til you spelled it out. Big fan.
I looooved every second of Prey! Being denied a new BioShock and System Shock game, this seriously scratched that itch for me!! Still sad we never got the sequel to the original Prey, that game deserved a lot more as well! But I could see them expand upon this one, not in a direct sequel, more like with the BioShock games, the potential for stories are there!
Hopefully we dont have to wait long for the System Shock remake now, and BioShock 4 is somewhere on the horizon, as well as System Shock 3 and a potential System Shock 2 remake, so heres to hoping!!
You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you still praising and bringing light to Xenogears in the way you do
Thanks for a great video. I don't enjoy immersive sims and really hate space games, so the fact I finished and loved it is really saying something. Loved the environmental storytelling and the ethical choices.
Max it's off topic but I would love to see you cover the manga Oyasumi PunPun. It definitely fits the type of content you cover on the channel.
The music, atmosphere, and the design of the ship are what I love most. Exploring is top notch and the graphics are amazing too
I really like a lot about Prey (2017), but it falls short on a few things for me. I do not like the twist ending, the enemies needed to be more diverse, you can get an ending at the halfway point and it gives away the real ending meaning now you get to play 20 more hours knowing you fucked up and nothing matters. The name also sucks since it's confused with the pray that came out a decade before it. This is why everyone needs to state "Prey (2017)"
I would agree but firstly, YOU choose the ending. After all, it is your decision to just leave the space station, and it makes narrative sense and the enemy design is probably a lot of preference cause I liked the typhoon tbh.
Lastly, naming wise it was sadly just Bethesda doing shit :/
I love the way the narrative is presented. It was my favorite part of resident evil 1-3. I also love reading books in skyrim and oblivion.
For some reason my phone decided that you were talking to it right around the "blissful peace of death", and now it's recommending (more) therapists
Man, you covering the philosophy of Destiny would be amazing…. It would just take 3 years of studying to understand lol
"Guardians make their own fate"
I always thought this was the game where you play as the monster hunting other players. Then one day I finally clicked on it and discovered it was completely different. Such an amazing game.
I absolutely loved the ending. I read and listened to everything on the station multiple times. By the time I got to the ending, it was one of the possibilities I had considered. When I listened to the project cobalt recording I had chills down my spine. Masterpiece of a game IMO. I'm also glad there's more people like me (and you as it seems) who can so deeply immerse themselves into a game like this.
EDIT: Just remembered I could even notice something was very off at the beginning, because the developers added so many small details exactly for that to be possible.
You can see marks on the floor where the wall rotates. I stopped in front of the wall and stared at it for a like a minute trying to figure out what was the deal with it. Anyways, top 3 games for me probably.
I think every aspect of this game is truly exceptional, but the art style and visual design is historic. I'd heard a lot of great things about this game for a long time, but you know what got me to actually play it? The intro with the game's title and credits appearing on the buildings, the design of the shotgun, and seeing the world outside break from being hit with a wrench. If only the enemy design was more varied I'd call the game perfect.
I waited for this - finally : Max Derrat on Prey (2017)
Prey is my #1 game of the 2010s. One of the best games I've ever played.
One of the main reasons this type of storytelling worked in Prey I think is due to the HUGE emphasis on exploration. This is one of the most cohesive, nicely connected 3D metroidvania style maps ever in my opinion, and it is pretty insanely densely packed with reasons to do so (just finding all the corpses alone is a reason to do this). This combined with the Deus ex style layouts and movement enhancements etc ... this invitation to exploration also invites one to finding the lore of the game, as usually said lore is delivered alongside good loot or some interactive element that matters such as unlocking another shortcut access to an earlier or later zone. The glue gun is such a cool addition to emphasize this exploration as well - these things honestly put it above its predecessors (System Shock and so on) in the exploration department I think - this map is top freaking notch, not to mention how it evolves with the spread happening as the story progresses, making backtracking later still feel new in some of these areas since they're now basically "nightmare mode". And the story being delivered alongside the rewards for doing all of this helped make the story work for those willing to get immersed. Very rewarding. On top of that, there are some things involved here that can affect the ending, that occurs throughout play in a way where you can't just reload before the one choice that determines it, unlike a lot of multiple ending type games.
Another thing is, as you touched on, the ending twist which sort of showcases there was just enough of all of these things, such as notes lightly touching on some philosophical stuff, to feed more information into "Morgan" to further test its ability to adapt things like empathy/sympathy - or not. All of these things were placed there by those doing this test, and most of the conclusions to these philosophical conundrums were...well... inconclusive because it wasn't meant to manipulate Morgan to feel a certain way, it was simply meant to present options via information so that Morgan can come to its own conclusions that Alex and them can then judge the success or failure of. To expose it to Humanity without directly feeding it colloquialisms or answering the questions it asks, so that Morgan evolves and hopefully aligns naturally on its own. This also allows the player to do the same and still fit the narrative, so it keeps the meta symbiotic with the in-game stuff.
I also love the little hints in the game, even things that trolled all of us like the "blue screen glitch" during the helicopter ride in the opening, that everyone thought was a legit game bug but was actually a bug in the in-game simulated looking-glass system - meta-hint. Great stuff.
Prey was the sequel to System Shock 2 that Irrational Games never gave me and I love Arcane Studios for that! I love BioShock but I just wish there was more depth to the gameplay. Luckily Prey provided.
I have put quite a bit of time and I think Prey is the most underrated game ever. Without writing an essay here the enemy design alone of the Typhon and different Typhon creatures are so cool to me.
When you mentioned that there are parallels between what January says and something long time viewers of yours were familiar with I was genuinely expecting you to say Metal Gear Solid for a second there, especially with the entire point about choosing who you are. Looks like I have a bit of egg on my face there!
It really makes me think of a modern take on Metroid.. only you’re not a untouchable mercenary you’re just a human
Pretty amazing game honestly. Every element is at least above average. I really don’t know why it was more or less overlooked. Maybe just poor marketing. The DLC is a really great rougelike as well.
Beat Prey last night. Cannot believe I slept on this. One of the best I’ve ever played. I can’t stop thinking about it
Absolutely love the freedom and story within this game. Played many times and will play many more!
When I first played prey I saved every person I could and did every "good" action possible. Yet in the end when faced with the final choice, I killed Alex yu. It wasn't a rational decision, it was entirely emotional and based on the betrayal of autonomy that the simulation ment to program me to be a docile slave represented.
Hey Max, if you decide to go back into Quiet Mountain [2], I have a questionable theory;
Who is Laura? [Personally] I believe that Laura is Jamie's innocence, like Triangle Hat, she is guiding him to the end goal, while also signifying to Jame that the innocence of his actions can lead him to dangerous places, like when Laura traps James in the hospital kitchen...
This is why I love your videos, This game is awesome and nobody has played it!
100% one of the best games ever a true cult classic
I love how they made a DLC so good they made it a game.
I like that there's a thought behind the game, but the execution comes off as "oh we're trying to be deep with these questions" with an in-your-face approach instead of being subtle about the points it's trying to make.
Let me take BioShock as an example, Andrew Ryan had a long monologue about capitalism and not paying taxes, the thought is seeded and slowly built up. But Prey took the blunt approach with "I don't want to pay taxes" the end ROLL CREDITS.
Awesome game analysis. Btw at 12:24 there's a clip from presumably some tv series...what is it from?
Found it! Just in case anybody else is curious: the clip is from a japanese movie called Ghost in the Shell
Most people play prey wrong, it is not an action game but a survive game stealth game. The world is beautiful and the feeling overall breathtaking.
Some immersive sim fans might think Prey doesn't do anything new, but that's not the consensus among us in my experience. The Gloo cannon alone is a big step forward for the genre. So many possibilities opened by that one tool.
Loved this game, and there are few I do really like, quite a few of them has been games you've talked about in fact. As for the Ending, it made me thirsty for more, feel want for a sequel where I cold explore "The Real World as it Exists Today"
Yeah, sadly with it not really being successful it does not seem like we'll get a sequel anyime soon (if ever). Mooncrash was nice though.
Personally I took the hand and I also LOVED this ending. I've also heard people saying stuff like "if it was all a simulation then your choices did not matter" etc... but this ending actually values your choices even more! You made those choices in those moments thinking it was real, your choices won't have an effect on real people but your choices will have an effect on you as those choices define who you are, who you want to be! And you are getting judged for those choices by others who can only judge your actions but can't know the cause of it, your thinking process behind them, like real people judge by what you do because they can't read your mind.
Idk. To me Prey is the best example of the formula that resident evil 1-3 popularized as far as the metroudvania style exploration in a horror game, and building lore with notes and environment.
hi, I have bought Prey because of your video and today I have finished it. It was a fun and short game and I can understand the critics. The secret ending is quite good, since it lets you become the "link between this species".
4:40
Not as you think it is- Remember the ending and the context it brings!
As I'm watching now, the first minute of your video here, for some reason brought to mind the philosophy of contractualism. I've wondered and would like to know if there are great games and films/media that explore its conclusions and implications in a compelling and thoughtful way with its characters and writing and conventions. Any ideas?
god I was waiting for this
i think you should check out NOITA, its a game entirely based around alchemy, and has quite a few alchemical text references
In answer to this video’s title: No - that would be the original *PREY* from 2006 that rarely if ever gets the love and respect it deserves.
For instance, without that game we wouldn’t have been blessed with games like Portal and Portal 2 - or indeed this one.
For its time, Prey (2006) was innovative and technically groundbreaking and paved the way for a whole new way of looking at games and how they could be designed.
Liked, added to watch later...i dont want spoilers :D
I have installed Prey on my PC to play it when i am done with yet another Elden Ring playthrough XD
System Shock 2 is one of my favorite games of all time so i presume i will like Prey very much. And i am very much interested what you have to say about it...