I’m still of the opinion that you should go in to Prey cold, but if your curiosity has absolutely gotten the best of you, I spent another hour with the game this week, and have plenty to show you in the video above.
After playing through the bulk of the game’s Psychotronics segment, which takes place about two to three hours into the game, I had the opportunity to sit down with Prey’s lead designer, Ricardo Bare. Our chat was brief, but did touch upon some unexpected inspirations the team at Arkane in Austin drew upon during the game’s development.
Prey’s roots in Looking Glass’s System Shock are obvious, but I was surprised to hear Bare mention 2012’s FTL, the Kickstarter’ed indie sensation from Subset Games. “Looking at the chaos of systems, that was something we wanted to incorporate,” Bare said.
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In FTL, things on your ship can go very wrong, very, very quickly, which in turn can create a cascade of failure and violence. Bare in turn pointed out the construction of Prey’s “open station,” which is full of components that can combine to create dynamic and deadly hazards. Gas pipes are everywhere, conduits can be a danger, and someone seems to have spilled oil on the floor all over the station.
Let’s just say it’s good the goo gun can also put out fires.
Psychotronics also introduces a new class of neuromods to the game from the opening section I played back in February. These abilities aren’t entirely human, and while they offer extraordinary new combat capabilities, it’s suggested that every decision in Prey has a cost to it — and eventually you’ll be expected to pay it.
Prey releases on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on Friday, May 5.
