Prey is a brand new game from Arkane Studios, the same team that brought you the Dishonored series, so prepare to be very excited. It’s a sci-fi thriller set on an open-world space station with some Metroidvania-esque exploration tactics too.
“There are many layers to Prey,” said Creative Director, Raphael Colantonio. “There’s the shooter aspect, but it’s also an RPG and an adventure. You’ll explore, you’ll fight, you’ll play with powers – both human and alien. You craft your playstyle based on the choices that you make.”
It’s coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC worldwide on May 5, 2017 but until then here’s Fandom’s Prey Guide for details on story, characters, aliens and more.
Prey: The Story
This is a game set in 2032 in an alternate future, where President John F. Kennedy was never assassinated and went on to invest heavily in the space program. One of his space stations, Talos I, is still orbiting around the Moon decades later and thanks to several refurbishments, the ship has quite the clash of interior design styles. It’s quite the visual marvel, but it hides a secret. Talos I has been the location for researching and experimenting on a hostile alien species called the Typhon.
It’s this ship that you wake up on in the year 2032. You play as Morgan Yu, who can either be male or female. But whatever gender you choose the story is the same. You wake up on what you believe to be your first day at work for a high-tech company called TranStar. But it’s quickly apparent that you’re actually trapped on board the Talos I. And, as is sometimes the case with these things, not everything is as it seems.
“Morgan is the key subject in an experiment that is meant to alter humanity forever,” said Lead Designer, Ricardo Bare. “You awaken aboard a space station called Talos I, which is orbiting around the moon. But when you wake up – when you step out into the main lobby – you immediately see that things have gone terribly wrong. It’s up to you as the player to figure out: How did I get here? What’s going on? How do I survive? And how do I get off this space station?”
In our playthrough of the first hour of the game, we got a better idea of what the story will be. As you wake up to the reality of what’s happening on Talos I, you’re guided by a mysterious person known only as January. With their help, you’ve got to try to make it past the Typhon and get to your office, which is where you discover you can’t trust anyone. Not your family. Not even yourself.
Prey: The Characters
Morgan Yu
Not much is known about Morgan Yu’s background apart from the fact that the character is of Asian/German descent.
However, what we do know is that Morgan has been the subject of dubious experiments by the humans of Talos I. The exact nature of these experiments is unknown, but they involve Neuromods and trying to give humans alien powers. The Neuromods have been created from experiments on the Typhon and manipulate Morgan’s brain in an attempt to give them alien powers from the Typhon themselves.
It seems that thanks to the issues with the early Neuromods, Morgan’s memory has been erased and the character has no memory of the events that took place before the game begins.
Alex Yu
Not much is yet known about Alex Yu and the role he plays in Prey. All we know is that he is Morgan’s brother and he’s present at the start of the game.
It seems like there’s something incredibly sinister going on and part of the game will be uncovering what’s going on with Alex Yu.
William Yu
William Yu is Morgan’s father, but we’re not sure as yet how he will fit into Prey’s storyline. In the early hours of the game, you can spot a quote from William which reads:
“The last frontier is the human mind and we are its pioneers.”
It suggests that William is also connected to TranStar and the goings on aboard Talos I.
January
Although who exactly January is at first won’t be clear, it quickly becomes apparent that she’s actually an Operator that Morgan reprogrammed in case anything ever goes wrong. When you escape from the elaborate simulation that Morgan has been trapped in, January kicks into gear, almost like a back-up of Morgan and all of his/her memories.
Watch out for the series of emails January leaves on Morgan’s computer as you wake up on your “second day”. She’ll be the voice in your ear telling you what’s really going on.
Sylvain Bellamy
Dr. Sylvain Bellamy is the leader of the “men in white coats” that have performed the Neuromod experiments on Morgan Yu, or so it seems from the game’s opening sequences. It is he that leads the tasks that you have to perform in the game’s version of a tutorial, from leaping over a wall to attempting to hide in a glass box.
However, he is killed by a Mimic that escapes its containment.
Aliens: The Typhon
The Typhon are an alien species that now reside with Morgan on the Talos I. Rather than behaving like humans, the Typhon is a complex ecosystem that has various roles for survival. They devour organic matter in order to spawn bigger, stronger and deadlier versions of the base Typhon manifestation, the Mimics.
“We didn’t want to do troopers with blasters, or some kind of squishy, slimy, gory monsters. Instead, we wanted to evoke something more mysterious, unknowable, paranormal,” explained Lead Designer, Ricardo Bare. “It took a long time to get there, but basically the Typhon body shapes are amorphous. They’re hard to pin down. They’re very threatening in an ‘I don’t really know what that creature is thinking’ sort of way.”
Here are just some of the Typhon you’ll meet in Prey:
Mimics
The Mimics are the most common form of the Typhon. They’re able to imitate inanimate objects that are of roughly similar or smaller mass to themselves, so you may walk into a room full of Mimics without realising it.
They’re fast, sneaky and because of their mimicking abilities, they can be utterly terrifying too. They will attack you with their tentacle-like apendages at close range too.
“The Typhon species starts with the Mimic,” Colantonio says. “The Mimic’s role is to scout. It hides and it gathers energy by feeding on living things – in this case, humans. When there’s enough energy, a few Mimics come together and create something called a Weaver.”
It’s these Weavers that actually spawn the more powerful members of the Typhon species, so just take a look at this lot.
Phantom
The Phantom may be spawned by the Weaver but they’re actually a mix of Typhon and a human corpse, hence their anthropomorphic appearance. They have polymorphous limbs, can warp to different locations and lob projectile orbs of kinetic enemies at you from long range.
Telepath
The Telepath Typhon are considered to be one of the most dangerous of the species thanks to their immense psychic capabilities. It’s capable of using those abilities to control weaker organisms. You’ll need to use psychic nullwaves if you stand any chance of surviving against these Typhon.
Technopath
The Technopath are capable of manipulating machinery aboard the Talos I and make your life a whole lot harder. We haven’t seen them yet, but these tech-focused Typhon exist as a direct reaction to the space station’s environment.
Nightmare
Nightmares are the elite form of the Typhon and aren’t to be taken lightly. They are incredibly clever and will react to the decisions you make because it’s been specifically designed to hunt, find and ultimately destroy you.
“The more Typhon Neuromods you install, the more Typhon-like you become, and the more the Nightmare becomes aware of you,” said Lead Designer Ricardo Bare. “You might find yourself in a situation where you’ve gathered a bunch of Neuromods, you level up a bunch of your Typhon abilities and suddenly you’ll hear this huge screech – and the Nightmare’s on your tail.”
Be prepared to run or at least have the powers and armoury to take it on.
Prey: The Weapons and Abilities
The combat in Prey is a mixture of the abilities you gain through using Neuromods, other abilities and the rudimentary weapons you find on board Talos I. Don’t expect to find an AK-47 stashed in a corner. This is a space station formerly focused on science and research, rather than a military outpost, so prepare to get creative with your weaponry.
Prey also has a crafting system. You use the recycling machines to extract minerals and other resources that you can use to build other tools. They include devices like the Artax Propulsion System, which lets you explore outside Talos I with its zero-G propulsion capabilities.
Of course, you’ll be able to blend your unusual weapons arsenal with a range of alien and other abilities that you gain in the game, from transforming into coffee cups with Mimic powers to fiddling with out-of-reach switches with Remote Manipulation.
Here’s a selection of weapons and abilities you’ll be able to use in Prey.
GLOO Cannon
The GLOO Cannon, which stands for ‘Geliform Lattice Organism Obstructor’, enables you to cover your foes with a sticky glue-like substance that hardens over time. It won’t harm them, but if you smash the hardened enemies they will shatter into teeny tiny bits.
You can also use the glue to extinguish flames, temporarily stop electric arcs and even build yourself a bridge or platform to access new areas.
Wrench
As a lovely nod to classic games like Half-Life and BioShock, when you wake up to the reality of your existence of Talos I the first weapon to hand is a good old wrench. It’s this melee weapon that will help you through the first hour of the game until you discover the GLOO canon.
Try covering an enemy with glue and then shatter them with wrench swing. It’s a great combo.
Recycler Charge
If we could have a Recycler Charge at home, the recycling would get taken out a hell of a lot more. This grenade can be let loose and anything in the vicinity to its basic parts. Nabbing one of these babies will certainly save you trekking back to the recycler to craft some new gadgets at the Fabricator.
Mimic Matter
It’s the ability you’ve all been waiting for: Mimic Matter. By researching Mimics and using the related Neuromod, you’ll be able to gain the Mimics’ transformability. Morphing into coffee cups or office chairs among other everyday items will become your new favourite thing, just for the kicks. However, it’s incredibly useful. Is your bulky human form holding you back from accessing a switch through a tiny window? Morph into a mug and just wiggle your way through the gap. There’s so much potential with Mimic Matter, it’s mostly down to your imagination.
Kinetic Blast
Kinetic Blast is an incredibly handy ability to give yourself in Prey. Not only can you use it to create a physical blast of energy to damage Typhon foes, but you can also use it to launch yourself into the air to reach new heights.
Leverage
If it’s any kind of RPG, you can pretty much expect a game to have some way to increase your strength. And Prey is no different. Using the Leverage skill you can lift increasingly large and heavy items to access new areas, fling at the Typhon or just challenge yourself to a Strong Man competition.
Superthermal
Superthermal, as the name suggests, gives you control of fire. Well, more specifically, you’ll be able to place a proximity mine that releases a huge burst of hot plasma to damage nearby enemies. The more you upgrade your Superthermal skill, the bigger the fireball.
Prey: The Gameplay
From what we’ve played and seen so far, this is very much an Arkane Studios title. Like Dishonored 2, you’re encouraged to play Prey the way you want to. If you love going in bold and brash, there’s plenty of potential there. But, equally, if you’re the slow and careful type, there are myriad ways to take a stealthier approach too.
It’ll be about which Neuromods you equip yourself with; how you use the various weapons including that awesome GLOO cannon and how you interact with the Typhon’s various forms.
Prey is available worldwide on May 5, 2017 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.