Prey

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Squinty
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PostRe: Prey
by Squinty » Sat Jul 28, 2018 10:32 pm

I hacked those things. That bit was pretty strawberry floating hard even at that.

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PostRe: Prey
by Squinty » Sun Aug 12, 2018 3:05 pm

I intended to go back and do a typhoon run with the tricks I learned from the first playthrough, but new game plus, mixing up human and typhoon abilities, sounds like a far better prospect now. Thanks for the impressions Brer!

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PostRe: Prey
by Monkey Man » Sun Aug 12, 2018 3:23 pm

Finished it yesterday, loved it, 8.5/10. Will pick up the DLC when its cheaper. I enjoyed the military operators, my own little flying army.

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PostRe: Prey
by Jenuall » Mon Aug 13, 2018 9:58 am

Congrats on finding the joy in the game Brer! :toot:

I strawberry floating adore Prey. Even on the first play through it was clearly a fantastic beast, but I would agree that the more you play and experiment with it then the more you realise how well put together it is.

The DLC is well worth a shot as it is basically designed around replaying and experimenting with the different sets of abilities.

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PostRe: Prey
by Death's Head » Sun Aug 19, 2018 6:55 pm

Completed the 2nd run through and although better, my opinion has not really changed. A 2nd playthrough lets you see more of the game as you are more powerful and the side quests are easier, but it is by no means ideal to have to play through a game just so you can enjoy it more "next time".

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PostRe: Prey
by Squinty » Sat Sep 08, 2018 2:14 pm

New game plus is damn good gooseberry fool. Typhoon abilities really open up the combat. Combat focus and decoy teleporting all over the show.

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PostRe: Prey
by jawafour » Sat Sep 08, 2018 2:18 pm

I love the theme and style of the game, but it's one that's remains in my backlog. I'm looking forward to getting into it on PS4 at some point!

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PostRe: Prey
by Squinty » Mon Sep 10, 2018 8:48 pm

Beat this over the weekend again. The playthrough went completely differently. It was really interesting.

One criticism I could give the game, the end of it has you cycling through areas quickly, and the loading becomes a bit too much.

I wouldn't rule out a third playthrough at some point.

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PostRe: Prey
by Tafdolphin » Mon Sep 10, 2018 9:19 pm

I've actually...started this again.

After finishing Death of the Outsider I've never been more convinced of Arkane's mastery of the immersive sim and I feel Prey is a game that simply can't be as bad as I remember. So I'm trying for the third time to actually finish.

So far...so good actually. I'm taking my time, reading emails, looking at all the incidental environmental storytelling, trying to get a handle on the plot. And it's quite fun. Already however, two things are bugging me:

1) The upgrade tree. It's messy as strawberry float, paralysingly so. I've 10 neuromods and am completely loathe to spend them incase I choose the 'wrong' mods.
2) The combat. It's still worst in class. I'm playing with a DS4 pad this time round, as opposed to K+M last time, and it's strangely better but still awful. I hate the fact that on Normal difficulty a Phantom can kill you in 2 seconds flat if you're not careful.

I also have issues with the art design (it's very, very busy) and musical cues (*synthetic scream* every. Time. A. Mimic. Appears!) but that's another matter.

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PostRe: Prey
by Squinty » Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:53 pm

Tafdolphin wrote:I've actually...started this again.

After finishing Death of the Outsider I've never been more convinced of Arkane's mastery of the immersive sim and I feel Prey is a game that simply can't be as bad as I remember. So I'm trying for the third time to actually finish.

So far...so good actually. I'm taking my time, reading emails, looking at all the incidental environmental storytelling, trying to get a handle on the plot. And it's quite fun. Already however, two things are bugging me:

1) The upgrade tree. It's messy as strawberry float, paralysingly so. I've 10 neuromods and am completely loathe to spend them incase I choose the 'wrong' mods.
2) The combat. It's still worst in class. I'm playing with a DS4 pad this time round, as opposed to K+M last time, and it's strangely better but still awful. I hate the fact that on Normal difficulty a Phantom can kill you in 2 seconds flat if you're not careful.

I also have issues with the art design (it's very, very busy) and musical cues (*synthetic scream* every. Time. A. Mimic. Appears!) but that's another matter.


Weirdly enough, you put Dishonored 2 into my head, with your post about DotO. I'm playing through it now.

Get Phantom Shift, it makes the combat way more manageable. I only found this out on my 2nd playthrough.

Basically, the ability is like Blink from Dishonored but it leaves a decoy at the position who just warped from. The typhoon are thick as strawberry float when confronted with the decoy. They completely focus on copy, you can plug them in the back and repeat the process. Typhoon lures are also good, recycler charges are actually powerful weapons.

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PostRe: Prey
by Tafdolphin » Tue Sep 11, 2018 6:57 pm

See, this is what I mean about the skill tree... I've already sunk 3 levels into Repair. If I now start taking Typhon mods doesn't this render that skill void as I'll be attacked by every turret?

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PostRe: Prey
by Jenuall » Tue Sep 11, 2018 7:37 pm

Also repair has more uses than just turrets.

I still don't get the problem people had with combat on this, I found it largely enjoyable straight away. It's not best in class or going to cause any FPS developers to sweat, but it's not an FPS so I wouldn't expect it to. It was nice to be in a situation where enemies were a genuine threat and as a player I had to actually think about when to engage then in combat and at times have to consider when to cut and run rather than seeing everything as a target that needs eliminating. Also the sheer wealth of options for tackling enemies is such a joy at times.

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PostRe: Prey
by EnragedYogi » Wed Sep 12, 2018 2:35 am

I might restart this. I've played loads of survival /resource etc games and this just didn't work for me. Turned the difficulty right down (which I hate) as I was just insta-dead the whole time. I don't mind a bit of evasive combat etc, but I was opening doors... Killed. Go here to this objective... Dead. Go in a room, 4 mimics smash you. Makes stuff like Bloodborne look like super happy fun times!

Scrolling back, looks like I'm not the only person struggling with getting mullered really fast!

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PostRe: Prey
by Tafdolphin » Wed Sep 12, 2018 9:43 am

The conversation with a friend that inspired me to go back to this also made me look at the game in a different way, which is really helping with this playthough:

In 2017, I expected Prey to be Dishonored in space...an immersive sim where you begin as a powerless whelp and eventually become a super-powered monster in complete command of your environment. But that's not Prey. Prey is not the space sequel to Dishonoured, it's the third System Shock game*. It's a survival sim with immersive elements. Having that notion in my head really helped get me past some of the early frustration.

And there is a lot of it. The fight with the Telepath in the Arboretum was teeth grindingly luck based, no matter how many environmental elements I stacked in my favour. Several times I've loaded into a new area only to be attack by multiple enemies and killed immediately, forcing a reload of the last area. And the Nightmare...I stand by my earlier assessment of that mechanic as one of the worst in recent memory, a random, and mandatory, cooling off period when the game forces you to enter the smallest space close to your position and check facebook for 3 minutes until the thing strawberry floats off.

BUT. I am enjoying it this time at least. It is fun.

*Almost to the point where I genuinely wonder if it was pitched as SS 3. All the talk of a space-borne creature of unending hate, discussions on the nature of hostility vs evil, the idea of false memory and identity... replace the Alpha Typhon with SHODAN and you've got a SS game.

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PostRe: Prey
by Jenuall » Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:47 am

It's certainly the closest thing we have had to a real SS follow up in the best part of 20 years. I think expectations are a huge factor in how much you take to a game, I went into this knowing full well that it was basically Arkane's System Shock so I think that is certainly a large factor in why I took to it so well.

I don't recall finding the Telepath fight in the arboretum that hard, even on the first play through. I remember the Arboretum/Crew Quarters being something of a turning point where I started to feel more comfortable and powerful in the game, I had built up a decent stock of ammunition (or found the plans to fabricate my own), I'd upgraded a number of weapons and skills to a useful level and was now in quite a strong position.

As the Telepath is contained in a small area I think on most playthroughs I have just climbed on top of the greenhouse and got the drop on him with a shotgun, he hasn't got much room to try and escape and he goes down after a few close up blasts. I tend to stun the mind-controlled crew members around him beforehand so they don't cause any trouble either.

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PostRe: Prey
by Tafdolphin » Wed Sep 12, 2018 10:54 am

Jenuall wrote:It's certainly the closest thing we have had to a real SS follow up in the best part of 20 years. I think expectations are a huge factor in how much you take to a game, I went into this knowing full well that it was basically Arkane's System Shock so I think that is certainly a large factor in why I took to it so well.

I don't recall finding the Telepath fight in the arboretum that hard, even on the first play through. I remember the Arboretum/Crew Quarters being something of a turning point where I started to feel more comfortable and powerful in the game, I had built up a decent stock of ammunition (or found the plans to fabricate my own), I'd upgraded a number of weapons and skills to a useful level and was now in quite a strong position.

As the Telepath is contained in a small area I think on most playthroughs I have just climbed on top of the greenhouse and got the drop on him with a shotgun, he hasn't got much room to try and escape and he goes down after a few close up blasts. I tend to stun the mind-controlled crew members around him beforehand so they don't cause any trouble either.


Each time I got even slightly close he did a wave attack that knocked me down to half health. I had two turretsset up, and I turned the sprinklers on (which I think forces him out of the roof) and it still took several quick save /loads to get him.

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PostRe: Prey
by Jenuall » Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:16 am

Tafdolphin wrote:
Jenuall wrote:It's certainly the closest thing we have had to a real SS follow up in the best part of 20 years. I think expectations are a huge factor in how much you take to a game, I went into this knowing full well that it was basically Arkane's System Shock so I think that is certainly a large factor in why I took to it so well.

I don't recall finding the Telepath fight in the arboretum that hard, even on the first play through. I remember the Arboretum/Crew Quarters being something of a turning point where I started to feel more comfortable and powerful in the game, I had built up a decent stock of ammunition (or found the plans to fabricate my own), I'd upgraded a number of weapons and skills to a useful level and was now in quite a strong position.

As the Telepath is contained in a small area I think on most playthroughs I have just climbed on top of the greenhouse and got the drop on him with a shotgun, he hasn't got much room to try and escape and he goes down after a few close up blasts. I tend to stun the mind-controlled crew members around him beforehand so they don't cause any trouble either.


Each time I got even slightly close he did a wave attack that knocked me down to half health. I had two turretsset up, and I turned the sprinklers on (which I think forces him out of the roof) and it still took several quick save /loads to get him.


I always keep him confined in there, close quarters with the shotgun is my main tactic if I'm playing the game in a "going for kills but with no typhon powers approach". I'm fairly certain that like most enemies you can stun him as well which makes him a sitting duck for your shotgun blasts.

Failing that the Q-Beam is always a reliable approach to Typhon murder, I'm sure I had picked that up by this point as well :nod:

EDIT: plus you can always Gloo cannon them to stop them as well.

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PostRe: Prey
by Tafdolphin » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:34 pm

It's really annoying me how much I'm enjoying it this time round! :slol:

I took the advice in here and grabbed the mind blast and blink abilities, and the former has transformed the game. Almost immediately, pretty much every Typhon is a walkover (you have no idea how cathartic it was using it on my second Telepath and seeing that strawberry float run like a screaming toddler!) and combat is far more satisfying.

I'd forgotten about the Danielle/Abby relationship thread in Crew Quarters, the D&D campaign too, and really enjoyed they way both of them were told. I'm definitely taking my time now, slowly moving through each level grabbing as much info and atmosphere as I can.

I'm not going to say I was completely wrong before, I still think the game is messy as strawberry float and completely overwhelms the player with choice, but I've managed to see past that to the game itself this time.

Minus the Nightmare. strawberry float whoever though that was a good idea.

EDIT: No sign of the Q-beam so far btw. I've fully upgraded my shotgun though, and that seems to be doing the trick well enough.

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PostRe: Prey
by Jenuall » Wed Sep 12, 2018 1:50 pm

I think the Nightmare had the potential to be a great idea, it was just really poorly implemented. The possibility of some massive malevolent monster stalking you through the station has many intriguing possibilities - but they basically just made it a set piece that can trigger at certain times and locations and adds nothing of value.

Once you are powered up enough it does serve as a useful source of exotic material if you take it down each time - these can then be used to fabricate more Neuromods and power up further!

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PostRe: Prey
by Seven » Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:50 am

I've started this few days ago and I have to say I'm liking it lot already although getting killed as soon as I decide to explore is tad annoying... But oh so satisfying when I managed to overcome it and get nice rewards out of it.

I'm going for human-only abilities this playthrough, I may have done it wrong but honestly as long as I can go into rooms by hacking, repairing and strength that's good enough for me.

Strength max is fantastic, saw mimic hidden as mug and I just threw huge ass object at it, killing it :lol:

Getting hang of it as I'm not gonna worry about survivors for now, still feeling bit overwhelmed though! Just doing main story for now helps as it'll mean I can do stuff later on.

Only saw one survivor so far, freed him even though he's scum. Was tempted to just kill him off...

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