Arkane PREY - Arkane's immersive coffee cup transformation sim - now with Mooncrash roguelike mode DLC

[Darth Roxor]

Aaaaaaand finished.

Conclusion: This is a 15 hour game stretched to 25 hours.

Up until derp storage I was on the verge of saying this might be Arkane's best game to date, better even than Arx. But everything after derp storage (okay maybe after cargo bay) is total, and I do really mean total, shit.

Still best system shock 2 clone to date. But that still doesn't say much :/

 

[SharkClub]

I didn't really have a problem with the (supposed lack of) difficulty because I'm naturally a bit of a "roleplayer" anyway, personally (didn't install any of the Typhon based neuromods and didn't get the Combat Focus neuromod). Also had a bug (sorry I mean a great feature where you enter the Arboretum and the game steals your shit) eat entire stacks of ammo as well as a gun I had a couple of upgrades in (only noticed what was happening later) which kinda hindered me and I had to spend all my minerals crafting them again so I did actually feel a bit of a starve there. They fixed that bug after I finished the game.

 

[Siel]

But everything after derp storage (okay maybe after cargo bay) is total, and I do really mean total, shit.

Still Life Support had best level design.

 

[Jaedar]

On the whole I kinda liked it, story/writing was good enough (even the ending, while being fairly shit, has a neat premise) to keep me interested in seeing what was coming next.

Liked it a whole damn lot for the first 10 hours, while the game was still throwing new and harder enemies at me (the pre psychotronics flame phantom and technopaths, some of the big bads on the outside of the station) and I had yet to load up on maximum upgraded weapons + trivializing psy powers. The next 5 hours were fine, but rather 'meh'. The final parts are just bad, running around the whole station (since you've already looted everything of consequence, and have enough mobility powers to cross every level in less than 30 seconds (some less than 5) there's no point to killing anything) skipping all the enemies to get to the next macguffin, then go all the way back.

The lack of challenge really ruined it for me I think. Once you realize the entire rest of the game is going to be trivial, it just becomes an exercise in going through the motions, and once you further remove exploring new parts of the station there's just nothing left other than sheer persistance over wanting to get to the end legit. For the first few hours, it is decently challenging, at least on nightmare, but you quickly stock up on way too much of everything. Feels like they cut a lot of content, there's no new weapons after the first 1/4th of the game and no new enemies worth the name past the first 1/3rd.

Also, formless black blobs are not scary. Formless black blobs that can turn into stuff is good, but the novelty wears off very quickly (and you get the ability to see them through their disguises pretty fast too).

Conclusion: This is a 15 hour game stretched to 25 hours.

Not sure if this or 25 hour game with loads of cut content due to retard playtesters and rushed development.

 

[baturinsky]

Instead of changing nanomod cost and enemy hp/damage, higher difficulties should make mechanical change. Such as, remove Operators and limit place and time of saves. Maybe, only autosave when you complete any (sub)quest, and no other saves. Also, maybe reduce or remove drops from Typhons altogether, so you are encouraged to sneak past them when possible instead of killing.

 

[baturinsky]

About boredom in endgame - I personally did not felt it, but indeed it gets a little to simple then. Dead Space 2, for example, did good job progressing difficulty of encounters, so you really feel shit got real in the end game and can put all your op upgraded equipment to good use.

 

[Darth Roxor]

o hey jasede has ignored me

guess he couldnt handle the truth

 

[Ezeekiel]

Aaaaaaand finished.

Conclusion: This is a 15 hour game stretched to 25 hours.

Up until derp storage I was on the verge of saying this might be Arkane's best game to date, better even than Arx. But everything after derp storage (okay maybe after cargo bay) is total, and I do really mean total, shit.

Still best system shock 2 clone to date. But that still doesn't say much :/

Can it really be a clone with no atmosphere and no real danger of resource shortages?
Also there's nothing comparable to Shodan... (though I guess she was better in the first game by a large margin)

I feel like calling it a clone, if a poor one, kind of implies more similarities than are actually really there.

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-05-25-the-cancelled-prey-2-had-an-incredible-plot-twist

 

[Ezeekiel]

Weapon upgrade system could use work, too. Nitpicky but a lot of the upgrades make no sense. How do you upgrade reload speed by changing the weapon? If you were going to reload faster it'd be from learning to operate the gun more efficiently, which seems like it should be a neuromod thing.

No, it would be possible if the weapon has the kind of speed bump design you see on a lot of older guns and euro rifles especially, or if it's modified specifically to make reloading slower like the bullet button thing.

May be something as simple as the mag release being awkward to reach, requiring you to move your hand because your fingers aren't long enough or because you need more purchase if it has too little surface area or whatnot. Or if the mags don't drop free or something or you otherwise have to perform more actions to reload it than would strictly be necessary with a better design (see old mp5).

 

[Jasede]

Aaaaaaand finished.

Conclusion: This is a 15 hour game stretched to 25 hours.

Up until derp storage I was on the verge of saying this might be Arkane's best game to date, better even than Arx. But everything after derp storage (okay maybe after cargo bay) is total, and I do really mean total, shit.

Still best system shock 2 clone to date. But that still doesn't say much :/

Can it really be a clone with no atmosphere and no real danger of resource shortages?
Also there's nothing comparable to Shodan... (though I guess she was better in the first game by a large margin)

I feel like calling it a clone, if a poor one, kind of implies more similarities than are actually really there.

You're going to have to elaborate on how it is an inferior clone.

I had just as much resources by the end of Shock 2. I agree about the villain, but can't you admit that the increased freedom of approach and exploration make it on par, if not better?
Plus, a lot of the writing is by Chris Avellone himself, something nobody seems to talk about much.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Can it really be a clone with no atmosphere and no real danger of resource shortages?
Also there's nothing comparable to Shodan... (though I guess she was better in the first game by a large margin)

I feel like calling it a clone, if a poor one, kind of implies more similarities than are actually really there.

It's a shooter with stats about a guy stuck on a science vessel in space where something has gone terribly wrong who goes on a grand tour of reading emails and listening to people's podcasts. Saying that it's not supposed to be a System Shock 2 clone is dumb.

 

[Excidium II]

Aaaaaaand finished.

Conclusion: This is a 15 hour game stretched to 25 hours.

Up until derp storage I was on the verge of saying this might be Arkane's best game to date, better even than Arx. But everything after derp storage (okay maybe after cargo bay) is total, and I do really mean total, shit.

Still best system shock 2 clone to date. But that still doesn't say much :/

Can it really be a clone with no atmosphere and no real danger of resource shortages?
Also there's nothing comparable to Shodan... (though I guess she was better in the first game by a large margin)

I feel like calling it a clone, if a poor one, kind of implies more similarities than are actually really there.

You're going to have to elaborate on how it is an inferior clone.

I had just as much resources by the end of Shock 2. I agree about the villain, but can't you admit that the increased freedom of approach and exploration make it on par, if not better?
Plus, a lot of the writing is by Chris Avellone himself, something nobody seems to talk about much.

I think System Shock 2 "scaled" better at least. You were a God but then it became Quake Shock. In prey there's just the same enemy density plus a few flying VCRs shooting laz0rs.

 

[Israfael]

I guess they could have added Space Rangers 2-like variable difficulty that can be configured in space between 50% (for reviewers and console players) and 300% (for inventory tetris autists and truh grogs), then it'd probably be viable for everyone. On the other hand, there's a suspicion that certain people 'know' how to play right and like to impinge that on the others, but I won't judge them

 

[rezaf]

Why are you guys arguing whether or not it's a Shock 2 clone? Wasn't the original System Shock (the one without a 2 in the end) the game about a dude stuck on a space station where most everyone was dead?

 

[Zombra]

You know, that one game where the guy is stranded and has to fight a bunch of monsters?

 

[SharkClub]

Why are you guys arguing whether or not it's a Shock 2 clone? Wasn't the original System Shock (the one without a 2 in the end) the game about a dude stuck on a space station where most everyone was dead?

System Shock 1 had like a billion weapons that could tear shit up and no psionic powers. System Shock 2 had a more limited arsenal of weapons (though still larger than Prey's, but with more irrelevant weapons (exotic lol)) and had psionic powers.

Towards the end of the game System Shock 1 essentially became rollerskating around citadel station with a light machine gun and a rocket rifle ripping the place to pieces like you're playing a more complicated version of Doom or a first person Super Metroid, amazing game. Prey's direction is a lot, lot closer to System Shock 2's in that regard (slower paced, more rpg elements).

 

[rezaf]

Fair point. Though you ARE kinda rollerskating rocketjumping around Talos station with a light machine gun quick firing toy pistol and a rocket rifle derpy laser rifle in the end game of Prey...

 

[Siel]

what happens if you wait past 9am in your apartment before going to work?

 

[Darth Roxor]

Why are you guys arguing whether or not it's a Shock 2 clone? Wasn't the original System Shock (the one without a 2 in the end) the game about a dude stuck on a space station where most everyone was dead?

Yeah but that guy had no stats

But speaking of which, I thought Prey was taking many cues from both System Shocks (the level design and "cool" stuff [like jump jets] from SS1, the stats and "survival" aspects from SS2, etc), and in some of them it actually succeeded to be better than its predecessors. Still, it has 3 cardinal sins that really bring it down:

- Soundtrack. Or more like the lack of it because the game doesn't have music - it has sound cues.
- Guns and enemies. It's ludicrous that you get all the guns available in the game within some 5 hours after starting, and it's equally ludicrous that you see all the enemies after like 10, when the total play time is about 25. This also ties heavily into...
- The endgame. People can say whatever the hell they want about the endgame in SS2. That hunting the black eggs on the Rickenbacker was boring. That the body of the Many was uninspired. But at least it had you pushing forward and going through new stuff. Meanwhile Prey's final say ~10 hours (after the cargo bay, although I'd start counting from Derp Storage, because it already started being super uninspired from there) are just a slog through loading screens of places you've already been to, with absolutely nothing new to find in there, and also nothing to keep you interested or going against the enemies. After suddenly triggering Steve Blum's lazer ops from out of nowhere, I just said "fuck it" and started sprinting past everything to victory, sometimes just zapping a lazer VCR that refused to fuck off and munching on the 80 medkits I had in my backpack when something hit me too much. And even then, boy, did the game go out of its way to send me to even more places I'd already been to. Hey, Morgan, please go outside and scan some shits. Good, now go to shuttle bay and take some shit. Good, now go back to life support and KO Steve Blum. Good, now go to Hardware Labs and kill a named operator. Good, now go to Neuromod to reset Steve Blum. Good, now go back to Arboretum. Good, now go back to Psychotronix or reactor core to plant the doom device. Good, now go back to the bridge to activate it. I mean fucking seriously, and that doesn't even account for how stupid the whole endgame is when it comes to the plot - how suddenly it speeds up 1000%, has Steve Blum pop out completely out of the blue, and finally even throws a Cthulhu in your face out of the blue for good measure as well, in a desperate attempt to "HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT GUYS WE REALLY NEED TO WRAP THIS STORY UP YOU KNOW". The late game was just so ridiculously bad, it felt like a slap in the face and left a very bad taste after what was actually a good game with some "balance" issues that weren't even that detrimental in essence - for a while I wasn't that bothered about becoming a demigod because spraying all the stuff with lead was hilarious for a bit, but that really got old quick when the game just kept throwing the same fucking phantoms in my way all the time. This shit should have just ended after Cargo Bay.

 

[Jaedar]

- Soundtrack. Or more like the lack of it because the game doesn't have music - it has sound cues.

You're goddamn correct though. I actually youtubed the soundtrack, its 30 mins long and from spending a few minutes skipping around, it really is just a collection of random sound cues with a lot of silence in between. I don't consider this as big a flaw as the massive lack of challenge or tension after the first few hours.

This shit should have just ended after Cargo Bay.

Backtracking might have been cool with better direction. If it spawned new and interesting enemies (and larger mobs of them), while at the same time you've already hoovered up all the supplies, it might have been a bit tense. You know, if the game wasn't so generous as to let you stock up enough supplies to last you multiple playthroughs without replenishment beforehand.

Plus, a lot of the writing is by Chris Avellone himself, something nobody seems to talk about much.

The writing is pretty cool buuut: (ending spoilers)

Spoiler

The fact that it is all a simulation renders most interesting discussion that could be had moot. Because there is no question left unanswered, or weird plot hole that is not easily dismissed with "it's just a simulation bruh". It's a shame because there are actually some interesting things one might try to stick ones collective heads together to figure out, but the fact that it's all made up in a world that's already made up makes it feel very pointless. It's also a pretty major fuckyou for putting any thought into which ending to pick (or whether to blow shuttle, etc) as it changes NOTHING, except for two lines of dialogue.

Also its quality is irrespective of who wrote it. Appeal to authority much?

 

[SharkClub]

The track that plays during the helicopter ride is fucking bomb tho.

 

[Jasede]

Yes, the three 'big' tracks in the game are great. The station audio/atmosphere on the other hand could be improved.

 

[Siel]

I wish this game was mod supported so it could be fixed like S.T.A.L.K.E.R was.

 

[Jasede]

What? There's already a few mods, mainly difficulty/balancing/cut-content (like reimplementing trauma/fire/oxygen stuff)