The video game Prey (2017) by Arkane is a love letter to themselves and their games as well as games such as half life 1&2 and more obviously, System shock 1&2. How this game resembles the shock games (Bioshock as well) matters a lot. Especially if you compare how much the game is about Neuromods and their science behind it. The way it affects the game and the world is awfully similar to what System shock and Bioshock was about. Prey (2017) even has some crucial references to the shock games.
How the game plays and the traversal of it is also very similar, making it an absolute successor as a shock-type game. It’s aesthetic, which is an art-deco future look makes it stand out as a unique game from the other shock games. Just like how Bioshock was completely different to System shock, Prey (2017) was and is completely different from System shock despite both System shock and Prey (2017) taking place in a big space station. Prey (2017) managed to stand out both in looks and game-play, but close enough to be deemed a successor.
But they fucked up giving it a name...
Prey (Not 2017) is a game released in 2006 that is completely different. This game was closer to something like Quake or Doom but with some neat original features that would maybe inspire games such as Portal. It combined the right amount of cool shit to make itself stand out from just a normal shooter. I still have yet to see a new game with a standard genre (FPS) combine weird features and be this refreshing take on the said genre.
But, even after Prey 2 being announced, it got shifted over to Bethesda’s rights, then the games development got handed over to Arkane studio.
This is where the fuck up happened.
Prey 2 was supposed to be another FPS game that combines weird shit in order to be a refreshing fps game. (Ive seen videos or snippets of gameplay featuring peeking over any cover, even hanging over a ledge as cover and popping out to shoot without it being rigid. As well as parkour and stuff) But bethesda got the rights and the developers switched hands. And so, instead they slapped Arkanes ass and went “Hey, arkane... mind calling that new game youve been working on... Prey? for marketing purposes ya know...”. So when Prey (2017) got announced, it forever locked itself as Prey (2017) because the dumb ass confusion of relating Prey to Prey (2017) was just that important for Bethesda to sell Prey (2017) when the better selling point would be calling it as a SHOCK game! (Shock games are more numerous and more beloved)
However, just maybe, they actually could not call it Neuroshock due to maybe legal rights against 2k games, who published both prey and Bioshock games. But. how could they call it Prey (2017) then?
I mean... Prey, and I mean the 2017 game... just does not feel right to bare the name Prey. Nothing about it screams to be called Prey. It sucks, even with the amazing synth song that introduces the golden title of the game at the beginning helipad scene.
Cox blends psychic powers and cyberpunk into a seamless whole of hacking and negotiating with spirits.
This is the seventh volume of Cox’s Division Zero series. Spoilers for previous books might leap out, rise up, or otherwise manifest after this point.
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