This was supposed to be right up my alley, given that the Dishonored and Bioshock series are favorites of mine. But Prey, despite an interesting and engaging start, with a cool "twist", does not reach the level of these games, mostly due to some frustrating design choices and the nature of the setting itself. I do not find most sci-fi settings very interesting to explore or engage with. I'm much more of a fan of "punk" inspired games that go for a more retro look, while still incorporating supernatural or futuristic elements. Prey's environments are sadly more of the bland, flat and boring variety you can find in most standard sci-fi games, with a few exceptions like the Talos I lobby. The difficulty and enemies, however, is the most frustrating part of the game for me, with repetitive and infuriating enemies (Phantoms) that are very boring from a design perspective and can easily one-shot you at the slightest miscalculation. And that's because the stealth system is very rudimentary and poorly done, as opposed to Dishonored, for example, which is more focused on stealth but at the same time offers a competent combat system, should you choose to go that route. The problem is Prey is not a combat focused game, but it also isn't a pure stealth experience, so when facing enemies, at least at the early stages of the games, the best you can do is make a run for it and hope you don't get killed in a single blow, so you end up save scumming and trying over and over again until you can get it right. Even the mimics, which are the shapeshifting enemies, were not that interesting to me, and more of annoyance to kill with how fast they move. I ended up dropping the game about 6 hours in, 2 of which were probably wasted getting killed over and over again, even after lowering the difficulty. As a busy adult, I have limited hours to dedicate to videogames, and I can't waste them in a game where I'm dying over and over again (also why I dropped Bloodborne). Some people with more time to spare could probably sit through it and enjoy it more, but I think 6 hours is a good enough amount of time to determine if they game will click, something at which Prey failed. Overall, pretty disappointed with it, far from the heights of the Dishonored games.

I've been playing the game with quite some delay (it's 2026), so trust me if I say Arcane Studios knows how to make game that age like fine wine; It's a tiny bit more dirigist than a classic "Immersive Sim", which is not a default in that case. Ambiance is great, the progression ladder is well balanced. The game is quite hard at first, you die a lot, but as you get powers and upgrade, it becomes very enjoyable. Gun fill is nice and responsive, the GlueGun allows for some innovative way of reaching to some complex space. I would say the stealth mechanics are not very good, but that's ok, it's not really a direction the game pushes you towards; I love the interaction with the environnement, the way you interact with screens is something I've never seen before. There could be more variety in ennemis, but it work well anyway. I'm enjoying playing the game, never getting bored, often surprised. If you loved classic Arcane studio games, you should definitely give that one a chance. It's a pity Arcane Austin won't make great games like this one anymore...

The way the world opens up and delivers secrets and areas to you as you progress is masterfully executed. The abilities change the way the game sees you which makes this a replayable classic.