Cybershock

I knew, going into Prey, to expect some BioShock-like immersive storytelling. And it's delivering on that front, with a really intriguing plot that I'm anxious to unravel by reading notes and chasing down mysteries.

What I didn't expect was how much gameplay feels borrowed from Deus Ex. And I love it. The best parts of Human Revolution and Mankind Divided were when my character choices led to options and openness in a mission - investing in strength opens a barricaded door, investing in hacking reveals a locked room's passcode - and Prey looks like a whole game's worth of that.

Prey absolutely nails its aesthetic and theme, too, using both weathered and fresh in-game narrative techniques to make its sci-fi setting feel seamless. From notes scribbled on whiteboards and "science-y" weapons like the Gloo Cannon, to the mechanical foundations of the intro/tutorial sequence, every aspect of the game feels both natural within the world, and exciting to see and play with. It's a real triumph of first-person world-building.

From what I've seen so far, anyway. I'm making slow progress because of how meticulous I'm being in exploring Talos I, and collecting all the scrap material I can find.

Also, I'm terrified of the phantoms. Huge kudos to the visual and audio design that makes Prey's enemies so surprisingly intimidating. This is a feeling I've not felt since RE4's chainsaw man.

Progress: Skulking around in the Machine Shop.