Hello! Today I want to review a game that isn't exactly a household name, but one I personally had a blast playing — the sci-fi horror title PREY (2017).
To be honest, I'm not great with horror games. Because of that, I ended up playing this one in short bursts, since it genuinely scared me, and the flow kept getting interrupted along the way. And yet, whenever I put it down, something about it kept pulling me back — so it ended up being one of the rare games I actually enjoyed all the way to the ending. That alone says a lot about how gripping this game is.
PREY (2017) Review: A Fresh Kind of Terror from Alien Life in Space
About the Game
PREY was originally a game developed by 3D Realms back in 2006, but the PREY we're reviewing today (2017) is a reboot from Arkane Studios, the developer behind Dishonored. It belongs to the so-called immersive sim genre, defined by the freedom to solve a single problem in multiple ways.
Here's the basic premise:
PREY is set in 2032 aboard Talos I, a space station orbiting the moon. You play as a key figure in an alien research experiment that could change humanity forever — and when things go horribly wrong, you must fight to survive on a station now overrun with alien life.
The protagonist, Morgan Yu, must use the weapons and tools scattered across the station to survive while uncovering Talos I's dark secrets and their own forgotten past. The fate of Talos I and its crew rests entirely in your hands.
Talos I is crawling with alien creatures called the Typhon. Black, oozing, and seemingly shapeless as they move, they're the relentless enemy that hounds you throughout PREY.
They come in many forms, from Mimics that disguise themselves as nearby objects to Phantoms that close distance fast, and they share a disturbing trait: they multiply by consuming organic matter, splitting and spreading as they feed. Anything organic — including people — that falls victim to them ends up warped almost beyond recognition before it dies.
On a space station overrun with enemies like these, the protagonist has to keep surviving while making one critical choice after another.
What I Liked About PREY
Having played through to the ending, let me start with what worked well. I've tried to keep spoilers to a minimum.
Overwhelming Immersion and Isolation
I'd say PREY's greatest strength is the sense of immersion its setting creates. The stage is space, and a space station sealed off on every side. There's nowhere to call for help, no ground to flee to — you're forced to face the alien creatures hunting you in a state of total isolation.
Music swells whenever you run into an enemy, ratcheting up the dread, while the quiet, silent moments in between build a different kind of psychological tension. That feeling of being alone in a vast, enclosed space is, I think, where PREY succeeds most as sci-fi horror.
Fresh, Unsettling Enemies: The Typhon
The Typhon mentioned above are terrifying, but they're also fascinating to watch in action. Because of the Mimics that disguise themselves as everyday objects, a perfectly ordinary-looking item can suddenly leap out and attack you, while Phantoms closing in at speed can eat up a wide corridor in an instant. The sheer variety of enemies keeps every area tense, so exploration never gets a chance to feel dull.
The Freedom to Solve Problems Your Own Way
PREY earns its "immersive sim" label because the same situation can be solved in multiple ways. Abilities are unlocked using Neuromods, broadly split into human skills like hacking, repair, and strength and Typhon abilities like mimicry and telekinesis. Where you invest changes your playstyle quite a bit.
The iconic GLOO Cannon is another highlight. It's meant to freeze enemies solid and neutralize them, but you can also use the hardened globs as makeshift platforms to climb to high places or bypass blocked paths. If the front door is sealed, you loop around through a vent; if even that's out of reach, you shrink down and squeeze through a small gap disguised as an object. This design, where a blocked path always reveals another way through, adds a lot to the joy of exploring.
If You're Into Sci-Fi, Space, and Isolation
This last point is entirely subjective. I personally love stories set in space and sci-fi settings, and PREY hit that preference dead-on. If you enjoy the combination of a space station, unknown life forms, and survival in a sealed-off environment, you're almost certainly going to enjoy this.
That said, if you have no interest in space or sci-fi settings to begin with, this isn't an easy game to recommend.
What Fell Short in PREY
I wish I could say everything was great, but there were a few things that bothered me.
An Awkward Inventory System
This is a subjective gripe, but managing the inventory was fairly tedious. Items filled up space quickly, which meant a lot of fiddling to keep things organized, and it kept breaking the flow of play in a way I found frustrating.
Occasionally Frustrating Controls
There were moments where I wanted to climb up to a high spot, but the prompt to grab the ledge just wouldn't show up, which was annoying. It's a minor control issue, but it became surprisingly noticeable in tense moments. Beyond that, I didn't have any major complaints.
PREY System Requirements
Below are PREY's minimum and recommended specs according to Steam.
If you're wondering whether PREY will run smoothly on your PC, check out the article below for how to compare your specs.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, this was a game I enjoyed quite a bit. I'm normally someone who rarely sees a game through to the ending, but PREY was one I stuck with all the way through.
As I mentioned earlier, the horror kept me playing in short, broken-up sessions, but the game's pull was strong enough to keep drawing me back until I finished it, enjoying it the whole way. The fact that even someone as bad at horror games as me managed to finish it says a lot about just how gripping this game is.
If you enjoy space stations, the tension of being isolated in a vast enclosed space, or sci-fi horror in general, I can confidently recommend PREY. The difficulty isn't brutal either, so even if you're not used to horror games, you can absolutely finish it by playing in small chunks. I picked mine up on sale through Direct Games and got a lot out of it.
That wraps up my PREY (2017) review.
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