Prey is a 2017 first-person shooter immersive sim video game created by Arkane Austin and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game takes place in an alternate timeline where humans live on orbital stations after a faster-than-usual Space Race. Players control Morgan Yu, a scientist on the space station Talos I, which studies the Typhon, a dangerous alien force with physical and psychic abilities. When the Typhon escapes, players use weapons and abilities to survive, stop the alien outbreak, and escape Talos I. Players unlock areas of the station through missions until they can explore freely, collecting items and abilities along the way.
Development began after Arkane Austin finished working on Dishonored (2012). Raphaël Colantonio directed the game. Arkane’s Prey is not connected to the 2006 game Prey or its canceled sequel. It used the name "Prey" and the idea of a human being hunted by aliens from the older game but did not use any of its assets. Arkane made Prey as a spiritual successor to System Shock (1994), allowing players to approach missions in many ways. The station Talos I is inspired by the underground dungeon from Arkane’s earlier game, Arx Fatalis (2002). The game mixes elements of first-person shooters, role-playing games, stealth games, and Metroidvanias. The aliens in the game are mysterious, with designs inspired by paranormal themes rather than typical insect- or lizard-like creatures.
Prey was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on May 5, 2017. Critics praised the game’s setting, level design, storytelling, and themes but had mixed opinions about the main story and gameplay. Over time, the game’s reputation improved. Some gaming publications later called it one of the best immersive sim games ever made. Arkane released an expansion called Mooncrash, which adds randomly generated content and gameplay features from roguelike games. A multiplayer update named Typhon Hunter was also added, allowing players to use the Typhon’s shapeshifting abilities in a hide-and-seek-style game. The game’s poor sales led Arkane Austin to shift focus to live service games, such as Redfall (2023).
Gameplay
Prey is a game played from the player's point of view, as if they are looking through Morgan Yu's eyes. Morgan is a human who must escape a space station after it is taken over by an alien race called the Typhon. At the start of the game, Morgan only has a simple wrench as a weapon. Later, they can use a Gloo Cannon, which shoots a foam-like substance that freezes enemies. The game includes weapons like a quiet pistol, a shotgun, and a boltcaster. Players can also use dangers like oil spills, explosive containers, and station defenses like turrets to defeat the Typhon. Some actions, such as swinging a weapon or running, use stamina, which slowly returns when the player stops moving. Ammo is limited, and players can use stealth to avoid enemies or find other paths.
The Typhon has many types, each with different abilities. Cystoids charge at players and explode. Mimics disguise themselves as everyday items. Poltergeists can become invisible. Telepaths attack with powerful psychic energy. Phantoms are human bodies controlled by the Typhon, and their powers are random. Players also face a powerful enemy called the Nightmare, who hunts them. The Nightmare's psychic attacks can be stopped by throwing objects, making them weak. Alien attacks reduce Morgan's health and the strength of their suit. These can be healed by eating food or using a health kit. A later update added a "Survival" mode, where weapons wear down over time and "traumas" make it harder to fight.
The game takes place on a single, continuous space station called Talos I. The Gloo Cannon's foam can be used to make stairs on walls and platforms, helping players reach new areas. The station has many connected spaces, and players often have multiple ways to reach a goal. Sometimes, players must return to earlier areas, but new skills may allow them to enter places they couldn’t before. Players can leave Talos I and explore space to find shortcuts. Exploring lets players find optional tasks, maps to help navigate, key codes to unlock rooms, and blueprints to build weapons and ammo. The game has multiple endings based on how players interact with the station and humans. Players can collect items, but they can only carry a limited amount. Useful items can be taken from fallen crew members. Recyclers turn useless items into materials that can be used to build weapons, ammo, and supplies.
A device called a Psychoscope can scan the environment to find Typhon. Players can collect items called Neuromods and later make them at a fabricator. Neuromods improve the player's abilities through a skill tree. These include human skills like hacking and alien powers, such as lifting enemies, creating psychic explosions, teleporting short distances, mimicking objects, and taking control of an enemy's mind. These powers have a short cooldown time, tracked by a Psi meter. Using too many alien Neuromods causes the Nightmare to find the player, and station defenses attack them because they are seen as an alien. Weapons can be upgraded, and Chipsets can be added to Morgan's suit and Psychoscope to improve their abilities. As an immersive sim, the game allows many ways to play, and systems work together. For example, boltcaster bolts can interact with terminal screens, skills can be combined for powerful attacks, and mimicking a robot lets players fly and explore.
The Mooncrash expansion is a roguelike game where the station layout stays the same, but enemy, weapon, and item placements change each time. The story follows a hacker running simulations to learn what happened to five survivors of the Pytheas Moonbase. In the expansion, players control each character, fighting Typhon, collecting gear, hacking terminals, and escaping to a unique location for each character. The station's state is random at the start of each run and doesn’t reset between characters. To complete a run, all characters must escape without dying or resetting. Players can restart simulations to reset the world, earning points to improve characters' starting conditions, such as better weapons or extra health. Points can also unlock permanent skills for future runs. As players spend more time in each run, the game becomes harder.
The Typhon Hunter expansion includes two modes. One is a single-player virtual reality game called Transtar VR, where players solve escape room puzzles on Talos I. The other is a multiplayer mode for up to six players. One player controls Morgan, while others play as Mimic Typhon, which can disguise themselves as any object in the environment. Morgan must find and kill all Mimic players within a time limit. Mimic players can move items, hide, and attack Morgan when they are close, then find new hiding spots.
Plot
The story Prey is set in a different timeline where the Soviet Union discovers a group of highly organized alien beings called the Typhon on their satellite, Vorona 1, in 1958. The Soviet Union and the United States work together to fight the Typhon and capture them, without the public knowing. They build a space station called Kletka, which orbits the Moon, to imprison the Typhon. After an unsuccessful attempt to kill U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the United States takes full control of Kletka. Research on the Typhon continues under the name "Project Axiom." In 1980, an event called the "Pobeg Incident" occurs, during which the Typhon kill several scientists on the station. The American government stops Project Axiom but leaves the Typhon alive.
In 2025, a new company called TranStar Corporation purchases Kletka and, by 2030, reconfigures it as Talos I, a fully functional research laboratory to study the Typhon and develop advances in neuroscience. This leads to the creation of Neuromods, which use the Typhon's biology to restructure the human brain and grant users new abilities, including superhuman ones. TranStar becomes financially successful by selling Neuromods on Earth. By 2035, TranStar has expanded Talos I to provide living spaces for its staff, who stay on the station for up to two years before returning to Earth.
In March 2032, Morgan Yu is recruited by their brother, Alex, to join TranStar's research team on Talos I. Before leaving for the station, Morgan takes a series of tests. During the testing, a doctor is attacked by a Typhon, and Morgan is knocked unconscious.
In 2035, Morgan wakes up in their apartment and discovers it is a simulated environment. They have been living on Talos I for three years. Morgan is contacted by January, an artificial intelligence that claims to have been created by Morgan. January warns Morgan that the Typhon have escaped from their prison, killed many crew members, and taken over the station. January explains that Morgan and it have been testing Neuromods for three years. While these devices allow users to instantly learn complex skills, removing them causes the user to lose all memories gained after installation, which explains Morgan's memory loss. January claims Morgan built it to help destroy Talos I, taking the Typhon and all research with it. Alex contacts Morgan and suggests instead building a special device called a Nullwave to destroy the Typhon while keeping the station intact, as the research is too valuable to lose.
Morgan explores the station and meets other survivors, with players able to choose whether to help them or not. Alex tasks Morgan with scanning the Typhon "Coral" growing around the station and discovers the Typhon are creating a neural network. Their research is interrupted when the TranStar Board of Directors learns of the containment breach and sends a cleanup crew to eliminate the Typhon and any surviving crew members. After dealing with the cleanup crew, Alex analyzes the data and concludes the Typhon are sending a signal into space to summon something. A massive Typhon called the Apex appears and begins destroying Talos I. Morgan must choose between activating the station's self-destruct sequence or building the Nullwave device to defeat the Typhon.
If Morgan activates the Nullwave device, all Typhon on Talos I are destroyed, and the station remains intact. If Morgan activates the self-destruct sequence, the station explodes, destroying the Typhon and everything on it. Morgan either escapes the station or is stranded and dies in the explosion, depending on earlier choices in the game. In a post-credits scene, Morgan wakes up in a lab and learns they are not the real Morgan but a captured Typhon implanted with Morgan's memories to teach it human emotions and empathy. The Typhon have invaded Earth, and Alex and his assistants judge "Morgan" based on the choices it makes. If "Morgan" fails to show empathy, Alex destroys it and restarts the experiment. If "Morgan" displays empathy, Alex allows it to decide whether to bring peace between the Typhon and humanity or kill him.
In 2036, Peter is stationed on a remote satellite orbiting the Moon and is forced by the Kasma Corporation, a competitor of TranStar, to complete simulations reliving a Typhon outbreak on TranStar's Pytheas Moon Base. As Peter completes his tasks, his handler, Basilisk, warns him that Kasma will betray him once his mission is complete and helps him prepare to escape. After finishing his contract, Kasma congratulates Peter but claims it cannot retrieve him due to budget cuts and shuts off his life support. With Basilisk's help, Peter overrides the satellite's controls, crashes it near the real Pytheas facility, and takes a shuttle back to Earth. In a post-credits scene, it is revealed a Mimic has hidden on Peter's shuttle.
Development
The original Prey was very successful, so Prey 2 was announced in August 2006, with 3D Realms continuing its development. However, the project had many problems, including the transfer of the game's copyright to Bethesda Softworks (under ZeniMax Media) and a change in developers to Human Head Studios in 2011. At the same time, after finishing work on Dishonored, Arkane Studios split their team to work on two projects: Dishonored 2 and a new game based on similar gameplay ideas. This new science fiction-themed game would be played from a first-person perspective and would focus on depth, simulation, and storytelling. The development team was led by Arkane Studios CEO and director Raphaël Colantonio and his team in Austin, Texas.
When Human Head Studios canceled their game in 2014, Bethesda Softworks, the publisher and parent company, required Arkane to use the name "Prey" for their game. At the time, the team described it as a "re-imagining" of the original game's idea, with no connection to the original Prey or Prey 2 except for the alien characters. Colantonio later said that the team was unhappy with the decision to name their game "Prey," as they wanted their game to be a unique idea but were overruled by corporate decisions. He called the naming choice "gross" and "disrespectful" to both his team and the original game's creators.
The world design of Prey was inspired by games like System Shock and Arkane's own Arx Fatalis. Colantonio described Prey as an "open structure" game where players explore a long, self-contained mission and can return to the same area multiple times. The team used the "mega-dungeon" concept from Arx Fatalis but placed it in a space station filled with dangerous aliens. Players had to understand the full environment, including the station's collapsing systems and powerful enemies, to progress. The game avoided simple puzzles, such as finding a key to unlock a door, and instead encouraged players to use a variety of tools to solve interconnected challenges. The space station, called Talos I, was described as a "living, dynamic world" with many ways to solve the same problem. Metroidvania-style games also influenced the gameplay. Designer Ricardo Bare compared the space station to a "skyscraper floating in space" and said it was designed to look functional and realistic, like a fully staffed building. The team avoided using climbable ladders, as they believed freeform gameplay could be tricky for players to navigate. Fixing bugs was the team's biggest technical challenge because players could move freely through the station.
Prey borrowed ideas from Dishonored, such as giving players creative freedom to solve problems and using a game world built on existing stories that players can learn by reading notes and computer terminals. The game also had a simple user interface. However, Colantonio said Prey focused less on stealth than Dishonored and instead used in-game chipsets to let players customize their abilities in a role-playing style. The game also took inspiration from FTL: Faster Than Light, aiming to include the "chaos of systems" where failing station systems and collapsing infrastructure created environmental hazards that could help or harm players. Arkane considered using procedural generation to make areas different each time, but they dropped the idea for Prey because they thought it might frustrate players and instead used it in Mooncrash.
Arkane wanted players to find their own way to complete the game, even if it meant combining action and stealth. They avoided making areas impossible to pass unless players had the right skills and provided ways to bypass difficult sections. One alien, the Mimic, was inspired by a creature from Dungeons & Dragons and could copy any object smaller than itself without scripted events. The Psychoscope, a tool that lets players scan aliens to use their powers, added unexpected gameplay options, like turning into a small object to sneak through tight spaces or a non-flammable object to move through fire. Like Dishonored, Prey had emotional and mechanical consequences for player choices, such as changing the ending based on interactions with non-playable characters or altering gameplay by using too many Typhon upgrades.
Arkane designed Talos I's security forces to use basic weapons like pistols and shotguns, with advanced weapons looking like flawed prototypes from testing phases. Their designs were inspired by Stanley Greenberg's book Time Machine, which showed experimental prototypes, and a CERN database from the 1960s and 1970s. Players could use tools to disable enemies before attacking, such as the Gloo Cannon, which froze enemies and created platforms for exploration. The team wanted players to move freely through the space station, which put pressure on the art team to design every area carefully. An early idea allowed players to fly through the station but was removed due to technical limits on consoles.
According to early project documents, the game was developed at Arkane under the name "Project Danielle," a tribute to SHODAN from System Shock. Three concepts were explored, all involving a character named Danielle Sho discovering a false reality and interacting with a powerful artificial intelligence. Settings included a futuristic lab on Earth, a secret lab on an island, and a retro-futuristic location. The game's opening sequence, which acts as a fake tutorial showing the player's life as a simulation, was created to build distrust in players. Arkane limited horror elements because they could not predict where players would focus their attention.
Release and marketing
Bethesda introduced the game Prey during a press event at E3 2016. The game was released on May 5, 2017. Players who purchased the game before its release received a special set of in-game weapons and items called the "Cosmonaut Shotgun Pack." Before the game launched, No Matter Studios, the developers of Prey for the Gods, had to change the name of their game to Praey for the Gods because ZeniMax Media raised legal concerns about the original name. ZeniMax explained that they needed to protect the Prey trademark by opposing No Matter Studios' use of the name. Arkane and Bethesda provided a playable sample of the game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles about a week before the launch, showing the first hour of gameplay. The studio chose not to offer a demo for Windows computers, stating they had to pick between consoles or personal computers for the demo. Colantonio noted that players who bought the game through Steam could try it for up to two hours under Steam’s return policy, which acted like a demo. A Steam version of the game later included a demo in August 2017, featuring the first hour of gameplay.
At E3 2018, Bethesda released a free update for Prey that added two new game modes: New Game Plus and Survival. The Survival mode made the game harder by adding challenges like limited weapon durability. A paid expansion called Mooncrash was also released on the same day. The team added roguelike features to the game to improve its design while keeping the core gameplay of Prey. Since many players do not explore the entire space station due to the game’s linear story, Mooncrash was created as a shorter, replayable experience. It used an open-ended story, with each character starting and ending at different locations on the moon station. Players could explore the same area through different paths. In September 2018, Mooncrash received a free update that added in-game customization options inspired by popular roguelike games, including Spelunky, Rogue Legacy, Risk of Rain, Don't Starve, Darkest Dungeon, and Dead Cells.
The Typhon Hunt mode was inspired by the "Prop Hunt" mode from Garry's Mod. When Arkane shared early details of Prey, including the Mimic enemies, players compared them to "Prop Hunt." Bare, a team member, learned about "Prop Hunt" and thought it would work well as a multiplayer addition to Prey. Typhon Hunt was released on December 11, 2018, along with a virtual reality puzzle experience set before the events of Prey. Both modes were added as free updates to Mooncrash. Mooncrash and Typhon Hunt were created during an internal game jam after Prey was released, to test how the game could be expanded.
Reception
The game Prey received mostly positive reviews from critics, according to Metacritic, a website that collects and summarizes game reviews. Many critics called Prey one of the best games of the year. It was nominated for awards in several categories, including "Best Storytelling" at the Golden Joystick Awards, "Best Action Game" at The Game Awards, and "Excellence in Narrative" at the SXSW Gaming Awards.
Dan Stepleton from IGN described the game's setting as "sophisticated," noting that the open structure allowed players to choose different paths to reach their goals. He said that even though players had to revisit areas to complete tasks, the game avoided feeling repetitive by unlocking new skills that helped with exploration. Phil Savage from PC Gamer praised the game's realistic environment and layout, which made the space station feel natural. Critics generally liked Arkane's level design, which created a complex layout for the space station with multiple ways to access different areas, some of which required creative solutions. Tina Amini from Mashable called the station a "maze" and appreciated how players had to learn its layout over time. Javy Gwaltney from Game Informer praised the game's "sense of wonder," while Tamoor Hussain from GameSpot called it visually striking but noted that the station lacked enough visual variety. Critics praised the game's environmental storytelling and side quests, which explored the struggles of the crew on Talos I.
Zoe Delahunty-Light from GamesRadar liked how the game included alien powers but felt that human abilities were not as well-developed. Gwaltney praised the variety of enemies, calling them "unnerving," and highlighted the game's immersive sim elements, which created unique and memorable gameplay experiences. John Walker from Rock, Paper, Shotgun appreciated the freedom the game gave players to use its systems without overexplaining them. Arthur Gies from Polygon noted that the game rewarded players for trying new approaches. However, some reviewers criticized the game's early difficulty, saying it made the experience feel slow. Stapleton and others pointed out that combat was a weakness, with uninteresting weapons and basic stealth mechanics. Some alien powers were too powerful, and enemies had too much health. Critics also disliked fighting Mimics, which were too agile, and noted that the gunplay felt unresponsive. Savage said the game's flaws came from trying to appeal to many different playstyles, which made its mechanics less refined than in games like BioShock or Dishonored.
The game's story received mixed reviews. Gies enjoyed the sense of distrust built into the narrative and compared it to the psychological thriller Solaris. Delahunty-Light liked that all characters, even those who had died, had names and their stories were shared through audio logs and emails. Gwaltney praised the exploration of Yu's moral choices and how they shaped the story, calling Morgan's interactions with others a highlight. However, the main story was criticized for being too simple. Stepleton and Hussain liked the tutorial but felt the actual story did not live up to its promise. Tamoor criticized the side quests for being uninspiring and said the story and characters were not memorable. Some reviewers also said the game's pacing was uneven, with players often needing to backtrack to extend the story. The game was praised for having an Asian protagonist.
PCGamesN reported that the Windows version of Prey had fewer technical issues than Dishonored 2, calling it "the best performing triple-A game" they had seen in months. Eurogamer's Digital Foundry found that Prey ran well on even low-end computers, unlike Dishonored 2 at its release. However, some players and reviewers reported that saved games would become corrupted after playing for several hours, causing the game to crash when moving between areas. Arkane released a patch to fix this issue on May 12.
Over time, critics' opinions of Prey improved. Nic Reuben from Rock, Paper, Shotgun called it a "masterpiece," praising its smart design and many gameplay possibilities. Cass Marshall from Polygon said it was "a testament to human imagination" and one of the best immersive sim games ever made. Robert Jones from PC Gamer called it a "god-tier level" immersive sim, comparing it to Half-Life 2. Rick Lane from GamesRadar said Prey surpassed its inspiration, System Shock, and praised its story's exploration of themes like memory and identity.
Prey debuted at No. 2 on the UK's weekly sales charts, behind the Nintendo Switch version of Mario Kart 8. These sales were considered disappointing because there was little competition from new AAA games and sales were 60% lower than Arkane's previous title, Dishonored 2. Bethesda's decision to delay sharing review copies until the game's release was also mentioned as a factor in the weak launch. In its second week, Prey reached No. 1 on the UK charts, becoming the first Bethesda game since 2016's Doom to do so. It was the fifth best-selling game in the US in May 2017.
Because Prey and Dishonored 2 both sold poorly, Bethesda Softworks and Arkane Studios changed their strategy, moving away from immersive sims to live service games. This led to the departure of Colantonio from Arkane and the release of Redfall in 2023.