Games wot I love #1

So this is the start of a series dedicated to just remembering what I loved about particular games. (What? Am I actually committing to something on this site?). Those many games which have retained some of my mental shelf space for all manner of reasons.

It could be any game from any time. It definitely won't be a review. This series also won't be chronological because I'm not made to remember like that. No offence to those who revel in the linearity of time.

Let's start with just the first game that springs to mind…….. *brain rolls dice*

Prey (2017) - Arkane Austin

Ok. I wasn't expecting that game first but hey. Recap time! Prey is an immersive first person shooter set mostly on the space station Talos I. In the role of Morgan Yu most of the game is spent exploring the station and uncovering what, exactly, is going on. There are some terrifying creatures and a lot of dead crew members. Station systems are in peril but many are working for now. Aliens abound, fellow humans in need... What Yu gonna do? (Sorry I really couldn't help it)

There's moments in Prey seared into my brain. So many of those moments relate to the way narrative and environmental storytelling is deployed. Certainly much more than the scary things I shot at. Deep story, we can all agree, is no surprise for an Arkane offshoot. (Dishonored! 😍amirite?) Despite this driving my love of the game I'll still never argue that the shooting gameplay is unnecessary. Potential death from bad guys creates a strong reason to want to survive. The Ludonarrative symbiosis of story and gameplay is essential to Prey.

Anyway let's crack on. Maybe three particular things I love is the way in? I am not a writer so there was no plan going into this. I should learn from this experience. My mantra for this site is currently just "Write through it first. Get better after."

I love the Corpses.

*dramatic pause*

Yes you have read this right. All kinds of corpses. On the floor, hidden in vents, floating in space. I do really love the corpses but to be absolutely clear it's not 'love', love. ok? It's the purpose they serve in the game.

Necrophilial disclaimers aside, Prey does this so well because every corpse has a name and you get to be their last witness. The computer terminal has a list of everyone missing and as you discover their fates the list is updated. Sometimes they are just a nametag for collection but other times you get to piece something deeper together. In hindsight it's a little like visiting an Obra Dinn museum, only in space.

In practice it might go a bit like this... you'll read an email about an engineer going to investigate an issue with the engine. Later on you will be in a vent near that engine and find a corpse and realise its the same person. Then there might be an audio log of their last words.  Suddenly they have a history and it's all alive for you in that moment. Well they are still dead but you know...

There was an achievement linked to anyone taking on the journey to find all 265 missing persons. Though some of these were still alive and others were in different circumstances. Unfortunately for corpse hunters. Though you could also chase the achievement for killing all the survivors too in which case you can add to the dead. Bit too dark for me. I tried to save them all. (Honest I did, ma.)

This aspect of the game gives the station some extra detail that so many immersive sims pass over. Ironically it gives it extra life. You can believe the station was functioning properly. That people were going about their jobs  when something happened. It isn't a pleasurable job but it enhanced the story for me. The act of finding everyone was important. It was about being there to speak for the dead.

I love the Talos I

There's something about the design of Prey that maintains your constant sense of this being a real space station throughout. It's more than just being on it. It feels like a character to me. Taking on roles to challenge you, surprise you, delight you. Maybe it's the survival aspects. Maybe it's the slow unveiling of each section. It's just very real all the time. It has the right kind of spaces that a research station might have. It becomes a kind of hostile home to you as it provides for your needs while also making things very difficult. Sometimes Talos does something that really pisses you off and this isn't wise because you get to decide its fate.

More than this though. It has a deep history woven into its design. The details in my memory are vague but from watching a refresher the timeline follows an alternate history where JFK was not assassinated. Space remained a central vision to the future. The mysterious Typhon came. Totally avoided mentioning those till now. For no reason. There's a lovely dollop of soviet union referencing too.

You see this history reflected in the major architecture - a gorgeous mix of opulence and function. Arkane's various studios do this mix of new styles with retro designs so very well. There's a lot of Gatsby gold trim and iconic sculptures. There's a full Noclip documentary on Prey where the architects refer to this particular design style as Neo-Deco.  But behind the facades are gritty engineering areas and gadgety research labs. There's even an arboretum to die for. Or in.

Later on you can fly out all around the station in a space walk and fly back in somewhere else. I honestly forget the loading scenes are there.  Its mostly a linear game and not quite open world but you feel it is. You can travel down its core areas. All the time it feels like it was once occupied with people working away.

I adore science fiction so I absolutely spend time imagining what it might be like to step into a space station and explore. Prey delivers a rich space station experience in full neo-technicolour joy while scary things pretending to be furniture try to kill you.

I love the first hour

This game does something incredibly fun in the first hour. It lets you build up a particular view of the world then... it shatters it entirely.

I can't spoil this in any way. What I can say is that I love games where you don't get to keep your hard held perspectives and beliefs intact. There are games which do it brilliantly like SOMA, or Alan Wake in places. Bioshock 1 arguably spends the entire game doing it despite you guessing multiple times what is going to happen.

Actually Bioshock made me naturally untrust all NPCs in games and any actual humans that start asking me to do things... so perception shifting in games may not always be healthy for promoting prosocial behaviour.

My brother almost spoiled Prey because I bought him the game as a birthday present and naturally wanted to know if it was good before borrowing it. Thankfully I stopped paying attention after he said "Yes" but before he said whatever came after: "The beginning was..." (Love you bro. Though you are not reading this.)

I have played so many games which don't hook you in after that first hour. You put the controller away and can't come back. Prey wasn't like that for me. I wanted to know what else it held because it had blown my mind and set so many threads up to pull me on with.

Prey plays with the theme of identity and perception throughout and for anyone committed also does something sneaky post-credits but this section is called the first hour so I can't talk about it and maintain any semblance of reputation or dignity. Instead have a quote.

 "Did someone make you, Morgan? Were you made for something? If not, you'll have to invent your own purpose. Or have none at all. Strangely, of all the things I know about you, I don't know what you believe. You have to decide, Morgan. Who are you?"

Story Story Story. Make me believe in you.

I guess ultimately I love Prey because it's a very straightforward evolution of FPS but with a very rich world hidden holding everything together. It reminded me of playing Half Life like that. I could talk about meeting mimics, escaping nightmares and a particularly sticky gun too but I think it's the environment and storytelling I truly loved.

Watching this interview with Alanah Pearce and Katee Sackhoff recently was of interest to me because I didn't realise just how difficult the communication is on triple-A and how tight it needs to be to pull off a game like God of War Ragnarok or Prey (2016). (Thanks Daniel for the link - go check him out on Bluesky and Tiers In Rain)

Narrative designers and level architects and the writers are actual heroes when they have the money and space and creative opportunities to do it well. It comes through in the tiny attention to detail in Prey. Shoes by lockers. Pictures on walls. Emails between crew. History and place and life interwoven into a single, believable world.

Prey is a game wot I love.