Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Arkane PREY - Arkane's immersive coffee cup transformation sim - now with Mooncrash roguelike mode DLC

Serious_Business

Best Poster on the Codex
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
3,909
Location
Frown Town
Can't seem to find the heart in all these new "first person sims"... the new DX, Bioshock series, Dishonored, and now this. They all seem to lack something that stops them from being in the same league as Thief, SS or DX.

Not sure what it is exactly, it would require greater analysis. But in the case of Arkane games, I can put my finger on it pretty quickly : their games' premise don't work. In Dishonored, the whole theme is that you're being framed for the assassination of the king or whatever - thus, you're made an outcast, out for revenge. The game wants you to care about vengeance, but you don't. Every guy you kill you don't care about. You care about Karras because he is a little prick with a whiny voice, and his face is everywhere. In Dishonored you have no time or space to connect emotionally with the betrayal and the need for justice. A similar thing happens in Prey - you're told that you're in a simulation 9 minutes in the game, when you're still not connected to anything. It doesn't feel like there's a break at all, it just happens. The two games would require the crisis to happen much later to have any kind of effect.

This would be like if in the original DX, you were told that UNATCO was a front 10 minutes in the game. You wouldn't give a damn. The whole first half of the game was getting attached to the organization, the people in it, and valuing your contribution - and suddenly having to violently pull yourself away. In Invisible War (shouldn't mention that game), I seem to remember the crisis happens very fast. I don't actually remember. No one remembers anything about this game except shit.

The only thing I remember about the new DX game is the hacking minigame. I don't even know how many Bioshock games they made ; there was some Ayn Rand shit in there, and water, but who knows. Dishonored was exactly the kind of shit that was never meant to be - a careless Thief game. The Thief devs knew they had to make the player feel powerless for the stealth gameplay to work, something nobody can understand now because gaming is all about empowerment. I feel about as empowered as if I was stuck in a hospital when I play video games. Prey seems to be about a "memorable intro" where you look out the windows of a Helicopter, right? Everyone will remember that in 10 years, yeah... fuck, nobody will remember anything in 10 years. Soon no one will remember anything except shit

Game of the year all year all the years fading away nothing behind why is this happe
 

Icewater

Artisanal Shitposting™
Patron
Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
1,952
Location
Freedomland
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2
Agreed. AssCreed 2 actually did this really well, IMO. It gave you just enough time to get to like your family before they all got killed off. In Dishonored we simply haven't seen enough of the Empress to care that she dies. They really needed to spend a good third of the game leading up to the eventual betrayal where she's assassinated, maybe dropping some cryptic hints as to the impending murder here and there as possible leads that you never get to follow up on before she's deadified.
 

Durandal

Arcane
Joined
May 13, 2015
Messages
2,117
Location
New Eden
My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
to put it shortly, Arkane can't into making you care about the world despite all their efforts into fleshing the world out
 

Ash

Arcane
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
6,226
eh, good gameplay would make up for all these shortcomings in these modern snorefests to some extent. But they're all very lacklustre in that regard (barring PREY, which is variably shit/OK/good). So not only do you not get a good Immersive Sim, you don't even get a good game.
 

Jezal_k23

Guest
I respect that they clearly try to recapture the spirit of the games they're inspired by. Whether they succeed is up to you, but they clearly try. Look at how mediocre Bioshock is as a SS2 successor, and that's what it was proudly marketed as all the way up to its release. Prey is at least a legitimate attempt at actually doing it.
 

Zakhad

Savant
Joined
Dec 10, 2012
Messages
284
Location
Gurtex
We can at least say that their writing and voice acting has had massive, massive, massive incline since Dark Messiah.

(I actually really liked that game for what it was, I just wish it had been all dungeon-crawl kick-playground and not so focussed on its shitty characters and alarmingly bad main voice actor).

I think how much you like Arkane's stories will really depend on the kind of gaming narrative you like. I find the worlds convincing, overall, even if sometimes the actual plot steps don't directly draw me in as much. And I think I prefer a bad plot in a coherent world to a good plot in an incoherent world--you could say Fallout 3 had a good main plot (ending aside), at least in terms of setting up care for your dad, then he gets killed after you rescue him, yada yada fuck off. But the world was mostly so shit I have no fond memories of the plot or characters at all. I didn't believe those characters could even exist, because the world wouldn't exist. Build a town around a bomb? Fuck off.

But I actually enjoyed the plot of Dishonored (both games). Number one DID have lots of contact with the empress, it was just AFTER her death and it didn't spell out who she was (but was pretty obvious if you thought for five seconds). I think it gave you the option not to care, and not to listen, which I actually liked. You could just play it as someone really pissed at losing status, who never really cared about the Empress at all, and I think that was deliberate. Dishonored 2 had a bunch of really affecting set pieces (I felt genuinely BAD wiping away one character's mind while they begged me not to, made me think murder was a better option). But in general I like stories for which you have to assemble the pieces more than I like stories that throw themselves at you directly. For me that feels more like the kind of stories you SHOULD have in a looking glass style sim. Arkane is good at this, IMO, at building a world and a story and revealing it all in lots of little details, and without infodumps--something Obsidian could learn, cos they've got worse and worse at that (New Vegas was good in parts, but still had a few dump-y characters, but POE was much less successful, except Durance). A game that made me gradually decide that my character had genuinely cared is one I prefer to one that forces me to care.

I think people who prefer that approach will REALLY enjoy a game like Prey, way more than say, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, which (weirdly for a game supposedly about investigating mysteries) actually leaves very little about the plot or characters for you to assemble yourself. Human Revolution was even worse, ugh, you could find information that should have changed your actions and you'd just talk like you hadn't read it. What a railroaded plot. If you prefer a plot that forces you in rather than one you have to work out to really enjoy, it would probably be a pretty humdrum game. I enjoyed it a lot.
 

Wirdschowerdn

Ph.D. in World Saving
Patron
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
34,457
Location
Clogging the Multiverse with a Crowbar
https://bethesda.net/en/article/2StPUomHYQSKIa6i6IcwMU/prey-trial-auf-pc-und-konsole

Prey – PC and Console Trial
Don’t miss the mind-bending sci-fi adventure that some critics are already calling the “best game of 2017.” If you’re a PC gamer and haven’t yet played Prey, now you have the perfect opportunity. Starting today, the critically acclaimed game from the masterminds at Arkane Studios will be available as a PC trial for the first-time ever.

Also today, Prey will shift from a demo to a trial on both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. That means anyone who wants to test out Prey ahead of a purchase can retain their progress along with any Trophies/Achievements earned during the trial.

Recently, Arkane Studios also released update 1.05, which addresses more than 30 fixes to a range of issues, including the screen-tearing that has affected a portion of the PlayStation audience. Check out the patch notes for a full list of all the fixes in Update 1.05.

In Prey, you awaken aboard Talos I, a space station orbiting the moon in the year 2032. You are the key subject of an experiment meant to alter humanity forever – but things have gone terribly wrong. The space station has been overrun by hostile aliens and you are now being hunted. As you dig into the dark secrets of Talos I and your own past, you must survive using the tools found on the station, your wits, weapons, and mind-bending abilities.
 

Israfael

Arcane
Joined
Sep 21, 2012
Messages
3,580
Well, this thread is pretty positive by the Codex standards, and if you remove cyberp's ramblings (many of which are justified, mind it), game's overall score would go up immensely
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
7,304
It's good for what it is. Action RPGs don't really get better than this nowadays. Could do with stronger atmosphere and more challenging endgame but I sure had more fun playing it than any other game in recent memory. I'll probably replay at some point too, first run was human + 2 alien convenience skills - level 1 mimic for getting through tight spaces and level 1 phantom shift for dealing with those damn Cystoids. Next time proper "mage" run.
 
Last edited:

ciox

Liturgist
Joined
Feb 9, 2016
Messages
1,277
It's good for what it is. Could do with stronger atmosphere but I sure had more fun playing it than any other game in recent memory. I'll probably replay at some point too, first run was human powers + 2 alien convenience skills - level 1 mimic for getting through tight spaces and level 1 phantom shift for dealing with those damn Cystoids. Next time proper "mage" run.

Too bad it takes a good while until you get a Psychoscope (2 hours or so for an average player?), might be interesting to see how quickly that can be rushed but I bet you still have to run past a lot of monsters and solve a bunch of linear shit.
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
7,304
Too bad it takes a good while until you get a Psychoscope (2 hours or so for an average player?), might be interesting to see how quickly that can be rushed but I bet you still have to run past a lot of monsters and solve a bunch of linear shit.

Well, I didn't mean I wouldn't be taking any of the human upgrades anyway. Until alien powers come into play might as well get some Hacking, Repair, etc.
 

sexbad?

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
2,812
Location
sexbad
Codex USB, 2014
I retried it by playing the demo and I enjoyed it more this time around. Having an option for the FoV helped, but I think I noticed more things worth appreciating. I think the first time I played it, I was tired and I tried to get as far as possible within the refund period, without doing much exploring or experimenting. So all I was doing was hitting bugs with a wrench. The combat's still not great, but I had fun exploring and making environmental kills.
 

udm

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 14, 2008
Messages
2,752
Make the Codex Great Again!
Trying the free weekend now after a tiring week of prepping my Curse of Strahd campaign. I like it quite a bit. It feels a lot more consistent than Dishonored due to not having a focused element of stealth. Isn't really scary atm, but there is a tense atmosphere.

Might buy to support Arkane. Meanwhile will play some more tonight to build further impressions.
 

Ash

Arcane
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
6,226
Well, this thread is pretty positive by the Codex standards, and if you remove cyberp's ramblings (many of which are justified, mind it), game's overall score would go up immensely

There has been just as many people expressing disappointment as there have been perfectly content with the game or middling. Don't be disingenuous.

Overall it's a 7 or 8/10. Good for what it is. Don't let any cuck tell you otherwise.
 

Jinn

Arcane
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
4,930
Does anyone know if you can continue your save game from the demo if you decide to buy the full game?
 

Zombra

An iron rock in the river of blood and evil
Patron
Joined
Jan 12, 2004
Messages
11,538
Location
Black Goat Woods !@#*%&^
Make the Codex Great Again! RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Does anyone know if you can continue your save game from the demo if you decide to buy the full game?
I read that you can.
incline.png
 

Jinn

Arcane
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
4,930
Has anyone had a look at this mod? http://www.nexusmods.com/prey2017/mods/1/?

The demo has piqued my interest, but complaints of insufficient difficulty have been the biggest thing keeping me away so far. For those familiar with this game, do some of these features sound appealing at all to you?
 

Durandal

Arcane
Joined
May 13, 2015
Messages
2,117
Location
New Eden
My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
Personally I'd scale crafting material costs with difficulty alongside neuromod costs like the higher difficulties in SS2, but this might be worth checking out.
 

Zakhad

Savant
Joined
Dec 10, 2012
Messages
284
Location
Gurtex
Too bad it takes a good while until you get a Psychoscope (2 hours or so for an average player?), might be interesting to see how quickly that can be rushed but I bet you still have to run past a lot of monsters and solve a bunch of linear shit.

Well, I didn't mean I wouldn't be taking any of the human upgrades anyway. Until alien powers come into play might as well get some Hacking, Repair, etc.

My latest playthrough was kinda like this. On nightmare, decided to see how I'd go with no weapon skills (except wrench) or weapon upgrade-skills, or the slow-time skill (which is broken), and wouldn't craft any ammo.

Things I learned (minor spoilers):

-glue gun pops cystoid nests and cystoids (how did I never know this?)

-kinetic blast to knock over a special phantom, recycler grenade to end it

-the mind control skills really save you in crowd control situations

-nightmares become genuinely dangerous again without the slow-time/upgraded-shotgun exploit

-psychic water quest is even more broken than I'd thought

What this game really needs is a fanpatch from J Sawyer. Imbalanced.
 

Zakhad

Savant
Joined
Dec 10, 2012
Messages
284
Location
Gurtex
Personally I'd scale crafting material costs with difficulty alongside neuromod costs like the higher difficulties in SS2, but this might be worth checking out.

Agree, but given that a recipe has to be between one and three and lots are already at maximum, better to lower rewards rather than increase costs, since there's more granularity in rewards than in costs. Also, scaling both might not be necessary--cut down on the amount of exotic material, you craft fewer neuromods, so you might not need to increase the cost of powers. Maybe better to decrease the cost of some powers and radically decrease the number of neuromods you find, making exploration more valuable? Difficult to work out how best to do it to avoid grindiness.
 

Mynon

Dumbfuck!
Dumbfuck
Joined
Apr 28, 2017
Messages
1,138
Well, this thread is pretty positive by the Codex standards, and if you remove cyberp's ramblings (many of which are justified, mind it), game's overall score would go up immensely

There has been just as many people expressing disappointment as there have been perfectly content with the game or middling. Don't be disingenuous.

Overall it's a 7 or 8/10. Good for what it is. Don't let any cuck tell you otherwise.
Not really, it's just that the folks who disliked the game have been far more active and vocal in this thread (you being an example).
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom