So what, exactly, is Prey? Based on the E3 2016 reveal of the upcoming game, folks have started to formulate a few notions about Bethesda Softworks' surprise project. Based on comments from Arkane Studios' Raphael Colantonio, however, it seems like we may all have the wrong idea of what to expect out of the upcoming first-person adventure.
For starters, Prey's existence is already a bit confusing. The original Prey launched back in 2006 and, a few years ago, Prey 2 was revealed as being in development. Back in 2014, however, Prey 2 was cancelled. Rumors then started circulating that Prey 2 was back in the works, but nothing was officially confirmed.
Then, at the most recent E3, a new trailer was shown off for a game that is being called, quite simply, Prey. Taken at face value, Prey looks to be more of a survival horror game than an action romp and completely abandons anything we had seen so far for Prey 2. So what is it, exactly? Well, in a recent interview posted by Bethesda, Arkane Studios' creative director Raphael Colantonio said that, despite the name of the game, it's not really a follow-up to the original game and, despite the trailer, it's not really a horror game.
If the folks at Arkane are curious why folks are confused, well, I invite them to reread those last couple of sentences. You brought this on yourself! Take a look at the full interview.
According to Colantonio, "Prey is not a sequel, it's not a remake, it has no tie with the original." In that case, I'm sure glad they decided to name it Prey. That keeps things super un-confusing.
He goes on to say that Prey is more of a reimagining of the idea of the Prey series, so we hope that helps clear things up.
And while the game isn't necessarily horror, it's a close cousin, apparently. Colantonio said Prey will be a psychological thriller that takes a look at the idea of identity. "Who are you exactly as Morgan," he asks. In short, Prey sounds a heck of a lot like another Arkane series, Dishonored, mixed with the legendary BioShock. Similar to those games, Prey will feature combat, but it won't be all about bashing baddies to a pulp. You'll spend just as much time exploring environments, gathering information and learning about the world and your role in it. There will also be some sort of RPG element to Prey, too.
So there you have it, sort of. Prey isn't a remake or sequel and it apparently doesn't have an atmosphere that matches its first trailer. To find out what the game actually is, it sounds like we'll all just have to wait until it launches on PS4, Xbox One and PC sometime in 2017.
