Prey director describes the new game as a “reimagining of the idea”

You know what you rarely ever see in space? Moustaches. Glorious and meticulously trimmed upper lips filled with keratin strands, boldly being classy in the infinite majesty of our cosmos. For some reason, that’s what stuck with me the most after watching Bethesda unveil a new version of Prey, as the last game to carry that name was a topsy turvy shooter set to the backdrop of an alien invasion.

That Prey was gory, action-packed and filled with balls to the walls killing sprees. Bethesda’s Prey on the other hand, looks like something completely different. And it should be, seeing as the only thing it has in common with that older IP is a name, just like all the toddlers named Khaleesi in your nearby pre-school.

“Prey is not a sequel. It’s not a remake. It has no tie with the original. You have to look at it like a reimagining of the idea,” director Raphael Colantonio said in a new video via Gamespot that detailed how Prey is “not just shooting”.

You are on board a space station, there are aliens and you have to survive. It’s more like a hybrid game where there’s narrative mixed with action mixed with a little bit of [an] RPG layer

That doesn’t mean that there isn’t any combat however, as players can engage in some traditional action with tried and trusted weapons and “some gadgets” thanks to the presence of scientists around you as Colantonio explained:

There’s a lot of interesting gadgets that you can use that are not meant for combat but somehow work out.

The big thing here for Colantonio, is that this happens to be a game developed by Arkane, a studio which has developed its own signature style thanks to that other game which has no honour and plenty of kudos from fans and the industry. While Colantonio didn’t mention Dishonored specifically, he did mention that “If you like Arkane games, those games that blend narratives and simulation and some choices and a lot of player exploration, Prey is going to be that game for you”.

It’s been a long and weird road for Prey. Originally conceived as a sequel where you’d be a bounty hunter specialising in contracts featuring aliens, that idea was scrapped eventually in favour of something completely new instead.

Last Updated: July 28, 2016