Is 'Prey' Worth It? What To Expect From Bethesda's New Sci-Fi Epic

Is Prey worth it? That’s a tough question. I should start by saying this doesn’t constitute a formal review as I’m still working on completing the game. After about 25+ hours of gameplay in four days, I definitely feel like Prey gives you your money’s worth if you’re looking for a weekend of entertainment. But there’s a lot going on in Prey and there are a few questions you should ask yourself before buying.

Is Prey Worth It? How Many Games Do You Have Already?

This is a huge question. Prey is, so far at least, a phenomenal game. I’m enjoying the vibe, the pace, the originality Prey brings to nearly every encounter. But it can feel torturous at times. Enemies get harder, not easier, as the game moves on and resources become more scarce. You will find yourself repeating the same section five or ten times. Sometimes you’ll beat an enemy and realize you wasted a bit too much ammo, so you restart and try a more conservative approach. Others, you start with the conservative approach and die over and over and over until you desperately spend some precious ammo on a foe that wasn’t as hard the last time you faced it.

And if you’ve got a stack of other games waiting to be played, you’ll probably get into them. So, if you’re still staring at an unplayed copy of Persona 5 or Dishonored 2 then Prey isn’t worth getting just yet. It’s a challenging game, and it induces a fair amount of rage quitting. And if that drives you into the arms of something else, it might be Prey that sits unused on your shelf for a few weeks.

But if you’re in a gaming drought right now with nothing on the horizon then yes, absolutely, Prey is worth it.

Is Prey Worth It? Do You Like Jump Scares?

Seriously, Prey has a LOT of jump scares. They’re well done, usually coming at the exact right time and not so frequently you get burnt out on the anxiety. There are just enough to keep you anxious but not too much. You will get lulled into a sense of security as you revisit a room you’ve been in a dozen times before, only to have a coffee cup turn into a mimic and attach to your face. I don’t normally like jump scare nonsense, but it works well in Prey .

However, I know there are a lot of people who do not want ANY jump scares in their games whatsoever. I get it. I do. If you can’t stand being scared and surprised by creepy aliens then Prey is not worth it. You won’t enjoy the experience and will likely miss out on the sublime subtleties that are making Prey one of my favorite games so far this year.

But if you DO like jump scares? If you do like playing/watching someone else play games that keep you on the edge of your seat, gnawing away on your fingernails before you get scared and scream then laugh and scream and get scared again then, yesh, Prey is worth it. It’s not a pure horror game in terms of aesthetics, but delivers everything you’d want in a game designed to scare the bejesus out of you.

Is Prey Worth It? Do You Like Sci-Fi?

The final consideration I’d ask people to make before buying a copy of Prey is to gauge their interest in sci-fi. I don’t mean pop sci-fi, either. This isn’t a BioWare game, there are no Jedi, no one is going warp speed. Prey is sci-fi in the tradition of Philip K. Dick and Ridley Scott. It’s cerebral and detailed in a way that requires you to pay attention and stay curious. Much of Prey ’s story is told through found emails on the computers of Talos 1 employees. There’s a lot of tension and suspicion simmering beneath the surface, and it becomes clear that no one knows who to trust. Not even themselves, thanks to TranStar’s predilection for weekly memory wipes.

READ: Prey’s Alternate Timeline Starts With JFK Not Dying In Dallas

If you enjoy sci-fi explorations of reality and identity then Prey is worth it. It’s an engrossing story full of mindfuckery that has me more excited to find new emails than it does to find spare ammo. I love a story that isn’t predictable and, so far, I have some theories about what might happen in Prey but I am far from certain. This isn’t the standard “you’re the chosen hero save the world derp” storyline. There is a deep mystery at the heart of Prey that compels me to keep playing. I want to know more, and I’ll suffer through a million jump scares and half as many rage quits to get there.

So there you have it. Is Prey worth it? For sci-fans and people who like a good scare, absolutely. But casual fans who are already looking at a stack of unplayed games might want to wait until their schedules clear up first. Are you enjoying Prey ? Regret buying it? Let us know in the comments!