SlipSlot
I absolutely loved this article, and I'm really proud that you picked OP to publish it for you, genuinely.
I'd always wanted to write an article like this about Prey; I even pushed Laurel Ann to do the same after her Prey 2017 review. But I'm so glad I didn't attempt it myself; this is way better than mine would have turned out.
I played Prey 2006 shortly after it released on my Xbox, it was one of the first "next-gen" games that I played start to finish, and I remember being utterly blown away. The graphics (especially wet look, which was novel at the time), the gunplay, the physics, the puzzles, the portals. Even the story, which I rarely pay much attention to, really grabbed me in this game. I figured this was a sign of what was to come in future games, but almost none of the incredible elements of the game (besides portals) found their way into future AAA titles.
Many people attribute Valve's Portal as the game that introduced portal functionality to games, but Prey got there over a year prior. I wouldn't even be surprised if Prey was directly inspired by Prey. The shifting gravity stuff you see in small indie titles, but never in first-person shooters or AAA titles. Also, the 6 degrees of freedom movement found in the flying sections feels like a relic of the past, not seen properly explored since Descent and Forsaken games in the '90s.
The way it turned a "you died" loading screen into an interactive world where you were in control of how powerful you'd be once you turned to the game is, again, just something that is never explored by big-budget titles. Closest I felt was playing Galaga while Ridge Racer was loading!
Don't Fear the Reaper is an absolute classic, and at the time I was a huge fan of the band Soil, so hearing them both in this game just made me feel like it was made for me. But since I played it, and given it went pretty under the radar and is generally pretty underrated in my opinion, I always found it pretty difficult to describe to people. I always used to say "it's the perfect mash-up of Doom 3 and Portal", but even that feels like a pretty lousy description; it's way more than that.
Even the guns, most of which were alien, were incredibly unique and interesting to use. They could have easily had you take your general pistols and shotguns off of fallen police or soldiers and played it safe, but instead each weapon is a mystery to you when you first pick it up, which keeps the gameplay feeling even more fresh and engaging.
I had no idea about the Casino mode, that's a really cool idea. It makes me want to go back to the game just to play around in that hub, as limited as it is.
As for Prey 2017, that game really isn't for me. I can tell it's incredibly well produced and clearly deserves its fanbase, but like you, I also think that with a unique name, that game would have garnered an even larger following. I hate that it shares its name with the 2006 release, and whoever was behind that choice in Bethesda was the most short-sighted moron in the mothership.
I could literally gush for hours about Prey '06, but I have work to do, so thank you once more for writing this up. And thank you for not spoiling the ending. If this at all intrigued anyone enough to give the game a try, the ending will be an awesome treat for them, cause I also think it's another angle not properly explored in games of this pedigree.
As for accessibility, the physical game is dirt cheap on Xbox (and can somehow still be purchased digitally with all DLC made free!) It's also backwards compatible with all modern Xbox consoles (see link below)
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/prey/BVPGZMMDDZ0M
As for Steam, I originally got my copy from a code in the retail box for PC. If you can find a sealed copy, the code inside can be redeemed on Steam. And it wasn't well-advertised or even mandatory either, so many used copies may still have a valid key inside.
Hope this helps anyone interested in giving the game a try. As the article explains, it is well worth your time, even today. Especially if you enjoy games like Doom 3 and Portal.
Love the idea of this series and can't wait to see what you pick next!
July 06, 2026
0 
14.12.2015 
