Arkane Studios is set to launch its next title Redfall in the coming months, which will joins the likes of the Dishonored series, Deathloop, and Prey in an acclaimed catalog. While it is great to see the studio expand its library with brand-new IPs, Dishonored shouldn't be the only one of Arkane's titles to receive a true sequel. Despite disappointing sales figures upon launch, Prey was a unique and well-crafted sci-fi immersive sim that is more than worthy of a sequel to capitalize on the game's cult popularity.
As a first-person shooter-meets-immersive sim, Prey wears its System Shock inspirations on its sleeve. With games like Atomic Heart and the System Shock remake revitalizing interest in the "Shock-like," a Prey sequel would be in a great position to jump on this trend. It's clear the developer likes to vary the genres it touches and the stories it tells with games, but if any Arkane game is worthy of a sequel, it's 2017's Prey.
A Prey Sequel Could Capitalize on the Renewed Popularity of Shock-likes
Arkane Studios' Prey draws upon elements from games like System Shock 2 and BioShock to put players in a futuristic world where a species of alien known as Typhon is threatening to take over Earth. The Typhon are mimic-like creatures that can take on the appearance of any object in their environment. This mechanic plays into gameplay as protagonist Morgan Yu is able to adapt some of the abilities of the Typhon, much like Plasmids in the BioShock games, which opens the door for players to approach its contiguous level design in a variety of ways.
Couple these abilities with the different weapons in Prey, and the game has all the trimmings of an immersive sim with plenty of freedom. This design also lends itself well to being iterated upon in future sequels, as skills like Telepathy and Morph - acquired from the Typhon - have a wide array of potential sub-skills that could translate into unique mechanics for a sequel. There's also room to follow Atomic Heart's approach to weapon crafting and modification that would allow a Prey sequel to further expand its arsenal.
Prey's story also leaves things open-ended enough that a sequel could logically fit into the timeline. At the end of the game it is revealed that the Typhon have already taken over the Earth, and the real Morgan Yu is long dead; having being replaced with a Typhon mimic that is undergoing a series of allegiance tests for its race. This sets up a potential sequel where the player is dealing with the Typhon invasion on Earth. While this would mean shedding the isolated feeling of being stranded on Prey's Talos 1 space station, it could open up world and level design that simply was not possible in the first game.
While Prey did receive two expansions, Mooncrash and Typhon Hunter, neither really feels like it realized the potential that a full-blown sequel could deliver. Mooncrash's rogue-like elements are an interesting twist on the base game's formula, and Typhon Hunter's VR and multiplayer modes were pretty poorly received, leaving an even greater desire for a true follow-up. With Arkane's next project after Redfall still unknown, it would be wise to expand upon the most enjoyable aspects of Prey and give the game the sequel it deserves.
Prey is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.