Arkane PREY - Arkane's immersive coffee cup transformation sim - now with Mooncrash roguelike mode DLC

[Gilius Thunderhead]

I'm playing this for the first time, "Nightmare" difficulty, of course, even though I suck at FPS. I've learned that it's the only way to get any fun out of modern games.

Apart from the very early game and a couple of encounters(Fire Phantom in Trauma Center, Weaver in the GUTS), it hasn't been that challenging. Because I died a few times early on, I got paranoid and took no chances, hauling turrets around, positioning them strategically, scrounging for materials, hoarding supplies, etc. It's been pretty fun, but I've now reached Arboretum with over 20 medkits, a full stack of suit repair kits and plenty of ammo. Once I unlock the Neuromod license, I should be able to get some 10 additional Neuromods, which should turn me into a lategame Elder Scrolls character.

Like I said, I kind of suck at FPS; I'm rather slow and clumsy and take damage even with easy enemies. If resources weren't so abundant, I might be struggling.

The game is fantastic. Only a couple of things(apart from the broken economy) really bother me, and I even wondered if there was some problem on my end, although I don't think so.

The first is the Mimics. Great concept, but there are definitely instances where I still get jumped by them even after taking every(reasonable) precaution. The Psychoscope takes care of the regular ones(in a way that feels like cheating), but Greater Mimics are undetectable afaik. I got jumped by two of these in Arboretum, on a roof near the botanist; they were disguised as boxes, but they weren't duplicates, didn't seem out of place, and their rattle wasn't audible outside their aggro range. What exactly are you supposed to do(apart from preemptively Glooing every prop)? Their sneak attack takes about 60 damage and they killed me in about 0.5 seconds. It really bothered me that I had to savescum and sneak attack them first. I wish the Psychoscope zoom let you hear distant sounds; after all, the mask zoom mechanic in Dishonored does exactly this. On the other hand, the ability to mark hidden enemies takes away a lot of the tension. There's no middle ground.

The second is sound direction. The music and sound effects are great in isolation, but there's some really bad mixing. I found the music very loud even at 50% volume, and there are jarring transitions that seem completely arbitrary. I kept getting startled inside empty rooms, so I just turned it off. The devs should've played Silent Hill to see how it's done.

Apart from that, I'm really enjoying it. Much more of an imsim than nu-Deus Ex. You don't need to put vents everywhere to make levels "open", just give the player the tools to be creative.

 

[Child of Malkav]

The Psychoscope takes care of the regular ones(in a way that feels like cheating), but Greater Mimics are undetectable afaik.

Undetectable for now. There is a chipset you can get to detect greater ones but it's later IIRC.

What exactly are you supposed to do(apart from preemptively Glooing every prop)?

Well, if you suspect there's a mimic in some area you can just shoot the suspected object with your pistol. Throw some exploding canisters around or another object to hit multiple others and see if the mimic shifts to its normal form. That's what I usually did.

Much more of an imsim than nu-Deus Ex.

Correct but with the mention that the new ones aren't imsims at all.

You don't need to put vents everywhere to make levels "open", just give the player the tools to be creative.

Also correct.
Have fun! Game is great.

 

[Tyranicon]

It was cheap, but I definitely remember leapfrogging turrets around the map so I was always covered, up until midgame or so when difficulty becomes a joke.

Immersion!

 

[motherfucker]

there are definitely instances where I still get jumped by them even after taking every(reasonable) precaution

Pretty sure it's this way on purpose to have you shooting random props out of paranoia, fun if unorthodox design imo.

You don't need to put vents everywhere to make levels "open", just give the player the tools to be creative.

There's a shitload of items, powers and weapons that allow you to skip a whole bunch of utility skills and still get into every nook and cranny. E.g. all you need to grab the shotgun from the security room is a nerf crossbow. If you feel getting around is formulaic, you probably haven't figured out usage of some tool. Spoilers: you can explore the entirety of cargo bay, neuromod division, and get to Alex's office without the code on your first visits just by abusing the glue gun. Recycler grenades allow you to move heavy stuff out the way without investing into weight lifting.

The second is sound direction.

Yeah sound is retardedly bad. I assume it's an engine quirk rather than anything else.

 

[Terenty]

Getting outside the station and being able to fly around in space and around this giant structure and enter it from different places was one of the very few "next gen" moments I've had in gaming so far

 

[luj1]

Any mods that fix all the backtracking and fighting coffee cups and towels over and over and over again? I thought this game had a terrific opening but became repetitive and tedious quickly.

 

[Gilius Thunderhead]

Instead of continuing with vanilla, I decided to restart with RoSoDude's mod with all the optional hardcore modules and I've now reached Arboretum again.

This feels a lot more like the vanilla game should've been at, say, "Hard" difficulty(not necessarily "Hardest", a.k.a. Nightmare difficulty). Resource management is now pretty tight(specially with the "No Free Lunch" module, which is probably not advisable for a first run, as it removes functionality from operators), while combat is about the same, maybe even easier(from what I understand, he removed the damage scaling to avoid cheap deaths, which I like).

Still need to play the second half of the game, but I already feel the tension easing a little. The Nightmare is supposed to be the toughest thing in the game, but he barely lasted 5 seconds against my 4 four upgraded turrets(couldn't even scan him). Only Technopaths have given me trouble, and I had to savescum a bit to get past the one in the GUTS.

I was pretty lucky to find the Greater Mimic detection thingy pretty early this time around(even before the psychoscope, lol), so that takes care of my only concern. I'm enjoying the game(and the mod) a lot so far, I hope it holds up a bit longer.

 

[Silverfish]

The Nightmare is supposed to be the toughest thing in the game, but he barely lasted 5 seconds against my 4 four upgraded turrets(couldn't even scan him).

I had leverage rank 3 and just threw shit at him while hiding in a doorway too small for him to pass.

 

[RoSoDude]

Instead of continuing with vanilla, I decided to restart with RoSoDude's mod with all the optional hardcore modules and I've now reached Arboretum again.

This feels a lot more like the vanilla game should've been at, say, "Hard" difficulty(not necessarily "Hardest", a.k.a. Nightmare difficulty). Resource management is now pretty tight(specially with the "No Free Lunch" module, which is probably not advisable for a first run, as it removes functionality from operators), while combat is about the same, maybe even easier(from what I understand, he removed the damage scaling to avoid cheap deaths, which I like).

Still need to play the second half of the game, but I already feel the tension easing a little. The Nightmare is supposed to be the toughest thing in the game, but he barely lasted 5 seconds against my 4 four upgraded turrets(couldn't even scan him). Only Technopaths have given me trouble, and I had to savescum a bit to get past the one in the GUTS.

I was pretty lucky to find the Greater Mimic detection thingy pretty early this time around(even before the psychoscope, lol), so that takes care of my only concern. I'm enjoying the game(and the mod) a lot so far, I hope it holds up a bit longer.

Hey, thanks for playing my mod! You can better appreciate the changes since you already played at least a third of the game vanilla already, so that's cool.

Unfortunately you've already seen the best the game has to offer (modded or otherwise), after the Arboretum the game plateaus and then declines in quality (level design, enemy variation, new tools/gadgets, challenge). My mod extends the game's interest a bit further as you still have meaningful resource management and character progression (I ended up nearly stuck in the Cargo Bays with broken legs and no trauma kits on one run), but it doesn't do much to address the game's shortcomings there.

And yeah, in my view the difficulty settings should have addressed resources rather than scaling damage, as I've written about before. I made the hardcore modules in an effort to replace the in-game difficulty setting, which now only affects player damage output, healing, suit damage, radiation, and a handful of damage intake sources. Recycler yield I think would have been the best thing to scale with difficulty, since it naturally limits expendable resources like ammo and medkits as well as character progression through Neuromod crafting, acting as an XP reduction (compared with SS2's higher skill costs on harder difficulties).

 

[Ash]

Unfortunately you've already seen the best the game has to offer (modded or otherwise)

I will once again put in my vote for Prey for Death 2 mod. The game stayed engaging until the very end, and many of the fundamental issues are resolved. It's sad a brainlet shot it down on prior pages. "Immature". Right. the game actually demanding you strategize and use your brain on a higher level from start to finish is "immature". The game design fundamentals being synergistic instead of casual mediocrity is "immature". That's just what cucks label anything wherein you can't spam quicksave.

 

[Tweed]

Unfortunately you've already seen the best the game has to offer (modded or otherwise)

I will once again put in my vote for Prey for Death 2 mod. The game stayed engaging until the very end, and many of the fundamental issues are resolved. It's sad a brainlet shot it down on prior pages. "Immature". Right. the game actually demanding you strategize and use your brain on a higher level from start to finish is "immature". The game design fundamentals being synergistic instead of casual mediocrity is "immature". That's just what cucks label anything wherein you can't spam quicksave.

 

[Gilius Thunderhead]

Thank you RoSoDude for the feedback. It's always reassuring to see a modder show such a deep understanding of game design. I'll remember to post impressions once I'm finished.

Unfortunately you've already seen the best the game has to offer (modded or otherwise)

I will once again put in my vote for Prey for Death 2 mod. The game stayed engaging until the very end, and many of the fundamental issues are resolved. It's sad a brainlet shot it down on prior pages. "Immature". Right. the game actually demanding you strategize and use your brain on a higher level from start to finish is "immature". The game design fundamentals being synergistic instead of casual mediocrity is "immature". That's just what cucks label anything wherein you can't spam quicksave.

You said you died about 80 times during your playthrough; I would certainly die a lot more because I'm not a FPS player(the last time I played an FPS where non-human things lunge at you from weird angles was probably in the 90s/early 00s). You described Mimics as "flies to be swatted", while I had to take them very seriously.

So far I've only died 3 times(fully explored Arboretum, going into Crew Quarters), only one of them unavoidable(Technopath in the GUTS), while the other two I could've easily run away. Granted, I'm playing very carefully and using a lot more strategy than the average player(who wouldn't even think of installing a difficulty mod, anyway). A low number of deaths is what I'm looking for in a "survival horror" game, as long it maintains the necessary tension. I should always be afraid to die, but nearly always be able to avoid it if I'm playing smart. The odd Game Over here and there is just to remind you that there are consequences for being careless and you should feel bad about it.

Personally, I'd prefer for the world to be bit a more populated. For example, I was always expecting to get jumped from the bushes in Arboretum, but it was nearly empty. I also think the Psychoscope gives you too much of an advantage; it completely changed how I played once I got it. But these are vanilla problems, of course. Otherwise, Core Balance is hardcore in the way I like.

 

[Gilius Thunderhead]

Finally finished it last night. I was essentially speedrunning the game by the end, zipping past enemies with the speed upgrades and Blink Phantom Shift, a remarkable departure from my early playstyle of scouting, carefully placing turrets, planning my approaches, etc.

Died a bit more frequently in the last part of the game, as I began losing patience and doing more cowboy shit. Still, even rolling with the punches I had about 15 Medkits, 10 Psy Hypos and Neuromods left unspent. As far as materials go, synthethic was actually my bottleneck, while I had over 30 mineral cubes sitting in my inventory; this was due to relying mostly on turrets and Kinetic Wave/Phantom Genesis, only using guns as backup. RoSoDude's changes to resource management were pretty spot on, I think, I wouldn't want that aspect to be any harder; I'm pretty much a resource maxxer from having spent so much of my life free time playing spreadsheet games, survival scavenger roguelikes, etc., it's a good thing I didn't struggle too much.

Neuromods were still given out like candy. I don't think the mod made any change to that. For a first playthrough that works alright, because you get to test different playstyles, but it's not really good design. Arkane wanted the player to see all the cool shit they did, but in doing so they pushed the game closer to Dishonored, where you have 10 hammers for every nail. Not to mention that some abilities make it more expedient to just run away and past enemies, rather than engage with the game. That's what I did when the game started throwing bullshit at me by the end.

Let's get the negatives out first. I didn't like the Nightmare, it feels tacked on, like one of those mods people make after playing RE3 once. You mostly encounter them during level transitions, which means you can just go back, or sit around patiently if you're in a good spot. Good opportunity to stretch your legs, take a piss/check you phone, I guess. You can also make a thread on Reddit about how it's "terrifying" for updoots.

Backtracking was tedious, because it felt like more of the same but the enemies had been level scaled. Lack of enemy variety doesn't help, either. I don't want to fight another Weaver/Telepath and two Voltaic Phantoms just to get an item for a side-quest. There wasn't enough content to hold the areas together. A seamless transition world, where you could unlock different pathways between locations, similar to the GUTS, would've made it more interesting. The redeeming factor is the ability to travel outside the station. The Talos exterior truly elevates the game to a different level.

It was also a lot more janky than I was expecting. I kept getting stuck in weird places(WTF is wrong with grav shafts?), I had items and people disappear while dragging them, fortified turrets evaporating after the reactor "reboot", several missions which I couldn't complete due to bad scripting. I basically had to quicksave before doing anything "physics" related. And no, this wasn't because of the mod, because I saw threads from 2017 talking about this stuff. What the hell, Arkane.

Overall, I'd say there was a proper "survival horror" experience until you get the Psychoscope; still a pretty good ImSim with horror elements until Arboretum; after that, a gradual decline in quality until you meet Alex, where it turns into total bullshit. Despite all these faults, it's still a pretty remarkable game.

I really liked the endings. The choice after the credits is genius, because it recontextualizes everything you did before and there's no fixed meaning, only what the player truly believes. Almost no RPGs acknowledge that the player can be good for other reasons. The sheer nihilism of saving everyone only as a ruse to escape the simulation, then immediately turn on humanity. Has any other game gone this far?

 

[Jarmaro]

I've seen little discussions of DLC here. I recommend you to try it. It didn't get much renown, but few people and reviewers that played it consider it suprisingly good and enjoyable. For me, it was a great experience that pushed me to optimize and work with what few resources I have.

 

[toro]

 

[Latelistener]

They had ladders in Redfall. What the fuck happened, Harvey?

 

[Bad Sector]

I've seen little discussions of DLC here.

I tried to play it twice but got bored of it soon after, the loops make it uninteresting and i didn't like the multiple characters - two things i consider important in immersive sims is exploration and character growth and the loops and multiple characters felt like going against both of these. FWIW i had a similar issue with Weird West in that the multiple characters was by far my least liked aspect of the game - but at least the exploration was fine and characters stayed around long enough and there is *some* sort of continuity (though i still haven't finished the game, i dropped it some time ago at the third character but i want to pick it up and continue at some point). I'd rather have a single custom character i build over the entire game though.

 

[udm]

Whoops! Looks like ol' Harv forgot to include the Inclusivity poster in there.

 

[Child of Malkav]

Has anyone seen/posted this here before?

 

[toro]

 

[Child of Malkav]

He's being polite. That company is dead and its corpse animated by wokemancy.

 

[Melmoth]

Ash Thanks for the Prey for Death rec

The mod solves the core issues of the base game, namely that it was balanced so that MCA would be able to complete it. It has now that great Shock difficulty feel, and the changes/expansions are p. welcome. His altered dimension idea might have been really cool, given the mod he already turned out.