Bethesda Prey - PlayStation 4

Throwbacks to games from the 90s usually revolve around simplistic gameplay to replicate the old gameplay loops or Updated "throwbacks", trying to mimic what in our minds eye we thought the game looked like or would have looked like if we had the modern era of graphic. Prey 2017 takes heavily from the System shock series (the predecessor to Bioshock) down to having a code from that original game. It however uses the nearly 20 years of gameplay advancements since that game and this game to make something that much like doom last year is both something new and interesting while making it fun and retro. It starts off very much as the typical sci-fi horror game with your character, which you pick whether you'll be playing a Male or Female version of a character named Morgan Yu, as apart of a space station and witness something that makes you know things gone side ways and aliens have taken over everything. But then it takes a step to the left and challenges you with a few ideas and offers you choices, and not just "clearly right and clearly wrong" choices but ones that dip into the shades of gray. You can leave someone to die who is telling you it's okay if you do just as long as you complete the mission, you can make someone who was there to kill you and everyone else on station change their minds with a form of brainwashing. But you can also find a way to save the first person and just simply kill the second person without a second thought. It's up to you, though know one secret ending will give you an idea of what's really going on while not giving everything else away, though it may not be obvious to you or your character how to get there. The Aliens themselves are a rather interesting mix of things but all at their core is a mass of shadowy materials that can deform and transform called the Typhon, after the mythical beast. At first these can make walking into a new room a nightmare as several objects may be in fact the basic mimic enemies in disguise that are about the size of a small dog. But later Typhon can become an issue as one directly is effected by how many powers you use/what your character upgrades are, Another Typhon is all about corrupting & hijacking machines, such as turrets & even some doors. There's even another another is all about attacking you and your fellow human's minds, causing situations where you are forced to face down otherwise normal humans. These enemies all require different approaches depending on their weaknesses, what you specialize in & how you want to use your ammo. As discussed above there are specialization and powers, these come from Neuromods which as the name suggest modify your character's brain and then affect your character's physical prowess . These can do everything from allow you more equipment slots, to upgrade your weapons easier, throwing heavy things around or jumping around like the incredible hulk while running as fast as an Olympic athlete. You can even turn into objects much like the mimic enemies & even blast several elemental or psychokinetic energies at enemies. All of which have their uses outside of normal combat as well: If there's a door way that requires level 3 strength, if you upgraded for it you can use it, otherwise you forgo that by finding a vent shaft or climbing the pipes that you can access using the athletics upgrades. The game is at very least 15+ hours on your first play through if you don't rush & try to do things here or there of the main path. The only real complaints I have are load times being long and the rare "Wait what?" bug (Example: I saved a character from being used by an alien as a living drone, but they for some reason suddenly became aggressive, though I made sure NEVER to harm them.). However it doesn't take away from the story nor the characters, who I felt were more human than most games that try to build a world because they weren't just "clearly good" or "clearly bad" with rare exception. I'd highly recommend Prey to anyone who is a fan of the shock series and wants something new to tide themselves over until the System Shock 1 remake or System Shock 3. Edited on 1/22/2021 to fix some grammar an clarify some points. Still highly recommend especially with Both System Shock 1's remake and 3 still in development. Also check into Deathloop the upcoming game by this same team.