Check Out The First Gameplay Video For Arkane Studios' 'Prey'

At this year’s Bethesda E3 Showcase, Arkane Studios revealed its latest project, titled Prey, and promised more information about the game at Quakecon. Fast-forward to yesterday, the first day of the annual show, and Prey’s developers delivered the promised information as well as a short gameplay trailer.

From the E3 presentation, we knew that Prey’s central character is a man named Morgan Yu, who is stationed on Talos I, an R&D space station that orbits the Earth. However, Yu isn’t having fun in outer space. In fact, he’s the subject of numerous experiments that granted him alien powers. Now, he has to use those powers to fight off the entities known as Typhons, which escaped from their containment prisons and are slowly taking over the station.

According to Bethesda’s blog post on the game, there are multiple variants of Typhons inside Talos I. The smallest units are called Mimics due to their ability to camouflage themselves as ordinary objects such as a trash can or chair. There are also the human-sized Phantoms that seem to be able to teleport between two locations. Finally, there’s the giant Nightmare, but it seems that Arkane Studios is staying quiet on additional details on its largest Typhon.

One of the ways to fight the these Typhons is with Yu’s newfound powers, along with so-called neuromods that allow him to learn new abilities from the aliens. For example, there’s the Recycler Charge ability, which turns him into a grenade that turns objects around him into craftable items, or he can use the Superthermal skill to create a trap of fire. However, not all abilities are geared towards the aggressive approach. He can also find ways to sneak around Typhons with a shape-shifting ability, or run away from enemies with a Kinetic Blast.

Yu’s powers aren’t the only way to fight the Typhon threat. He can use items and weapons that are scattered throughout the station. One example is the GLOO Cannon, which can instantly trap enemies, close small pathways or patch up a dangerous leak. The effects of the Recycler Charge obviously means that the game will incorporate some crafting mechanics. One of the crafting blueprints is for the Artax Propulsion System, which he can use to move around in zero gravity areas inside and outside Talos I.

Based on the early information, the entire thing sounds like a mix of Arkane’s famed Dishonored games and the Dead Space series from EA’s Visceral Games studio. Then again, it’s still too early to tell if that’s the developers’ goal with Prey. The game is due to arrive in 2017, although a specific date wasn’t provided.