Prey - Alex’s Confession
We reviewed Prey upon its release earlier this month and concluded that it had tons of potential but enough rough edges to keep it from classic status. One element that isn’t undercooked, however, is the story, which works perfectly in the context of a video game and is fleshed out via audio logs, video screens and clues left by the crew.
You play as Morgan, brother or sister to Alex Yu. Alex is president of the TranStar corporation and big brother is overseeing the development of tools that will enhance what human beings are capable of. You’re following in his footsteps by signing up for your first day on the job when all hell breaks lose and the space station’s dirty secret breaks free: The Typhon.
Alex has been trying to harness Typhon technology to give humans extraordinary powers and you’ve been here before – you just don’t remember. You’ll meet key crew members who flesh out Alex’s troubling preoccupation with God-like power and the role you’ve played before your memory was shot. Prey keeps moral judgments to a minimum but by the end-game you’re free to decide whether to kill the alien lifeform and the surviving crew, jet off on your own, or try to save the facility and its research.
All of that matters naught, however, when the game cuts to a surprise epilogue and you’re treated to Alex standing over you with his employees in tow. Except the crew are robots and Morgan is apparently long dead. “What you experienced was a reconstruction based on Morgan’s memories,” Alex tells you. Morgan, who had lost his memory thanks to overuse of the experimental technology, was instrumental in Alex’s ascent. “We spent years trying to put what you can do into us. We never tried putting what we can do into you. Until now. You’re the bridge between our species.”
It turns out the world has been overrun by Typhon and you’ve never been Morgan at all, but an awful amalgamation of human and alien instead. A final choice is waved in front of your face: kill your captors, or accept your role as slave.