Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 304 sampled Steam reviews (274 positive / 30 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing28% mention it
- World & exploration25% mention it
- Visuals & art11% mention it
- Combat8% mention it
- Music & audio7% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing50% mention it
- Combat23% mention it
- Controls & UI17% mention it
- World & exploration13% mention it
- Visuals & art13% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
62%
26 reviews
5-15h
80%
51 reviews
15-40h
93%
137 reviews
40-100h
99%
76 reviews
100h+
100%
14 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 81 | 30 |
| Creator reviews (5 tracked) | – | 65 | 2 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 91% | 85 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 84 | 109 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 92% | 86 | 99 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 284 reviews sampled · 238 total reviews in window · weighted 218.7 up / 20.1 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (189)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 50
- 70
“Prey offers to explore an interesting world of the space station with a very rich background, but occasionally prevent you to find out its mysterious vastness. Characters without depth, awkward inventory, a huge number of backtracking and too strong and annoying enemies, deprive you of the pleasure from the examine of environment. Unlike BioShock Infinite, Prey's main plot has no sharp emotions, shocking discoveries or memorable scenes. The game is absolutely bland and trying to copy the ideas from other projects, except for the first spacewalk or thirty minutes from the start. But it has something magical about it, forcing you to explore each area and solve the next side mission. If not for that strange charm, we would hardly spent as much time untangling the mysteries of the space station and its unfortunate crew.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Prey feels like a 'Greatest Hits' collection of various artists' songs. It offers almost nothing new, some tracks you won't ever listen to, but every other song sounds great and brings positive emotions. Prey isn't perfect, but overall it's a good game, and hopefully its shortcomings will be fixed in the next Arkane's release.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“The game is dour and oblivious that its destination is more interesting and vital than the journey.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Clocking in at around 20 hours, Prey is well worth checking out even if you're not a fan of horror or sci-fi. It might not be wholly original, but that doesn't make it any less fun.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Prey is an action exploration game that sends a love letter to games such as System Shock 2 and Bioshock. It takes the best from them and combines it with some of its own fresh ideas and innovative gameplay, to create an amazing journey. Set on the Talos I space station that has been compromised by an alien race, you assume the role of Morgan, a scientist who will have to explore, survive and discover the world of Prey.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“It must have been a challenge to put all of this together, with groundbreaking patterns as an example. But the creators of the Dishonored series were worth trusting because the final product, despite a few mishaps, can certainly be considered one of this year's hits.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“The people and aliens who fill its space, and the reasons Morgan has for spending so much time picking through its confines, are retreads of ideas and conventions visited many other times before. As much as its opening objective prompt promises, Prey doesn't represent change. It's just more of what what's been done before.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Arkane Studios pleasantly surprises us with a Prey that, although relatively stealthily, is one of the best games in recent months. The French studio shows that having a great plot is as important as being able to tell the story. Better pacing and controls could have made the game even better.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Prey is aesthetically pleasing as its stylised art deco design, very much Bioshock in space, keeps the game running at a great pace while giving you just enough visual fidelity and variety to enjoy the architecture.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Despite its issues, which should be addressed in short order, Prey is a stunning gem. Not since the venerable System Shock 2 has there been an immersive simulator that succeeds in everything it sets out to do. Talos-1 is masterful in both its construction and design. Players are given limitless freedom to approach every possible situation, lending the game unparalleled levels of replay value. Also, it's rare to see a purely single-player experience retain its freshness in the face of a lengthy play-time. This is just as compelling in the 30th hour as it is in the first.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Arkane Studios has created a small masterpiece with Prey, proving that immersive sims are not dead but can become true gems in the right hands, combining classic sci-fi elements with modern game design into something that feels both familiar and entirely new.”
read full review ↗
The Jimquisition
GameMAG
3DNews
Slant Magazine
Gadgets 360
PLAY Zine
GRYOnline.pl
Paste Magazine
Nexus Hub
Cubed3
gamefinity…and 177 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Prey Update 1.09.5Aug 21, 2018
- Prey - New Update v. 1.05 - Patch NotesAug 2, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Prey - New Update v. 1.05 - Patch NotesAug 2, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Prey - Steam Update v1.04 - Patch NotesMay 31, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Prey - Steam Update v1.04 - Patch NotesMay 31, 2017
- Prey - Steam Update v1.03 - Patch NotesMay 18, 2017
- Prey - Steam Update v1.03 - Patch NotesMay 18, 2017
- Prey - Steam Update v1.02 - Patch NotesMay 10, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Prey - Steam Update v1.02 - Patch NotesMay 10, 2017
- Prey Releases 5.5.2017Jan 25, 2017
- Prey Releases 5.5.2017Jan 25, 2017