The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Prey (2017) makes a strong case as a standout horror-tinged sci-fi game, but it is not horror in the narrow, nonstop sense. Arkane Studios builds its tension around a hostile space station, uncertain threats, exploration, and the freedom to improvise. That blend makes it one of the decade’s most compelling immersive sims with horror elements; calling it one of the best horror games of the 2010s depends on how broadly you define horror.
What is Prey (2017)?
Prey is an Arkane Studios first-person sci-fi action game set aboard Talos I, a space station orbiting the Moon. You play as Morgan Yu, confronting the Typhon, an alien threat aboard the station. Bethesda describes it as a sci-fi thriller, while Steam’s genre descriptors include first-person, horror, exploration, atmospheric, and immersive sim. Those labels capture its range better than any single genre does. Steam’s store page lists May 4, 2017 as the release date; Bethesda’s announcement gave May 5 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Is Prey a horror game?
Yes, in a meaningful but qualified sense. Horror is part of the game’s identity and official store tagging, and the station’s danger, unfamiliar enemies, and isolated setting support suspense. But Bethesda also frames it as a first-person sci-fi action game. It is not best understood as horror alone: combat, exploration, and systems-driven problem solving share the spotlight.
That distinction matters if you expect a game built primarily around helplessness or a steady sequence of scares. Prey gives Morgan tools and room to respond. Its tension is tied to uncertainty and the player’s approach, rather than to a single, fixed horror rhythm. The result can feel more like surviving and investigating a dangerous place than being carried through a conventional horror story.
#1 Best Overall
- Playstation 4
Why Talos I makes the tension work
Exploration turns the station into part of the story
Talos I is more than a backdrop for encounters. The station’s layout, scattered information, and optional discoveries invite players to piece together what happened and decide where to go next. Arkane creative director Raphael Colantonio described the studio’s narrative approach as telling the story through player actions and optional information, including audio communications, overheard conversations, environmental storytelling, and objectives. That approach lets the setting convey context without requiring every detail to arrive in a cutscene.
Player choice changes the feel of encounters
Arkane’s stated design philosophy emphasizes simulation and improvisation rather than simply combining shooter and role-playing conventions. Colantonio put it this way: “But what makes the immersive sim more than just ‘FPS meets RPG’ is that the game development philosophy behind it relies a lot on simulation.” In practice, that philosophy is central to the appeal: players are encouraged to assess situations and find their own ways through them, rather than treating each obstacle as a single prescribed sequence.
Rank #2
- GAMING CONSOLE
That flexibility can strengthen the suspense. A threat is more unsettling when the player must judge how to respond with the tools and information at hand. It also means the experience is not identical for everyone: the sense of vulnerability depends in part on the choices a player makes.
Does Prey deserve to be called one of the decade’s best horror games?
As an evaluative claim, it is defensible if “horror game” includes atmospheric sci-fi games where unease, hostile encounters, and exploration shape the experience. Prey pairs those qualities with unusually prominent player agency and environmental storytelling. It is less persuasive as a pick for someone seeking horror that keeps fear and helplessness at the center from beginning to end.
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Rank #3
- Sci-Fi Thriller: Nothing is as it seems aboard Talos I. As Morgan Yu, set out to unravel the clues you've left behind for yourself, and discover the truth about your past. What role will you play in TranStars plans, and the mysterious threat ravaging the station?
- Singular Setting: Orbiting the Moon, the Talos I space station symbolises the height of private space enterprise. Explore a lavish craft designed to reflect corporate luxury of the 1960s, and navigate interconnected, non-linear pathways built to hide countless secrets.
- Unimaginable Threat: The shadowy extra-terrestrial presence infesting Talos I is a living ecology bent on annihilating its prey. Its up to you, one of the last remaining survivors aboard the station, to end the deadly attack of these haunting predators.
- Play Your Way: Gain alien abilities to develop a distinct combination of powers and upgrade your unique skills. Craft increasingly useful items with the blueprints, gadgets and tools on board the station to overcome dangerous obstacles in your way. Survive unprecedented threats with your wits and ability to improvise.
The stronger, more precise verdict is that Prey is one of the most distinctive horror-inflected immersive sims of the 2010s, and a notable sci-fi thriller in its own right. That is a judgment about what the game offers, not a documented consensus ranking: the available official descriptions and developer commentary establish its aims and genre signals, not a measured comparison against every horror release of the decade.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What else is included, and where does Mooncrash fit?
Mooncrash is additional content, not part of the base-game story description. Bethesda announced it in June 2018 as a new challenge and also identified Story Mode, Survival Mode, and New Game+ updates. Bethesda’s Digital Deluxe product description says it includes the base game, Mooncrash, and Typhon Hunter. These details are useful when comparing editions; they do not change the base game’s central identity as a Talos I sci-fi action thriller.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- PLAN AHEAD FOR THE CARD FLIP - Play six tricks, then flip your cards to use the numbers on the other side! How will you choose your decisions, planning for the mid-game swing?
- THE DICE DETERMINE YOUR BID - In other trick-taking games, it can be difficult to new players to have to bid as their first action. Prey leaves it to a roll of a dice!
- TINY SIZE, BIG STRATEGY - Trick-taking takes center stage in Prey, and manipulating your cards into perfectly laid plans (or crushing miscalculations) only takes up a small amount of space.
- THINK SHORT AND LONG TERM - As you play, don't ignore the ranks of your cards in the second half of the game. Your lower-value cards could turn into big winners in the late game!
- WHAT YOU'RE SAYING - "It's an excellent little game... So great that this game is now available to a wider audience." BGG User Dilngr4
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