When comparing Prey (2017) vs NieR: Automata, the Slant community recommends Prey (2017) for most people. In the question“What are the best singleplayer games on Steam?” Prey (2017) is ranked 33rd while NieR: Automata is ranked 43rd. The most important reason people chose Prey (2017) is:
Throughout each level, there are several items to pick up in Prey, in order to save them to recycle into more useful items. There are also computers for the player to browse and read descriptive emails and data logs with new information, or electrical flames acting as obstacles that the player can extinguish with special tools. Environments are dense, telling a story all their own that adds to the intrigue of the main plot. As Morgan levels up, he or she can also unlock new ways to explore earlier locations, such as a feature to glide across locations to reach inaccessible areas, opening up new possibilities to discover.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Rewarding exploration
Throughout each level, there are several items to pick up in Prey, in order to save them to recycle into more useful items. There are also computers for the player to browse and read descriptive emails and data logs with new information, or electrical flames acting as obstacles that the player can extinguish with special tools. Environments are dense, telling a story all their own that adds to the intrigue of the main plot. As Morgan levels up, he or she can also unlock new ways to explore earlier locations, such as a feature to glide across locations to reach inaccessible areas, opening up new possibilities to discover.
Pro Morality system is well-implemented
Prey has a strong focus on the protagonist Morgan's actions to determine his or her morality, The choices in the game deal with choosing to kill a group of mind-controlled enemies or finding a way to save them. spending limited resources to go out of your way to fight enemies who pose a threat to the space station, or even saving groups of people who don't like you and won't appreciate your sacrifice. It's up to you to weigh the pros and cons and do what best reflects your own morals. These types of choices come up throughout the game, and they feel well-executed and implemented in ways that serve as an example for other morality-based titles to follow.
Pro Strong opening
The introduction to Prey's story and setting is intriguing, messing with the player's head and forcing them to question if what they had just experienced was real. There's an unsettling air of sterility and complacency where certain factors of the game expect the player, as the protagonist Morgan, to obliviously go along with the proceedings as if nothing is wrong. These events are ultimately more interesting than the rest of the story, but Prey nonetheless has an unforgettable hook that will keep players invested from the get-go.
Pro Options to stealth or shoot
Although the effectiveness of the stealth option leaves a lot to be desired, Prey at least gives the player the opportunity to either focus on straightforward combat or sneaking around enemies instead. Much like in the Deus Ex games, not being locked to either playstyle opens up a lot of freedom for exploration and taking on foes.
Pro Fast-paced, action-packed combat
The combat in NieR: Automata is fantastic. It has a hack-and-slash feel to it, with an emphasis on agility and showy acrobatics. With the fluid and responsive controls, you can switch seamlessly from using swift attacks with your weapon to devastatingly strong attacks as you combo them together. You also use customizable ranged missile attacks from your personal robot pod, such as powerful laser beams or a giant hammer attack. It can be difficult to win battles sometimes, especially on the harder gameplay settings, but it's worthwhile to keep at it and watch yourself progress and improve.
Pro Unique storytelling with a real emotional impact
NieR: Automata's outlook on storytelling is incredibly special. To get the full experience, you have to run multiple playthroughs of the game, each of which offers a new experience and perspective. Your world view of the story events and characters expands drastically as you complete each playthrough, playing on your expectations to help you develop a deeper emotional bond with the protagonists and become invested in their plight.
Things take a real turn on your third playthrough, putting you on an emotional roller coaster all the way to the true ending. The plot twists and knocks on the fourth wall elevate the story to a truly unique place. Getting all the way to the very end can be a religious experience from how much heart and meaning you discover in the symbolism.
Pro It's got a hauntingly beautiful environment
NieR: Automata is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape after Earth has been overrun by hostile machines, and the artists really nailed what that would feel like. Abandoned and overgrown cities litter the landscape along with old refineries, graveyards, and eerie forests. When you add the beautiful soundtrack to the experience, it fills you with a bittersweet mix of loneliness and hope.
Pro An incredible amount of content
Outside of the main story, there's plenty of optional content to dive into. The side quests are the best way to get to know the characters and lore of the world, with some of them giving clever and subtle foreshadowing of the game's most critical events. There are also weapons to collect and upgrade, each of which offer nice little tidbits of lore after you get them to max level. And after reaching a certain point in the story, you get access to Chapter Select that lets you go back and replay whatever you want. You can easily spend 60+ hours exploring the world and still have much more to do.
Pro Varied genre-spanning gameplay elements
NieR: Automata has different types of gameplay to keep things interesting. From the very start, you're on an on-rails bullet hell section, and then you switch over to the more traditional action RPG style of fast-paced combat. Things change up again not long after with some side-scrolling platforming from a 2D view. Later on in the story, there's a hacking mini-game where you navigate a tiny ship through a short puzzle, with the music changing to a charming retro sound to fit the theme and mood. This is a game that doesn't stay boxed in a single genre.
Pro Gorgeous, ethereal soundtrack with amazing vocals
NieR: Automata's music is out of this world. It's so stunning and elegant in a way that nothing else can really live up to. The soundtrack manages to emotionalize the game through music, from the action-packed tracks with hard-hitting wind instruments and percussion, to the softer, somber songs that encapsulate the hauntingly beautiful environments and story moments you encounter. Vocals in the lore's indescribable language makes the music even more memorable, adding to the ethereal quality of the sound. This soundtrack is definitely one that you can go back to again and again without getting sick of it.
Cons
Con Inconsistent graphics
Prey's environments and lighting effects are beautiful, with polished surfaces and fizzling bits of electricity coming from broken wires, but the human models in the game are decidedly average in comparison, their skin looking somewhat bloated or blotched at times that don't seem intentional. Thankfully, the humans in the game aren't as much of a focus as the environments are.
Con Weak stealth options
Because the player isn't forced to choose a dedicated playstyle from the onset, stealth or shooting, it's clear that having both forced the stealth option to suffer, with the primary mechanic being tiptoeing around enemies and hoping that they don't notice. With the dozens of options to mod Morgan's gun and inspire different uses for his or her weapon, the stealth painfully lacks in comparison.
Con Overuse of jump scares
The blob-like, ink-black mimics that appear throughout the space station often sneak up on the player by way of jump scares that gradually overstay their welcome, becoming more of an annoyance than anything, especially for players who dislike horror mechanics. The first few instances of this happening can be a complete turn-off, discouraging those who might have enjoyed the game without this particular design decision.
Con Limited open world
Even though NieR: Automata is technically an open world game, it doesn't always feel like it. It's more that there's a big open space in the center of the ruined city you explore, with branches that lead off to vastly different environments, like a desert, a village, and a few other places. These locations aren't that spacious, either, and it's a bit of a stretch to even imagine all of these places being so close together in the first place. It's not too much of an issue as long as you find the story and combat engaging enough.
Con Second playthrough can get repetitive
Once you get to Route B, your second playthrough, you may find that too much is the same. There are some big differences, such as the new way you get to see things play out, but a lot of it rehashes Route A, your first playthrough. There's a ton of hacking you have to do as well, which gets pretty boring after repeating it over and over again. But if you stick with it, Route C and onward are absolutely worth the time spent getting to that point.
Con Some boring fetch quests
The pacing gets messed up when you're forced to run certain fetch quests near the start of the game. This is somewhat forgivable after the fun and action-packed introductory level, but the quests themselves are still a drag to play through. Some of the side quests can also boil down to the same thing. Even though these quests give a lot of useful information about the world, they're not all that fulfilling, and you may dread having to repeat them when playing through the game again.
Con Buggy on PC
Some players complain about the game crashing, freezing, their save files mysteriously disappearing, and more. As of June 2018, over a year after the game's initial release, there is still no patch to fix these problems. Not everyone on PC will have these bugs, but it's still quite prevalent. If you continually run into issues, your best bet is to find a mod or play the console versions instead of waiting on an official patch that may never happen.