The latest trailer for its upcoming first-person shooter Prey focuses on the game’s “mimic” mechanics, which allow players to assume the form of everyday objects like coffee cups, snack foods, and one well-traveled banana.
The mimic ability will play a significant role throughout the game and players will need to carefully pick which inanimate objects they inhabit while attempting to slip past alien enemies and their futuristic security measures.
Originally pitched as a sequel to the 2006 first-person shooter of the same name, Prey saw a dramatic transformation over the many subsequent years it spent in development hell. Dishonored developer Arkane Studios later picked up the project and produced an entirely new experience that serves as a “re-imagining” of the original Prey.
Arkane’s Prey reboot puts players in the middle of an open-world space station overrun by aliens. Though the game’s human protagonist is easy prey for their alien pursuers, players can use the game’s mimic mechanic to pose as inanimate objects, allowing them to casually roll through environments as apples, picture frames, and tea kettles without being detected.
Speaking with Digital Trends during a preview session in August, Prey lead designer Ricardo Bare confirmed that stealth will play a prominent role in the studio’s upcoming FPS.
“You can build them around being good with weapons or being good with stealth,” Bare said. “Or you can decide, ‘(I’m) going to spend all my energy and resources on scanning aliens, getting their powers, and being more of a psionic type character.'”
Bare also assured Dishonored fans that they will find a lot to love in Arkane’s latest effort, despite its drastic shift in theme and setting.
“I hope people understand that this is really true to an Arkane game,” Bare said. “So if you love the stuff Arkane loves, the kind of games that we love to make, like Dishonored, you’re going to love this.”
The game launches for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC platforms on May 5.