Story and World
Prey vs. The Surge
As I mentioned previously, Prey takes place in the distant future. Players take control of protagonist Morgan Yu as she wakes up one day to find out that she’s been forced to relive the exact same day and events for who knows how long. Due to her loss in memory, she’s forced to wander around the Talos I space station to find out exactly what has gone wrong in the facility. The station itself is also overrun by alien beings known as the Typhon.
Overall, Prey’s setting is a very intriguing and eclectic one. The look and feel of the space station feels awfully reminiscent of BioShock’s Rapture, except instead of being underwater, we’re in outer space. The game’s world makes use of warm, rich colors to accentuate the eeriness of the abandoned space station. Save for the prologue, the game is never overly bright, but that only serves to make it even more atmospheric. It’s worth mentioning that the look and feel of the space tech in Prey is stellar as well. Everything just looks wonderfully futuristic, but so unique at the same time.
On the other hand, The Surge goes for a different approach with its sci-fi story. Our protagonist Warren is wheelchair-bound, but that quickly changes when he joins up with mega corporation CREO. The company hooks him up with an exo-suit to help him walk again, and he’s just about to start his first day on the job when everything goes awry. When Warren wakes up at his workplace, he finds that the CREO machines have become hostile, and his fellow colleagues are now zombie-like husks that will stop at nothing to kill him.
In contrast to Prey, The Surge is a very bright game. Instead of being overly sci-fi and futuristic, the game goes for a more industrial look. There are ruined machines and metalwork everywhere, and the game’s world certainly feels a lot colder and harder than the one in Prey does.
The biggest difference with these two games is that Prey is certainly a lot more focused on its story and narrative, while The Surge is more content with hitting players with unforgiving action combat than actually letting the plot unfold. If you’re looking for a more story-driven title, Prey might be more up your alley than The Surge is.
