The revelation of Prey: Mooncrash it was as quick as it was unexpected, as was the statement on stage at E3 2018 announcing its immediate availability. Bethesda e Arkane Studios therefore they have not finished telling the stories dedicated to the Typhon, and this time they do it in a totally different way: even if the skeleton of the title remains the original one, some additions will almost totally upset the philosophy, and a new structure will force us to play with 5 different characters. Prey: Mooncrash in simple terms it translates into a sort of roguelike-like additional mode, in which the loss of even one of the characters will compromise our ultimate goal (saving them all in a single simulation and under certain conditions) and will catapult us into a series of attempts in a chain in which to enhance our remaining characters, until inevitably we will have to restart the simulation.
Welcome to Pytheas
Our alter ego is on a very particular satellite, in which we will learn that we have a rather "simple" task to perform - given our profession as a hacker - before the termination of our employment contract and the consequent return to our family: to finish a successful simulation set on the moon base of Pytheas, managing to rescue 5 crew members and taking certain actions. This is because the company that hired us, the KASMA, is looking for all possible information from within. Our word task seems like a walk in the park, but in practice it will be much less so. First of all, the characters will not be available from our first simulation, but will need to be unlocked achieving certain objectives such as the discovery of an object or an action performed. As you may already be imagining, these characters are different in basic characteristics, but also in the skill tree at their disposal (obviously much less packed with details than those of Morgan Yu). Especially in the early stages, it will be really complicated to be able to survive (the initial screen dedicated to us by Arkane Austin warned us well, ed.) And it will be up to us to be able to enhance our characters for the following uses, as well as clearly familiarize ourselves with the maps of the area. Each of our departures will make us restart our tourist visit to the station with another character, starting from the same point 0, until there are none left and the simulation starts all over again.
By dying you learn
The gameplay of Prey: Mooncrash, with the deaths that will be almost inevitable in a loop system. This will not only depend on your physical and strategic skills, but also on the inexorable ticking of the clock: apparently the simulation we are experiencing is subject to corruption, and as the level of this rises, the stronger the enemies that we will meet, up to the hated game over as soon as it reaches the maximum level. Corruption is unique to each simulation, so every time we switch between characters, it will pick up where it left off. As we anticipated in the opening, however, the characters will enhance themselves with everything that the base offers us (from Neuromods to chips) and our progress will never be in vain: many of the things we will find will be available for purchase in subsequent sessions using the points obtained at the end of the mission, which we can take with us in addition to the survivor's default equipment, and at each start have a more complete equipment.
Prey for a new look
In Prey: Mooncrash many of the basic structures of the game have remained the same, but there are also some very welcome changes and additions. Some of them borrow features from other types of titles, starting from the randomness of the enemies they encounter, up to to the wear and tear of weapons that will come to become almost useless. Other really substantial news are the insertion of enemies previously non-existent, like the Nests of Tentacles or the Lunar Shark (yes, it will remind you of a very bad Street Shark ... but with psychic powers, ed.). The look of the menu has changed very little, as has the HUD, but with a radial menu weapon selection that when you exceed the maximum number will become a psychedelic spiral! In addition, there are also hotkeys to use items devoted to care, repair, or to replenish our personal Psi bar.
A different philosophy
What differentiates at the end of the fair Prey: Mooncrash from the basic title, it is precisely the attitude with which it must be faced. We are not living in a linear story, and we will learn information about our characters in an unconventional way. First of all, the player needs patience and strategy mixed in a hurry and a very fast calculation of priorities. Often you will find yourself choosing between exploring a little more, moving away from the escape and self condemning yourself to another simulation session with all the characters, and between a sudden escape that however will not guarantee you a loot worthy of the name. Don't worry, from a certain point on it will be possible to restart the simulation manually. Clearly your choices will be dictated by what you need most in various situations: the main advice is to "waste" several runs to get upgrades and the like, and then run wildly in a final rush to save the crew members. However you take it, this DLC manages to entertain and guarantee several hours of gameplay (over 12 for an average player), especially if you take into account the unpredictability of the fund and the different objectives to be achieved in order to complete it. If you manage not to be frightened by try and die, you will have no excuse not to face this new adventure.
