Prey: Mooncrash

Considering how much they dominate the indie sphere, it’s weird that there aren’t more AAA roguelikes. Practically every example is a reformulated version of an existing game packaged as a side mode or DLC, as in Prey: Mooncrash. While I’m a huge fan of Prey, I’ll be the first to admit that it is not a good fit for a roguelike adaptation. Much of the appeal of the base game came from unearthing the deliberately-placed details of its setting, so assigning items and enemies to locations semi-randomly is a huge loss, even if the overall structure of the environment remains the same from run to run. Arkane seems to have misunderstood the appeal of roguelikes as well, as seemingly all of the random elements exist solely to hinder the player. Instead of hoping for a really good weapon or item combination, players will start each run praying that its obligatory power outage won’t be too inconvenient.

The most interesting thing about Mooncrash is that it’s not just Prey as a roguelike – it’s also something of a time loop game. Five different characters can each get a chance to complete their objectives during a single run, and the actions of each will affect those that come after. Once all characters have either succeeded or died, the loop fully resets apart from unlocked upgrades and equipment schematics, which can be constructed before a run for better starting loadouts. It’s all explained in-story as a simulation extrapolating possibilities from corrupted data in the most contrived investigatory game mechanic outside of a Sam Barlow game. Nonetheless, it’s an inventive storytelling technique that initially shows a lot of gameplay promise as well. Each character has a unique mission to accomplish within the loop structure as well as a unique method of escaping their predicament. They also each lay claim to one part of the base game’s skill tree, requiring players to adapt and coordinate between characters to fulfill their goals.

Unfortunately, this structure eventually causes the game to unravel. The shuffling of obstacles between runs means it’s impossible to know the most effective character selection order, and characters will often be saddled with tasks that they’re simply not equipped to handle. Even if they’re not killed, they’ll likely have to take circuitous routes filled with old enemies as well as new ones, each of which is annoying and inconsistent in some way. Perhaps most problematically, each run has a time limit that’s tied to its “corruption” level, which increases enemy strength and numbers as it grows, until the final level makes simply navigating the area all but impossible. One of the best things about Prey was its methodical approach to combat and exploration, where you needed to find every possible method of exploiting your environment in order to survive. While all of its mechanics technically function just as well here, they’re incredibly ill-suited to this level of urgency.