How Long Is Prey Game? Playtime Details

The average playtime for a single playthrough of Prey is around 16 to 20 hours.

Curious about how long is Prey game? You’re not alone, many players wonder about the commitment needed for this engaging title. It really depends on your playstyle.

Exploration and completing side missions can easily extend that time. Some players find themselves lost in the world for 25+ hours. So plan accordingly for this immersive adventure.

How Long is Prey Game? Unveiling the Playtime and Replayability

Figuring out how long it takes to finish a game is a big question for lots of gamers. When it comes to “Prey,” the sci-fi action game where you fight scary aliens on a space station, the answer isn’t always simple. It depends a lot on how you like to play! Do you like to explore every nook and cranny? Or do you want to just zoom through the main story? Let’s dive into all the different factors that influence how long your “Prey” game will last. We will look at the main story duration, exploration, side missions and much more.

The Main Story: How Much Time Does It Take?

Okay, let’s start with the most basic question: how long does it take to finish the main story of “Prey?” If you play through “Prey” in a pretty straightforward way, focusing mostly on the main missions, you’re probably looking at somewhere between 15 and 20 hours of gameplay. This assumes you’re not spending too much time getting sidetracked. This is the average playtime for those who want to finish the game without exploring each and every detail. But be warned: “Prey” has a lot of things to tempt you away from the main path.

Here are some factors which influence the playtime:

• Your Difficulty Setting: If you play on an easier difficulty level, you’ll likely move through combat encounters more quickly, potentially reducing your playtime. Conversely, harder difficulty settings will require more careful planning and strategy. Which will ultimately lead to longer play hours.
• How You Play: Do you try to stealth your way through? Or do you go guns blazing? Stealth can sometimes be slower, but it can also be more efficient if you avoid fights. Different playstyles affect your playtime considerably.
• Experience with Games Like This: If you’ve played similar first-person shooter/adventure games before, you might be faster at learning the mechanics and solving the environmental puzzles, thus finishing quicker.

Exploring Talos I: The Allure of Side Missions

“Prey” isn’t just about the main story. The space station Talos I is filled with side missions that add to the story and the depth of gameplay. These side quests can have you helping other characters, looking for hidden items, or even just going down intriguing rabbit holes that lead to fascinating tales about what happened on the station. These side missions will absolutely extend your game time.

The Benefits of Side Missions

Taking the time to do the side missions is a good way to get to know the world, gain better weapons, and learn more about what really happened on Talos I. Side missions also provide valuable experience, materials to craft items, and upgrades for your character. These are all things that can help you with the main story too.

• Extended Playtime: Side missions can easily add 5 to 10 extra hours to your play time. If you decide to do every side mission, you might find yourself playing for even longer.
• Story Enrichment: They’re not just simple fetch quests. Many side missions give you important insight into characters and events, creating a much richer and enjoyable experience.
• More Rewards: These missions usually award you with powerful weapons, useful items, and crafting materials that you will find necessary to progress in the main story.

So, if you want to get all the side missions done, you’re going to be playing “Prey” for longer.

Playstyle and its Impact on Game Duration

How you play “Prey” will greatly change how long you play for. It’s not just about main story vs. side quests, it’s also about how you play the game itself.

Stealth vs. Combat

Do you prefer to sneak around, avoid fights when you can, and use clever traps? Or do you prefer to go face to face, using your weapons and powers to defeat your enemies? Sneaking around can be slower, as you carefully plan your every move. But it can also save you from wasting resources. Direct combat is faster when done right, but it’s more difficult and can drain your resources pretty quickly.

• Stealthy Play: Players who prefer a stealth approach can take more time exploring, finding hidden paths, and avoiding combat. This can greatly lengthen the time needed to finish the game.
• Combat Focused Play: Players who prefer direct combat will often progress more quickly, as they engage enemies more frequently. This may shorten their overall gameplay time, especially on lower difficulty settings.

Exploration vs. Speedrunning

Some players like to explore every bit of the game. They read every email, they search every corner of the space station, and they make sure they didn’t miss anything. Other players like to play more quickly, focusing on the main objectives and avoiding any unnecessary tasks.

• Exploration Enthusiasts: If you are the type of person that leaves no stone unturned, then you will spend a lot more time exploring the Talos I station. This method allows you to appreciate the world details. And these players often discover hidden areas, and items. They ultimately end up with more playtime.
• Speedrunners: On the other hand, players who are focused on getting to the end as quickly as possible may miss a lot of these details, and can finish the game in much less time than exploration enthusiasts. Speedrunning usually requires knowledge of the game and routes to finish the main story quickly.

Difficulty Level

The difficulty setting you choose will dramatically affect how long you play. If you play on easy, the enemies will be easier, and you will spend less time trying to defeat them. If you play on a higher difficulty level, the enemies will be more difficult to beat, and you’ll need to approach every encounter with more strategy and carefulness. This can easily add many hours to your play time. Different difficulty settings also encourage different play styles which also influences the game time.

Replayability of Prey: Can You Play it Again?

So, after you finish “Prey,” is there any reason to play it again? The answer is a definite yes! “Prey” has a high replayability factor because of many reasons which make each playthrough unique and enjoyable.

Different Powers and Abilities

In “Prey,” you can gain different kinds of powers, including abilities based on the Typhon aliens, which you’re fighting against. How you decide to upgrade your powers can dramatically change the way you play. A second playthrough, choosing different power upgrades, means a totally different experience.

• Typhon Abilities: Using these alien powers changes gameplay significantly. They add new ways to approach obstacles and enemies. A playthrough focused on these will offer a different set of challenges and approaches.
• Human Abilities: Focusing on human skills offer alternative solutions to problems, making it feel different than using alien powers. You will use engineering skills to bypass obstacles and use combat skills for direct confrontations.

Choices and Consequences

“Prey” isn’t just a linear story; it offers you a chance to make important choices that affect the game’s story and ending. You can decide who to help, how to interact with people, and even how to handle difficult situations. Your choices will create very different outcomes in the end. This encourages multiple playthroughs to explore all the different possibilities.

• Multiple Endings: The different choices you make result in multiple game endings. This makes playing it again to experience the different endings a great reason to replay the game.
• Moral Dilemmas: You will face many tough choices that will make you question your actions. These choices will result in different effects, which gives an extra layer of depth and intrigue.

Different Playstyles

As mentioned before, you can play “Prey” in very different ways: stealth, combat, or a mix of both. You might try playing as a pure stealth character this time and then playing as a pure combat character the next. Trying different playstyles and experimenting with them offers a lot of fun.

• Stealth Focused Replay: You can try a playthrough that relies on stealth to avoid fights and using the environment to your advantage.
• Combat Focused Replay: You can also try a playthrough focused on using a wide array of weapons and engaging the enemy head-on, trying out different weapons and strategies.

Finding Hidden Items and Areas

Talos I has many secrets hidden through the space station. Maybe you missed a hidden area on your first play? Maybe there is a secret weapon that you don’t know about yet. Playing “Prey” again gives you the chance to uncover all the mysteries that the game has to offer.

Average Playtime Table

Here is a quick summary table of the playtime based on different play styles:

So, the answer to “how long is Prey game?” really depends on how you decide to play. You can make it a quick adventure or a long, deep dive into the mystery of Talos I. Enjoy it!

In conclusion, the playtime of “Prey” is largely influenced by the player’s choices and gaming style. While the main story provides a solid 15-20 hours, exploration, side missions, and various playstyles can easily expand the experience to 30-40 hours or more. The game’s replayability further increases its value with different power choices and various outcomes. This provides an engaging experience for both first-time players and those looking for additional playthroughs. Thus the game offers great value for the money, making it a favorite among the players who love open-ended gameplay and science-fiction themes.

I got a long version of this review for Prey too.

Final Thoughts

The playtime for Prey varies. Players aiming for the main story might finish in around 15-20 hours. Completing side quests and exploring thoroughly can extend play significantly.

Many completionist players will invest 25-30+ hours in Prey. This provides a rich and detailed experience of the world. “How long is prey game” ultimately depends on player style and goals.