Overall Score: 7 / 10, Good.
The Good:
-Graphics, art, and design
-Sound design and soundtrack
-Great story
-Game play style flexibility
The Bad:
-Too many loading screens
-Poor inventory management
-Repetitious fetching, even in the main story
THE SHORT VERSION:
If you are a fan of the Dishonored games and/or the Bioshock games, you really need to play this game. In general, anyone looking for a challenging game that gives you the option of stealth vs run and gun and some skill trees that you can customize to better meet those play styles - this game will not leave you disappointed.
THE LONG VERSION:
First, let us clear the air: This new version of Prey is NOT like the original. If you are expecting it to be, you need to change that perception before you begin. Instead, it is more like a "re-imagining" of the ideas presented in the original Prey. Towards the very end of the main story some of the similarities become more apparent, but they remain only similarities and not connections.
Second, this game takes MANY ques from other popular and classic games. For example, the graphics and art are very similar to what you would see in a Bioshock game. The game mechanics are extremely similar to Dishonored (not surprising since it is the same studio). The story might remind you of Half Life (but in space). My point is this: I did not find a great deal that was original, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. All the games that this game borrows from are some really solid, quality games. They did manage to add their own twists and creativity in terms of play style, the enemies, etc.
In terms of graphics, this game does not disappoint. It does not set the bar higher than others of its time, but neither is it particularly lacking in any way. The art and level design is creative, and give options to players that are looking for alternatives to linear run-and-gun action.
Sound is of a similar quality. The design is done well enough that you can do a stealth run and feel confident that the sounds of the game are giving you reliable clues. The soundtrack is nothing dramatic, but instead remains subtle and yet also retains a sense of tension, which is key to the game.
I will not spoil the story but I will say this: for those interested in a story loaded with principles of both psychology and philosophy, this game has it. It is the kind of game that when you finish, you will continue to think about the story and the ideas introduced. Chances are good if you like the story of the Matrix movies you will enjoy this game.
The game play of this game is probably one of it's strongest points. There is a large array of skills to choose from, ranging from your every day skills to the paranormal. There is also a sense of foreboding in that how you choose to invest in certain skills will impact the story - and it will. However, I would not suggest that you refrain from playing the way you want based on that premise. I chose a stealth play through and I was not disappointed. Every encounter in the game has many options for how to survive. Sneak, fight, avoid, manipulate, ignore, dominate... all are available, but your play style will be reflected in the skills you choose to invest in.
The game is not perfect by any means, though. One of the most annoying things in this game for me was the constant (and long) loading times. Many of the quests, including the main story, have you traveling back and forth around the world setting for the game. In many cases this meant going through SEVERAL loading screen just to process one quest to the next stage. This broke the immersion in the game for me. It got worse in the later portion of the main story.
Another gripe I have is the inventory management system. Not only is it clunky and in need of constant maintenance by the player, but it is also unintuitive. In fact, I had to Google several times while playing to figure how to do some basic task with things related to the inventory so I could proceed. I played on PC and with regards to the inventory and HUD, I felt like it was designed for consoles.
The notion of fetch quests is not a new one for games, though typically it is limited to side quests. Prey, however, has you fetching just to progress the main story several times and, as I mentioned earlier, that fetching requires traveling through several loading screens. This, for me, is why the game got a 7 and not 8 (ie, why it is good instead of great).
In summary, I am a proud owner of this game. I will no doubt revisit it in the future due to its high replay value. The flexible game play style of the game makes you want to try something different the moment you complete it. However, the weaknesses of the game also ensure that I will give it some time before I do this because I know that if I did it now I would get frustrated by those few weaknesses.