Prey for the Gods
Praey for the Gods is a boss climbing open world adventure game where you play as a lone hero sent to the edge of a dying frozen world to discover the mystery behind a never-ending winter. Arriving with only the clothes on your back, you must survive the colossal dangers that you encounter. To restore balance and reclaim the land from the brink, you will be faced with questions that not even a God knows the answer to. Overcome impossible odds to climb atop and defeat the massive beasts that are bound to this land. You can climb on virtually anything you can get your hands on, from ruins and mountains to the massive beasts that inhabit the land. Ascend to the tops of mountains and then glide over the open world to reach previously inaccessible locations. Swim in frigid water to uncover hidden locations that contain secrets and treasure, but don't stay in too long or your swim could become your last.
Steam User 118
Sadly, this game is unfairly stuck under the shadow of Shadow of the Colossus.
It really makes you FEEL like the Shadow of the Colossus.
Some call it flawed. Of course it's flawed, it even has a typo in it's name!
It’s a superb game, and a superb tribute to Shadow of the Colossus, which, according to my mom’s subjective counting, I played for around 50 hours in my childhood.
It’s like a mix between Shadow of the Colossus and Breath of the Wild. Praey for the Gods takes clear influence from SotC, but builds on it. I think it’s awesome. I’ve been having so much fun with the survival systems.
The game has very customizable difficulty settings. There’s like 4 options for general difficulty and 4 options for how intense the survival mechanics are. And you can mix and match general difficulty and survival difficulty as you please, ranging from nearly non-existent survival mechanics to super intense.
Complaining about survival mode elements that only exist in an optional game/difficulty mode, that have no effect on the main game mode, like they're shoe-horned into said main game mode is ridiculous and unfair.
The exploration and engaging with the world through survival mechanics were some of my favorite parts of Breath of the Wild and Praey for the Gods emulates that well with its glider and hookshot to ease exploration. Having to hunt and gather and sleep to preserve my strength before each new fight made the “journey” between titans more memorable and immersive.
I loved wandering through the Forbidden Lands in Shadow of the Colossus and Praey for the Gods took that element of exploring a strange but beautiful world and added more fun ways to play a “game” while doing that. And the boss fights are seriously on par with SotC. It’s incredible.
I've had a lot of fun taking down the seven or so bosses so far, and while it doesn't necessarily surpass SoTC, it definitely is a respectable homage.
The game isn't bad at all, unpolished in some areas, sure. But it's an indie game through and through. I think the team consisted of like three people, and when you consider that I think it’s quite impressive what they were able to accomplish. This is by no means a perfect game, it’s just the right game.
It’s one of the few games that boldly stood up with ambition to fill in literally bigger shoes, despite its flaws, it’s still an achievement made by 3 passionate people. Not a masterpiece, but an amazing experience nonetheless. Thank you, NoMatter Studios.
8/10
Steam User 53
I think Praey has received several negative reviews because they compare it to Shadow of the Colossus. I don't think that's a fair comparison. This is a survival game first. There's hunting, crafting, puzzles and melee combat. Sure, there are parts where you climb a colossus, but that's where the similarities end. Praey is a great game on it's own. See for your self.
Steam User 43
Made by a team of 3 people, plus a few others for music and other assets, the game is very good for what a team of this size has achieved, but that doesn't mean this Shadow of the Colossus fan game is, overall, an amazing experience.
-Positives-
-Fantastic Music
-Well executed and epic boss battles
-Decent graphics, especially on the bosses.
-Arena Champion battles were a nice side-track, a shame they were all identical in combat though
-Negatives
-Desolate world, not unlike SoC, but with no horse to get around quicker
-No real reason to explore, as you can actually beat the game without levelling up your stats, or obtaining better equipment. Exploration stopped for me, when a wind puzzle outright wouldn't work. After 30 minutes of trying, before looking up a tutorial, which showed that the wind platform should be on, but just... wasn't, that killed what little desire to bother exploring I had.
-Not many generic enemies are encountered, meaning the sword and bow are very limited in use.
-Survival Mechanics: I actually don't mind this, I just wish that your Hunger and Tiredness didn't deplete so damn quickly. By the time I had hunted and ate, the character would be tired. By the time I found a bedroll, the character would be hungry. In the end, I just quit bothering with those two, and only really paid attention to heat.
-Story: like SoC, the story attempts to be vague, but unlike SoC, the story seems to not really mean anything. In SoC, we understood our hero was trying to resurrect the woman he loved, that's the point of the ritual. In this game, however, we're trying to kill the gods to stop an eternal winter, but we don't know why we are there at all (we crash landed by boat for some reason), and even after the game is over, we basically continue on in the game as though nothing has happened, bar a new skin that we receive.
Constructive Feedback
Give the size of the team, they were super happy to surpass their kickstarter target, but they really should have used that money and expanding the story or adding another 2 bosses. The expansion to Breath of the Wild like gameplay was not worth the effort and fell flat.
Replayability? : Not really, as much as I enjoyed the boss battles the first time around, I can't really say I'd ever pick up the game for a second play through. And my playthrough of 12 hours is quite generous for this game - if you just ignore all the wandering around for poor side-content, you could probably finish the game at least 5 hours faster than I did.
Value for the game: $20-30 is fair for the love the dev's put in, and for a 6-7 hour playtime (that's actually fun)
Total Score: 6.5/10 (Average, a decent game, but not one you need to go out of your way to play).
Steam User 20
Praey for the GodsInspired by "Shadow of the Colossus!?"
In Praey for the Gods, players must venture into an open world full of adventures. As a lone hero, you must brave frozen territory in search of answers about the mysterious endless winter. To do so, it is essential to survive the encounter with gigantic and dangerous creatures that will cross your path towards the discovery of the truth.
Just like in Shadow of the Colossus, you have to climb the creatures to the top to defeat them. During the quest, players must glide, swim, run, craft items and explore the world while creating their own story in a non-linear plot.
The game is very good, and even challenging beyond the 'easy' level
it has great graphics too. a vast map, creatures and frantic battle challenges!
In summary, I definitely recommend it. It's guaranteed fun for hours...
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Steam User 12
after months of waiting they finally did an epic ending i am proud to say i have played this game to the vary end! and i must say well done...i was speechless when it was over.
Steam User 6
A fun game if you're willing to work through a bit of jank, especially if you haven't experienced Shadow of the Colossus to compare it against.
Steam User 6
This game is clearly a homage to Shadow of the Colossus. It has many things in common with it. Especially the narrative's tone and pacing, as well as climbing onto giants to locate and destroy their weak points as they try to shake you off. The giant segments are the bread and butter of the game's action, and they play out like physics based puzzles. You have to creatively search all over the giants for their weak points, being careful not to fall off of them by saving your stamina on stable surfaces of their bodies when possible. But there are also some notable differences to this game that make it different than SotC. The most notable probably being the survival element. I was reluctant to dip my toes into this one because of its inclusion; I typically avoid those types of games. But I'm glad that playing on normal only requires you to worry about the cold weather. The frigid wind and water will eventually take their toll on your body temperature enough to cause damage. You have to use fires to stay warm. The other survival mechanics, food and sleep, are not necessary for survival on normal difficulty. They instead give a boost to your stamina.
Some Pros:
1. The boss fights are epic, puzzle-solving endeavors completely reminiscent of SotC.
2. Grappling hooks and gliders are nice additions to traversal and puzzles.
3. Having enemies to fight other than giants does add a bit more depth to the combat.
Some Cons:
1. Monotony quickly sets in as you must button mash to keep your grip when the giants shake.
2. Occasionally frustrating physics like the character not running or climbing according to button inputs.
3. On a controller you have to press up a bunch of times to navigate the menu to do a manual game save.
If you enjoyed the heck out of Shadow of the Colossus like I did, then you will probably like this as well. Just maybe not everything the game has to offer. The grappling hook and glider are more aligned with games Zelda or Genshin Impact. The survival elements will surely be off-putting to some, but the fact that you can turn them off on easy mode, or up on hard, makes their inclusion a welcome one. Since they weren't exactly mandatory, I found myself partaking in them to get the benefits. And they add to the immersion of being stuck in an ice age's hostile environment. They also added gear in this game, which you can balance out to your liking or equip an entire set to receive its more exclusive benefits. Pretty cool. And there are puzzle caves you have to solve to acquire them. Very cool. Your interpretations of the primitive cave paintings will provide you with subtle clues to some of the solutions.