Indie effort Prey for the Gods recently launched on Kickstarter, and it has a serious Shadow of the Colossus vibe – and that’s a very good vibe to have.
Going by the screenshots and trailer, I’m amazed that this is the work of a team of just three people – they formed No Matter Studios to make this project a reality.
Prey for the Gods (awesome name by the way) is an action/survival game that puts you in the shoes of a young woman who travels to a strange land on her quest to put a stop to an endless winter.
You’re led to believe that hunting down and slaying the giant beasts that roam the land will aid you in this endeavour.
This is where the Shadow of the Colossus elements come into play, as the monsters in question are fucking huge – expect to be clambering all over these brilliantly designed monstrosities in the search to find what makes them tick (and then stop it ticking).
But to suggest that No Matter Studios are simply borrowing entirely from Shadow of the Colossus would be a disservice to the work they’re doing.
For one, there’s the aforementioned survival element of the game. Considering the game is set in a wintry wilderness, you’ll have to hunt for food, build camps, and craft weapons and clothing on your journey.
As the survival element might imply, Prey for the Gods is a more open ended affair than Colossus, which was essentially a linear experience.
This open approach also translates to the game’s massive bosses. You can tackle them head on, take a stealthy approach, or play it safe and favour ranged weapons to take them down.
I’d expect that certain tactics work better on some beasts than others, but it’ll be plenty of fun working out the best approach with each of the bosses.
At the moment, the plan is to launch with five bosses – though more will be added if stretch goals are met. At the time of writing, Prey for the Gods has $125,998 of its $300,000 goal, with 3,602 backers and 28 days left to go.
No Matter Studios estimates that the game is currently about 25 percent finished, with a projected launch date of December 2017.
The game is currently only planned for the PC, but an Xbox One/PlayStation 4 release could be a reality if the $600,000 stretch goal is met – you can see all stretch goals below.
Head over to the game’s Kickstarter page for more details and screens. By all accounts, Prey for the Gods is looking awesome. Here’s hoping No Matter get the cash they need to make it as great as it can be.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.