New Prey Gameplay Spotlights Mimic Madness Ability

Video games have always prided themselves on allowing players to directly experience outlandish powers and scenarios that other sorts of entertainment can only describe or show to their audiences, but Prey may just have created the best one yet. Publisher Bethesda has today put out a new video for the upcoming first-person shooter RPG that spotlights one of the many powers Morgan Yu will have at his (or her) disposal while attempting to survive the alien infestation plaguing the Talos I space station.

Mimic madness, as it’s so-called, affords Morgan the uncanny ability to take on the form of almost any inanimate object in the immediate vicinity, including foodstuffs, coffee mugs and yes, even a roll of toilet paper. Some of those disguises may sound rather useless when faced with an enemy as dangerous as the Typhon, but there’s a surprising number of applications for them all.

Besides the obvious benefits – aggressive alien types rarely take notice of a stray roll of toilet paper trundling down a hallway – taking on the form of a coffee mug or apple makes for a surprising boost to maneuverability, but Bethesda says much more impressive forms can be assumed as you level the ability up. Security turrets and Operator robots are some such examples, with the video highlighting the former’s effectiveness when players find themselves in a pinch. According to the blog post, there will be over 400 different items to mimic in Prey, which will allow for an “astounding amount of emergent gameplay.” Check out the trailer above for a full rundown of the kooky ability.

Prey is slated for a May 5 release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Pre-ordering the title will net you a few in-game bonus items.