Prey is "so much better" on PC that it feels "shoehorned" onto consoles - report
Prey is a lot better on PC than either of the major consoles - even if you've upgraded to the latest hardware revisions.
Prey is exactly the sort of game that appeals to old school, hardcore PC gamers, so it's not terribly surprising to hear it's particularly good on their platform of choice.
According to Eurogamer's Digital Foundry, there's not much to choose between the two console versions of Prey. The Xbox One comes out ahead of the input lag game, and has no frame rate issues as long as you've installed to internal storage rather than an external hard drive, which Prey doesn't like for some reason.
On the other hand, the PS4 has a better resolution and slightly better loading times - which in a game like Prey, where you're regularly transitioning between maps, is a real concern.
Still, it's much of a muchness when choosing between the console builds of Prey, as they both have their issues - but the PC build is another story.
"Prey is a unique case where the PC build offers an experience so much better than the consoles that it almost changes the game," the report claims.
"Prey feels as if it were designed first and foremost as a proper PC game, then was shoehorned into consoles. That is to say, this is no Dishonored 2." That's a dig at Arkane's last release; Dishonored 2 was pretty rubbish on PC at release, although patches went a long way to resolving the problems.
Improvements to Prey on PC include much shorter loading times, a higher frame rate, no input lag and a nicer interface for mouse and keyboard. You don't need a really fancy rig for this, either; even lower-end hardware can achieve 60fps, while the consoles are locked at 30fps. If you do have a powerful machine, cranking the graphics settings right up has stellar results.
Prey reviews have been good but most have mentioned technical difficulties - although the PC build appears to have been spared. Let's hope future Prey updates (including a PS4 Pro patch; right now there is literally no difference between standard PS4 and Pro, even in boost mode) will improve things on consoles. We also expect Arkane to close some of the loopholes leading to 11 minute Prey speedruns.
Watch the full report for more detail; it starts off comparing the full game to the demo, but moves on to comparing platforms.