The demo's pretty short - perhaps 30 minutes if you run - despite several lengthy periods of unskippable dialogue. You'll essentially run through the beginning of the game to the point where you unlock and learn to use your spirit powers.
There's much pleasure to be gained just playing the tourist, taking in the impressive sights and enjoying the weird portals (several times it's possible to shoot yourself in the back of the head). If you do die there's no reload. You're transported to another spirit realm to shoot at unquiet souls. Hint: shoot the red ones to refill your health, the blue to top up spirit power.
The single-player ends back where it started, in the bar. It's been transported nearly intact to the ship, for reasons only aliens with drinking problems can understand. And the final mass battle (there are more soldiers than there were customers) should get you in the mood for the 'MultiPrey' option.
While the two available levels are themed around strange gravity effects, it's the level without the obvious walkways (Keeper Gravity) that stands out. Here, every surface becomes the floor just by stepping on it, making strings of odd moments very likely. That said, the powered gravity lanes of Salvage Walk do create the wonderfully weird sight of dying opponents collapsing upwards and flying away, at which point you realize you're actually on the ceiling. Though short, the Prey demo is pretty sweet.
The PC demo is out now, but the 360 version has been held over for a few more days in testing. We expect to see it, or learn when it will be up at Live Marketplace, on Monday, June 26.
PC demo download mirrors:
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