Outer Wilds vs Prey
Outer Wilds is an action-adventure horror game from Mobius Digital while Prey is an FPS horror game from Arkane Studios (2017).
What each one is
Steam files Outer Wilds under Action-Adventure and Horror. In contrast, it files Prey under FPS and Horror.
Named Game of the Year 2019 by Giant Bomb, Polygon, Eurogamer, and The Guardian, Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.
In Prey, you awaken aboard Talos I, a space station orbiting the moon in the year 2032. You are the key subject of an experiment meant to alter humanity forever – but things have gone terribly wrong. The space station has been overrun by hostile aliens and you are now being hunted.
At a glance
| Outer Wilds | Prey | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.0/10 | 8.0/10 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 107,214) | Very Positive (91%, 54,539) |
| Critic aggregate | 85/100 | No aggregate |
| Price | $14.99 | $29.99 |
| Install size | 8 GB | 20 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | verified |
| Released | — | 2017 |
| Developer | Mobius Digital | Arkane Studios |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Outer Wilds vs Prey, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Outer WildsAction-adventure horror gamePreyFPS horror gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Outer WildsExploration, Space, MysteryPreySci-fi, Immersive Sim, SpaceThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Outer WildsScore 8.0 · 96% on Steam · 85 criticPreyScore 8.0 · 91% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Outer Wilds107,214 reviews · 2 add-ons · 8 GBPrey54,539 reviews · 2 add-ons · 20 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Outer Wilds ✓$14.99Prey$29.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Outer WildsVerifiedPreyVerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Outer Wilds takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueOuter Wilds and Prey on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
- Xbox
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The cheaper right now: Outer Wilds ($14.99)
- Lighter on storage: Outer Wilds (8 GB)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
ExplorationSpaceStory RichAdventureGreat SoundtrackAtmosphericOpen WorldSingleplayer
Where they differ
MysteryPuzzleIndieBeautifulEpic3D
Immersive SimFPSAliensSurvival HorrorFuturisticStealth
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Outer Wilds is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Prey is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Outer Wilds | Prey | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 | GTX 660 2GB |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core i5-2300 | Intel i5-2400, AMD FX-8320 |
| Minimum RAM | 6 GB | 8 GB |
| Install size | 8 GB | 20 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Outer Wilds · Prey.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 8 accessibility features for Outer Wilds and 5 for Prey. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Outer Wilds and Prey in scope?
Outer Wilds has drawn 107,214 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 8 GB. Prey has drawn 54,539 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 20 GB.
Is Outer Wilds or Prey better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Outer Wilds rates higher (8.0 to 8.0). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Outer Wilds or Prey?
Outer Wilds is cheaper right now at $14.99, against $29.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.