Well, that sub-20-minute Prey (opens in new tab) speedrun I wrote about yesterday (opens in new tab) didn’t last long. Speedrunner Bjurnie just posted a video showing off their self-described, world-record (for now) 9:55 second run. Yes, that does in fact mean the big, exploration-driven game that came out less than a week ago has now been beaten in under ten minutes – or roughly the amount of time it usually takes me to lurch out of bed and feed my cats in the morning.
The usual warning applies here: this is a complete speedrun from start to finish, and as such it shows one of Prey’s possible endings. Mostly it just shows the untextured, transparent side of walls though, because this run relies heavily on Prey’s oh-so-exploitable wall glitches.
The kneejerk reaction to a sub-10-minute speedrun for a new (and fully priced) game might be one of derision. But honestly, these people are playing Prey in a very specific, carefully practiced way. Unless you’re interested in speedrunning yourself, you shouldn’t assume it will have much bearing on your experience. If anything, I think it’s complimentary of Arkane Studios’ work that Prey is flexible enough to let you finish the game even when you do so many clearly unexpected things.
If you want to speed up your own Prey playthrough without missing out on all those delicious sidequests, check out our growing series of miniguides: