The Talos I is a fascinating place to explore in Prey. It represents the cutting of edge of technology, engineering, and manufacturing for mankind in the future. Its home to humanity’s greatest accomplishments and darkest depravities.
The player will naturally explore every inch of this facility over the course of gameplay, assuming the shortcut ending isn’t taken. Each location offers a different service of function for the Talos I research station. Some are rather enjoyable places to explore and be in while others are only worth briefly passing through.
13 Psychotronics
Psychotronics is the rotted heart of Talos I. It was originally Keltka, the soviet quarantine zone for the Voronoa-1 satellite where the first Typhon was discovered. It has since been retrofitted into a lab for study and the creation of Exotic Materials.
It’s where the player learns the horrifying truth of the facility and the dark origins of those handy Neuromods. Not to mention that every visitor requires a Psychoschope to safely be there or risk losing their minds to a Telepath. It’s not a place people want to be and as such is the worst place on Talos I.
12 Talos I Power Plant
The Power Plant is where the facility’s nuclear fusion reactor is stored. This location provides nearly unlimited power to the entire facility. The capabilities of this place are impressive given the sheer size of the facility. Not to mention the ridiculous power requirements the exterior shield and experimental labs must consume.
That being said it’s also one of the more dangerous places on the station. Between the electrical discharges and the powerful Typhon roaming around, it’s a death trap. Even when times were peaceful it was likely a hazardous place to be and not somewhere people would want to spend their downtime.
11 Talos I Shuttle Bay
The Shuttle Bay is where all personnel are dropped off or picked up. Everyone from the maintenance workers, security, and CFO must arrive here to enter the facility. Basically, it’s a glorified airport.
The reason it doesn’t rank lower is that some interesting things happen here. It’s where the survivors make their escape and it’s where Walther Dahl conducts his raid on the facility. Otherwise, it’s strictly egress and ingress with little reason to stick around.
10 Talos I Cargo Bay
The Cargo Bay is the warehouse of Talos I. All cargo is brought to and from this location via shuttle. Every single object on Talos I would have had to pass through here. Apart from this interesting fact, there’s very little here.
Granted Sarah Elezar and the other survivors are holed up here and they’ve created a fairly secure fortress for themselves. Perhaps some hoarders would revel in being surrounded by the bits and bobs that make up the facility, but it’s little more than a massive storage closet.
9 G.U.T.S (Gravity Utility Tunnel System)
G.U.T.S. stands for Gravity Utility Tunnel System. It’s a zero-gravity service tunnel that snakes through the center of the facility providing easy access to each area. It’s how the personnel are able to transport supplies to and from each corner of the station.
Similar to the tunnels under Disneyland it serves as a way to move goods and materials without getting in the way of the workers or visitors. A massive secret tunnel is pretty cool, but it’s a less convenient version of the main lift.
8 Talos I Bridge
The Bridge is situated just under the cap of the facility. It’s the wheelhouse of the station where pilots can ensure the station maintains its orbit above Earth. It also serves as a control tower for incoming and outgoing vessels traveling to and from Earth.
This is also where the end of the game occurs. Here players must decide the fate of the station and all living things aboard it. There’s a lot of power inside that room and it is here the player feels the full weight of being in control of Talos I.
7 Crew Quarters
Normally the Crew Quarters are where workers go to rest and unwind after a long shift. There’s a theater, break rooms, gym, pool, kitchen, and other facilities to take advantage of R&R. Depending on the skill and importance of personnel they receive a small habitation pod or bunk, a one-room crew cabin, or a luxurious suite. It’s also one of the few places on the ship to find real wood or leather.
The reason this place doesn’t rank higher is because of the horrors players will encounter here. It’s the first place to feature a Telepath and their brutal tactics using mind-controlled humans reminiscent of a horror game. The Kitchen also hosts a horrifying secret that’s more human in origin.
6 Deep Storage
Deep Storage is a massive server room filled with databases and archives. Every bit of data is stored, processed, compiled, and analyzed here. Whether it’s the electrical output of the Power Plant, memos from the labs, or the deepest secrets of the personnel it’s all stored here.
The technological aspects are mindboggling and the level of knowledge stored here is enormous. It’s arguably the single most valuable aspect of the Talos I and responsible for most of TranStar’s net worth.
5 Talos I Lobby
The Lobby houses all of the administrative offices of Talos I. It’s a literal hub to access all parts of the station. It was designed to impress any guests or VIPs visiting the station likely to incentivize donations, funding, and support.
From a practical standpoint in the game, it’s a great area, as well. The main lift provides the player access to just about anywhere. Morgan’s office is also the first real bastion of relative safety and utility the player encounters. There’s a natural chokepoint in the hallway, there are turrets that can be stationed, January offers aid, and the Recycler and Fabricator machines are the crux of the player’s power moving forward.
4 Neuromod Division
This is where the magic of Talos I happens and ground zero for all of the chaos. In the Neuromod Division, scientists work to safely copy the neurological pathways, called a connectome, of a particular person to be inserted in someone else. A concert pianist can impart their skills to others and this is where that process happens.
If the player conveniently ignores the darker secrets behind Neuromods it’s a truly incredible place in this science-fiction game. The brilliance of the Simulation lab is also on display here and shows the awesome potential of the company and what they’re capable of.
3 Hardware Labs
While TransStar’s cash cow is their Neuromods the foundation of the company is built off various gadgets, devices, and machinery invented in the Hardware Labs. This is where the various scientists work on a number of projects meant to improve their lives, improve the company’s bottom line, or simply to see what they can create.
The Beams & Waves Lab resulted in the Q-Beam. The Ballistics Lab is where the Recycler Charges were created. Workers here have also built everything from the Gloo Cannon to the Huntress Boltcaster. In its heyday, this was a very interesting place that created some cool things.
2 Apartment/Earth
The Apartment is the location Morgan wakes up at the beginning of the game. It’s a high-rise apartment in downtown San Francisco. The building features a rooftop with a helipad to transport them to the TranStar skyscraper providing a nice visual of the bay and one of the best synthwave songs from a great soundtrack.
The apartment is really nice with a number of amenities and a small workstation where Morgan can tinker and experiment. It’s arguably one of the nicer locations in the game and perfectly safe from Typhon, its just a shame it doesn’t last long.
1 Arboretum
Perhaps the best location in all of Talos I is at the very top in the Arboretum. The entire ceiling and most of the wall is a glass dome providing a view of space, the Moon, and Earth. It’s also a massive garden full of all kinds of trees, bushes, and flowers with a large greenhouse.
It’s also the location of Alex Yu’s office. As the CEO of TranStar industries, he has the nicest office by far, complete with a secret room. Before the outbreak, this would have been an incredible place to spend time in and even after it’s a nice change of pace from the drab grays and cold metal hallways elsewhere.
