This will probably be my second game of the year (after Nier)

This looks pretty cool. How was the first one?

I've yet to play Nier, goddamit!

It's a weird game. Some people hated it, and then some others (like myself) downright loved it. It's a psychological action horror game, where you explore a bizarre and creepy world while defending yourself against creepy horrors. The game starts being extremely stealthy and cautious and ends up being a gunfest of gore and adrenaline-inducing action; all in all, it's a fantastic long game with plenty of enjoyement to be had, and gimmicks added in each chapter to keep the gameplay fresh.

How is the gameplay? Are you preyed on hopelessly or do you fight back?

You are preyed during the first chapter and part of the second and third chapters, but you do gain weapons in the second chapter onwards. Save for those starting chapters, on which it'd be wiser to be stealthy or flee if there's too much danger, Sebastián (the main character) gets competent enough to fend off the enemies (and sometimes, you're forced to fight a huge bunch of them to progress). Like I said, the game starts very cautious and slow, and progressively keeps trading that sense for a more visceral and relentless gunplay. That's not to say the sense of horror is lost, as every chapter always brings a nice atmosphere that keeps thing steady.

There's also a bizarre upgrade system, on which you can improve several different stats, like Sebastián's characteristics (think of stamina, health and the likes), weapon modifiers, the amount of items you can carry and so on. The more you upgrade, the stronger Sebastián is.

The sounds pretty cool. Kinda sad it didn't break 80 on metacritic. I think i'll try it out.