Highlights
- The absence of Big Daddies in BioShock Infinite was noticeable and the next game in the series would benefit from their return, as they were a core part of the franchise.
- There are multiple ways for Big Daddies to make a comeback, such as through exploring alternate realities or setting the game before the downfall of Rapture.
- Bringing back Big Daddies would bring tension, danger, and a sense of dread to the game, while also providing unique gameplay challenges and reinforcing the rich lore of the BioShock universe.
There are several key elements to the BioShock franchise. These elements include the setting, political commentary, and FPS gameplay featuring supernatural powers. However, there is one BioShock staple that didn't quite make it into BioShock Infinite, and the next game in the series just won't feel right without it.
While their return in a future BioShock game may seem unlikely, Big Daddies were undeniably a core part of the formula for BioShock and BioShock 2. These hulking, heavily modified humans played significant roles in the first two games, serving as challenging mini bosses and further evidence of Rapture's troubling social norms. The second game in the series even had players assume the role of a Big Daddy, one that was instrumental in the further downfall of the underwater metropolis. BioShock Infinite sent players skybound, to the city of Columbia, thus doing away with Big Daddies, and it looks like the experimental, super-powered bodyguards have been effectively extinguished. However, there are still ways for them to come back, and the franchise could benefit from them doing so.
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How the Big Daddy Could Return in Future BioShock Games
The setting of the next BioShock game is still unknown, and fans can only speculate as to whether the next entry will return players to Columbia or Rapture, or if it will take place in a new setting altogether. How and in what manner Big Daddies could return will be heavily dependent on the setting of the next game. But they could reappear in one way or another, and bring with them a wealth of unique decision-based gameplay and important world-building.
The most obvious way for Big Daddies to return would be through Rapture itself. While Rapture is implied to have been all but destroyed at the end of BioShock 2, the next game could take place before the downfall, and if BioShock 4 turns out to be open-world, this setting could feel unique from a mechanical perspective. But the next game wouldn't have to jump backwards in time to bring back Big Daddies. BioShock Infinite introduced the concept of alternate realities, with Infinite DLC even taking players to Rapture itself; through this concept, players could visit Rapture in a different dimension, or Big Daddies could enter the game's setting through dimensional tears.
Those are but a few ways that Big Daddies could come back, and they could all lead to unique interpretations and implementations of the iconic characters. Big Daddies coming back to BioShock would imbue the next game with a sense of tension and danger. The Big Daddies embodied the antagonistic forces of BioShock's first two entries, filling players with a sense of dread whenever they would appear. They offered a satisfying gameplay challenge, serving as a roadblock to critical in-game rewards while reinforcing the rich lore of Rapture. Reintroducing them could be more than fan service; Big Daddies could be recontextualized or expanded within the BioShock universe, while reprising what made them so compelling in the first place.
On the other hand, the franchise could benefit from a fresh start. In that case, the Big Daddy archetype could live on in spirit, as some other type of disturbing, strange, and powerful enemy could make its debut. The less horror-oriented BioShock Infinite offered something akin to the Big Daddies in the Motorized Patriots, but these enemies did not evoke the same level of fear, pity, and disgust as the Big Daddies, as they are colorful and almost comedic in nature while being full automatons rather than human experiments. They are also lacking a Little Sister parallel. Thus, a Big Daddy-inspired enemy type in a future BioShock game should retain the horrifying or abominable traits of the originals, while being rich in lore and offering a worthwhile reward for defeating them.