Highlights
- BioShock 4 should draw inspiration from the original 2007 game, prioritizing the horror elements and unapologetic political storytelling to create a more memorable and impactful narrative.
- Gameplay should be a key focus for BioShock 4, following the original's balanced approach that offered multiple ways to progress and allowed players to be creative, making the game more interesting within today's gaming landscape.
- BioShock 4 needs to differentiate itself from other shooters by getting creative with its ideas, embracing the unique gameplay, dense atmosphere, and complex political themes that made the original game stand out and remain one of a kind even after 15 years.
BioShock 4 has a huge legacy to uphold. The series has been absent since the second episode of BioShock Infinite's Burial at Sea DLC expansion, and in the decade since it's only become more loved by fans. The new project is being developed by Cloud Chamber instead of the now-defunct Irrational Games, which means changes are likely.
It's a game that has to play it safe to bring people back in, but also be creative enough to feel like a true BioShock experience. The first is a masterpiece, even all these years later, so while the 2013 trip to the skies is great, BioShock 4 should seek more influence from 2007.
- BioShock wears its horror elements on its sleeve, and because BioShock Infinite happens almost entirely during the day, it loses a great deal of tension.
- BioShock 4 should absolutely lean on the first game's unapologetic political storytelling to help elevate its narrative and help it to be more memorable and stand the test of time.
- Gameplay is key in BioShock as the 2007 original provides more than one way to win, whereas Infinite takes more of a guns-first approach, the former would make BioShock 4 more interesting, especially in today's gaming landscape.
BioShock's Game Design is a Formula Perfected
While BioShock Infinite was a good game in its own right, and its ambition paid off with a wonderful setting and compelling story the gameplay wasn't on par with the original. It prioritized the guns over the vigors too much, meaning the experimental, scientific feeling of blasting enemies with elemental damage and the like wasn't as necessary to endure the challenging enemy encounters. As a result, BioShock Infinite felt more like a conventional shooter than any other in the franchise.
In BioShock, unleashing a torrent of bees or using telekinesis to launch unassuming items towards threats was not just amusing, but essential to the game's core design. BioShock keeps the combat balanced, so there isn't one prevailing way to progress through the story, and the creativity of players can make them either more dangerous or more vulnerable, depending on their understanding of the mechanics. BioShock 4 would do well to harness that kind of philosophy to keep both the tension and the challenge high.
BioShock 4 Needs to be Different
Between the likes of Clockwork Revolution and Judas, as well as the abundance of other typical shooters, BioShock 4 has to get creative with its ideas in order to stand out. The 2007 original did this in spades. Some of its quirks were inspired by System Shock 2, but the merging of the unique gameplay, dense atmosphere, and complex political themes made it instantly recognizable, and 15 years later it remains one of a kind.
BioShock Infinite's lighter aesthetic and heavier emphasis on gunplay puts it in line with other games in the first-person shooter genre, and its early-20th-century aesthetic isn't a million miles away from something like Wolfenstein. Gaming needs more, new games that are genuinely unsettling and frightening to play, and while BioShock isn't the typical survival horror, it comes close, and the lighter look of Infinite doesn't facilitate that.
BioShock 4 Should be a Solo Affair
Elizabeth was one of the best parts of Bioshock Infinite, doing well to assist Booker's efforts while narratively pairing her rational intelligence with Booker's gruff, shoot-first feel. She's a character who is the heart and soul of the project, but if BioShock 4 tries to replicate its success, there's a chance it will fall flat. Players remember Booker and Elizabeth's story in large part because it contrasted with the first title in the series, and the fourth game will instantly be judged against BioShock Infinite if it takes a two-protagonist approach.
Bioshock is deliberately lonely. Jack is in a city he knows nothing about, and the only friendly voice he has through the first half turns out to be nothing of the sort. That isolation is golden, making the simple feat of leaving Rapture turn into a frightening proposition and one that wields a great deal of unnerving moments. To have a companion tag along could break the atmosphere, as well as present AI issues that could shatter the immersion.
BioShock Infinite is a great game and one that is in the upper tier of shooters available on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Its setting, characters, and story are worthy of so much praise, but the series' peak was at the very beginning, as BioShock's inventive gameplay and thick tension have yet to be truly replicated. The upcoming fourth game should use it as a blueprint while also forging something fresh.
