It has been quite some time since the world got a Bioshock game. The first Bioshock came out in 2007 and introduced players to the world of Rapture. 2010's BioShock 2 built on what its predecessor created with multiple gameplay improvements and a familial story. Lastly, BioShock Infinite took to the city of Columbia and broadened the scope of the franchise in 2013.
While the ending of BioShock Infinite had an air of finality to it, there are still many worlds that can be explored by the BioShock franchise. There is always a man and a lighthouse, but the settings of these stories tend to be vastly different from one another. Should another title be made, it wouldn't be far-fetched to set the new game in outer space.
All The Good Earthly Atmospheres Have Already Been Explored By Previous BioShock Games
The most famous BioShock world is without a doubt Rapture. Conceptualized by Andrew Ryan, the city housed some of the best and brightest individuals that mankind had to offer. Free from the prying eyes of governments, religions, and morality, the citizens of Rapture were free to pursue their interests in hopes that they could advance the city further than any other establishment. Unfortunately, greed and jealousy, combined with the mind-altering side effects of a powerful substance called ADAM, brought Rapture to ruin.
BioShock Infinite's sky city of Columbia is both similar and different to Rapture in certain ways. While the place was commissioned by the United States government, Columbia eventually cut ties with its motherland because its citizens and founder, Zachary Hale Comstock, didn't think America was American enough. Columbia took the ideals of American politics and religion and twisted them to a whole new level. Because of these extremist views (many of which led to unsavory characteristics like racism and xenophobia), Columbia ended up becoming the stage for a war between Comstock and the insurgency group known as the Vox Populi. Amidst the revolution, the actions of Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth also paved the way for Columbia's eventual fall.
Whether they be set underwater or up in the air, BioShock games make full use of their settings. They implement technology and advances that make full use of unique environments. Rapture's Big Daddies are sometimes commissioned to do underwater repairs on the city because they possess high-pressure dive suits. Likewise, these places help set the mood for their stories. Columbia may be set in the open sky, but the fear of falling to terra firma keeps its citizens trapped in the city.
Space Is The Next Best Claustrophobic Area A BioShock Game Can Explore
With the bottom of the sea and the skies of America now ventured, there is very little a BioShock game can do on Earth. Land is a far too familiar setting for a franchise as outlandish as BioShock. Likewise, it would be much easier to escape a city by land as there are many different modes of transportation for doing so. Because of this, setting a BioShock game in space seems like a good idea. Space is familiar enough so that people can believe life can be sustained given the proper circumstances, but it is also unfamiliar enough to provide the developers some creative freedom to build a unique world around it that includes its own version of Big Daddies, Little Sisters, and genetic-altering Plasmids.
Most importantly, a BioShock set in space carries the same sense of being trapped as the other games. Space is dark and empty and leaves no room for survival without the proper equipment. With the void of space surrounding them, BioShock has plenty of themes it can run with such as the meaning of existence and the feeling of insignificance in a large universe. Whether it be for its environment or themes, space looks to be a good frontier for the BioShock franchise.
BioShock 4 is currently in development.