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[uncredited male]

Other than Elizabeth and her relationship with Booker nothing encourages me to replay the game. The DLCs basically saying "fuck everything" doesn't help.

Infinite did a poor job managing its themes and I think that stems directly from its troubled, bloated development.

The songs were nice though.

 

[MartyStu]

Really fun game, with a really messy story.

As I do not actually care about the plot or the writing of the Bioshock games, I still like the game quite a bit.

Essentially the Crysis 2 of the franchise: Fun as hell to play, but lol-worthy otherwise.

 

[Vampirolol]

I feel like the racism, politics, etc, are there more as a way to illustrate the two sides of Booker. The Booker you play (the one "left behind in the waters of baptism") is the Booker that spiraled into depression since he didn't run from the horrible hate crimes of his past. The Booker you fight, meanwhile, is Comstock, who embraced those hate crimes, using religion as an excuse to justify them. The city of Columbia, its oppressive culture, and its cycle of violence are the result of this.

I agree with this, the themes are a way to illustrate human interactions, and it makes you live through them. When Booker says that Comstock and the Vox aren't different, that moment I realized that while he had a point, he was actually the one that didn't want to change, he was using excuses without solving the problem. He also does that all the time, because Booker only cares about saving himself and the girl.

 

[Toxi]

I feel like the racism, politics, etc, are there more as a way to illustrate the two sides of Booker. The Booker you play (the one "left behind in the waters of baptism") is the Booker that spiraled into depression since he couldn't handle the horrible hate crimes of his past. The Booker you fight, meanwhile, is Comstock, who embraced those hate crimes, using religion as an excuse to justify them. The city of Columbia, its oppressive culture and cycle of violence all result from this.

The Booker you play cuts a bloody path through Columbia like a lawnmower, killing more people than the Vox Populi are ever shown doing. Hell, if you want, you can massacre civilians in the Shtantytown without a single consequence.

 

[SENPAIatLARGE]

Remember when the Booker said that a multinational group of minority freedom fighters were equally as bad as the sky KKK?

Booker probably watches Django Unchained and says Django is just as bad as Candy.

 

[Barrow Roll]

I feel Matthewmatosis critique on the game sums up my feelings for it rather well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdNhwb7iuI4

Likewise. But if you don't have time to watch a 40 minute analysis, check out Matt Lees' critique. It makes many of the same points in about 15 minutes (he's also much more entertaining to listen to).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc15KgfNJsw&ab_channel=VideoGamerTV

 

[pa22word]

Really fun game, with a really messy story.

As I do not actually care about the plot or the writing of the Bioshock games, I still like the game quite a bit.

Essentially the Crysis 2 of the franchise: Fun as hell to play, but lol-worthy otherwise.

This to me illustrates the ultimate failure of Infinite. Compared to BS2, Infinite's core gameplay is not simply worse, but a considerable step down in every metric from what BS2 did. While Infinite is arguably just as vapid as BS1 was in the storytelling department, the gameplay is what ultimately just kills it for me. It just isn't fun to play at all. All the systems feel like half-baked versions of stuff that was done better in both Bio1 and Bio2. This isn't even getting into the systems as they are on their own, which are marred by numerous outright bad design choices dragging it down (RNG medpacks? what the fuck) .

 

[gfxtwin]

You are technically correct, that is definitely a recurring theme of the series. I think the way the characters are fleshed out in the second game makes it much more gray, while still clearly the finding some people in the wrong. It's hard to explain how it works, but it does. You can sympathize more with some of the villains, because they genuinely believe and what they are doing.

With this game, I really had no idea what Comstock was doing, and he was so cartoonishly evil that I never sympathized or understood him at all, and while you think the Vox Populi might be people that you side with, they become cartoonishly evil and nearly impossible to sympathize with also.

It's weird considering how Bio 1/2 handled subtlety.

Yeah, like in GOT occasionally you get a Joffrey or a Ramsay in a Bioshock game, hence Comstock and Fontaine. Agree with how they made a mistake by turning Daisy into a villain. It basically seemed like a statement saying any violent reaction to oppression makes you just as bad, and while that happens often in history, sometimes the villains in wars are just straight-up villains, so it was a baffling creative decision.

Never finished Bioshock 2. Couldn't get into the idea of playing as a big daddy. At the time I felt like it took some of the mystery out of the creatures - not knowing what the heck they were was what made them fascinating. TBH Bio 1 kinda dropped the ball too near the end by revealing in detail the backstory of the BDs. But after getting the remastered version I'm hyped to go back and give it another shot and explore parts of Rapture I've never seen, etc.

 

[Bronetta]

Bioshock Infinite Metacritic - 94

Gameplanet - 100
BioShock is the most important new intellectual property of this hardware generation. Like its predecessor, it is an experience that could only ever be achieved in a videogame, one that demonstrates the true power of this medium to engage and inspire us, and in doing so it soars far above so many other games, clipped and blinkered as they are by their lowly, merely filmic aspirations. Irrational's achievements in BioShock Infinite dignify the medium.

Guardian - 100
BioShock Infinite is a hell of a lot of fun to play. That really should be the only quality it needs to exhibit. The fact that it holds much more feels like an advancement of an art form. Just remember that nothing in BioShock Infinite is an attempt to be cute. Just let it tell you its story.

GiantBomb - 100
You'll see a lot of BioShock in Infinite, but even if you try to make direct comparisons between the two, it's clear that Infinite is a far better game than its predecessor. It moves at a better pace, with more meaningful and more playable big encounters than BioShock. But it still carries that sense of exploration and the feeling of dread that comes with knowing that everything is just continuing to unravel before your very eyes.

Toronto Sun - 100
It’s the kind of game you’ll immediately want to replay again from the beginning, not just to experiment with new vigors and weapons and tactics, or to find the backstory-expanding Voxophones and Kinetoscopes you missed on the first run-through, but to see the little bits of foreshadowing, the subtle design choices, the dropped hints that build up to the game’s brain-bending denouement.

Game Informer - 100
Dealing with themes like religion, racism, and xenophobia, Columbia is a richer and more nuanced setting than even Rapture, and the unveiling of the city’s culture is masterfully executed.

Destructoid - 100
As a game, BioShock Infinite has its successes and its falterings consistent with any suitably complex piece of interactive entertainment. As a story, as an exercise in drawing the player into a believable and relevant world, as proof of exactly what a videogame can mean to a person ... Well, I already said it. BioShock Infinite is damn near perfect.

Joystiq - 100
Undoubtedly the finest game crafted by Irrational Games, BioShock Infinite is one of the best told stories of this generation. It simply cannot be missed.

Eurogamer - 100
BioShock Infinite doesn't blur the lines between your reality and the game's to quite the same extent as its predecessor, but it's a more complete and polished story, and that's the thing you'll remember.

Polygon - 100
For everything it has to say, for all the questions it asks —many of which have no easy answers — BioShock Infinite's big thoughts and complicated narrative don't obscure the brilliant action game that carries those messages through.

IGN - 95
A brilliant shooter that nudges the entire genre forward with innovations in both storytelling and gameplay.

I don't know OP, can I trust you or can I trust all these professionals?

Spoiler

Launch hype trains are a scary thing.

 

[TheVoidDragon]

I think for me the main thing it lost in comparison to Bioshock 1, and even the original trailers shown of the game, was any real semblance of creepyness or things being dark and not quite right. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOx4HKrYHKc

In this video, there are quite a few things that are just out of place, but in a good way; things that imply there's something else going on and things around you aren't how they should be. A cart still being pulled as normal despite it missing a wheel, someone sweeping a floor even though the entire building is on fire, a man giving a speech to a non-existant crowd, the world itself and people 'glitching' in a supernatural-like way. This video has more interesting moments than what i remember in the released game, especially with the tears and alternate reality stuff.

 

[QuantumSquid]

The only undeniably good parts of BioShock Infinite are the art direction and the music. They're both incredible.

Sadly Infinite is a videogame and gameplay is more important and that's where it fails.

The story is also faux-intellectual nonsense as others have said. It tricked a lot of people into thinking it was some incredibly intelligent narrative when the game first came out.

 

[Neiteio]

The Booker you play cuts a bloody path through Columbia like a lawnmower, killing more people than the Vox Populi are ever shown doing. Hell, if you want, you can massacre civilians in the Shtantytown without a single consequence.

I'm on mobile, so pardon typos.

Yes, you can kill innocents in many games and it won't count as canon. As for enemies... Self-defense, kill or be killed. They attack you on sight. Not the same as executing people who are at your mercy, which is what the Vox did to the upper class.

 

[Plum]

Yep, after replaying Bioshock 1 and first-time playing 2 over the past week I simply couldn't bring myself to slog through Infinite again.

Probably the worst part about it for me is that it's main overriding theme turns out to be... parallel dimensions. From the early trailers I was expecting a game where a criticism of racism, isolationism, fundamentalism, etc would be its bread and butter much like how in Bioshock 1 a criticism if Ayn Randian philosophy seeped into almost EVERY element of its design.

1's big twist was that you had been a slave all along, you were exactly what Ryan thought he was up in the surface. Sure it was just a copy of System Shock 2's twist but it was a copy that made thematic sense in an entirely thematic game. The big twist in Infinite is that you are Comstock, and Elizabeth is your daughter, and there's parallel dimensions and shit. What has that got to do with any of the elements that the first hour or so explored (albeit poorly)?

EDIT: Another way in which the game failed to explore its themes was that you rarely ever fight the actual residents of Columbia, whilst pretty much all of the enemies in 1 and 2 were just regular people gone to hell in Infinite your fighting either the Columbia authorities or the Vox Populi. I'll always find the bit when the fighting starts and the ENTIRE NPC crowd immediately disperses as if they were never there to be laughable. The decision made Columbia seem less dangerous than it should have been since you're fighting who you'd expect to fight if you got on the bad side of a community. Oh, and another massive flaw came from the tonics meaning NOTHING story wise. They're just there, these fucked up drugs in a society that would almost definitely have banned regular drugs. It reeks of poor writing, laziness or a combination of the two that they couldn't think of a way to explain their impact in the story as well as 1 did.

Infinite tried to do so many things that it failed at almost all of them. Such a shame as it had the potential to be amazing.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Bioshock Infinite Metacritic - 94

I don't know OP, can I trust you or can I trust all these professionals?

Spoiler

Launch hype trains are a scary thing.

That's the main takeaway point here, especially in the AAA space last gen. This gen things have calmed down somewhat, but it was pretty bad for a lot of projects, Bioshock Infinite.Call of Duty and the Uncharted games were some of the main offenders.

Last of Us i think atleast deserved its praise for the story and the relative subtlety the gameplay had in regards to stealth, low ammunition, environmental storytelling ect.

 

[Anticol]

It's not only the story, the gameplay is bad and the visuals are dissapointing, the art style is ok tho.

The most overrated game of last gen.

 

[HueyFreeman]

Bioshock Infinite Metacritic - 94

I don't know OP, can I trust you or can I trust all these professionals?

Spoiler

Launch hype trains are a scary thing.

I actually think the Infinite backlash is more off the mark than the initial launch reviews. They're probably inflated for where people view the game now, but the people who think it's junk are a small - and frankly silly - minority.

It's too bad the story didn't resonate with you, OP - but (a) I think it works remarkably well, particularly the way Bookers, Comstock and Elizabeths stories dovetail (to say nothing of the Luteces, who function as an amazing narrative device) and (b) it has 10x the narrative ambition of the next game, which is worth something.

The more interesting questions are (1) whether or not it contained altogether too many arena shooting sequences and (2) why we couldn't have just had this game.

 

[Gravidee]

About Burial at Sea,

Spoiler

Having Elizabeth whacked in the head and then left to die as another corpse in Rapture was a huge middle finger to the players that stuck through the whole game as well as the DLC. Not to mention it seemed to leave out as many references to Bioshock 2 as much as possible which was the best game mechanically.

 

[Grief.exe]

I often see people describing Bioshock Infinite as a good, if not great, game, unfortunately I've never seen an argument to support that opinion.

The game has a awe inspiring opening and a roller coaster end, but the vast majority of the game is a complete mess and a linear slog.

 

[Rei no Otaku]

What's the deal with the Handymen? Songbird? What are they? How were they created? Why do Vigors exist? The Big Daddies and Little Sisters of Rapture could be seen as silly, yes, but they had an explicit purpose that was thoroughly explained. They were integral to the ecosystem of the game. Plasmids also, were thoroughly explained as a sort of gene-splicing arms race within Rapture. Vigors just are there in Columbia for reasons.

These were actually all explained completely in the game. There are audio logs that outright explain a couple of them. Hell, Handymen are explained in the first 20 minutes of the game when you see one on display at the fair in the beginning.

Infinite definitely has its problems. It's probably the worst game in the series, but I still found it to be a great game.

 

[Neiteio]

Yep, after replaying Bioshock 1 and first-time playing 2 over the past week I simply couldn't bring myself to slog through Infinite again.

Probably the worst part about it for me is that it's main overriding theme turns out to be... parallel dimensions. From the early trailers I was expecting a game where a criticism of racism, isolationism, fundamentalism, etc would be its bread and butter much like how in Bioshock 1 a criticism if Ayn Randian philosophy seeped into almost EVERY element of its design.

1's big twist was that you had been a slave all along, you were exactly what Ryan thought he was up in the surface. Sure it was just a copy of System Shock 2's twist but it was a copy that made thematic sense in an entirely thematic game. The big twist in Infinite is that you are Comstock, and Elizabeth is your daughter, and there's parallel dimensions and shit. What has that got to do with any of the elements that the first hour or so explored (albeit poorly)?

Infinite tried to do so many things that it failed at almost all of them. Such a shame as it had the potential to be amazing.

The point of parallel dimensions (which is a plot device, not a "theme") is to show the many different turns a life can take when a person tries to resolve their cognitive dissonance.

In this case, it's about Booker dealing with guilt over his hate crimes as a soldier and strike-breaker -- one Booker, by shirking responsibility and letting guilt crush him (booze, gambling, deep depression)... and the other Booker, by absolving himself through ideology, whitewashing his past with religion and reinventing himself (Comstock). The former cripples him so he can't make a difference in the world, while the latter allows toxic ideas to breed and multiply.

It's kind of topical, really -- the alt-right is arguably a reaction by those who don't like their bubbles being popped as their privilege is checked by those less fortunate, so they dress up their own hate crimes (sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia) in highly romanticized ideological terms ("ethics in journalism," etc) to avoid any semblance of cognitive dissonance.

At any rate, the resulting "circle goes unbroken" until Booker mans up to his sins, rather than running from them or trying to make excuses.

 

[Inuhanyou]

I actually think the Infinite backlash is more off the mark than the initial launch reviews. They're probably inflated for where people view the game now, but the people who think it's junk are a small - and frankly silly - minority.

People pointing out instances where the game obviously faced development hell issues, which resulted in a much inferior product than was promised aren't wrong, even if you don't want to acknowledge them.

 

[ActWan]

I actually liked Infinite. It wasn't as good as 1, but it was a good game...I think some of you are overreacting. Sure the plot goes over it's head sometimes, the gameplay isn't as good as it could've been, and there are some bad parts like Lady Comstock but it's a solid experience overall. Shame it didn't reach it's full potential though...I feel it would've benefited from a little more time in development. (or maybe there was some other problem. Just remember the gameplay demos we saw before the game changed completely)

 

[Freeman76]

Great artwork, shit game pretty much sums up what i thought. The story dissapeared up its own arse in worse style than LOST

 

[QuantumSquid]

I actually liked Infinite. It wasn't as good as 1, but it was a good game...I think some of you are overreacting. Sure the plot goes over it's head sometimes, the gameplay isn't as good as it could've been, and there are some bad parts like Lady Comstock but it's a solid experience overall. Shame it didn't reach it's full potential though...I feel it would've benefited from a little more time in development. (or maybe there was some other problem. Just remember the gameplay demos we saw before the game changed completely)

It's not an atrocious game, it just isn't nearly as good as its Metacritic score would leave you to believe. There are far, far better games than Infinite that look worse to the casual Metacritic score reader just because they have lower scores.

 

[Catvoca]

Funnily enough I just finished playing through the trilogy again and came away with the exact opposite feelings! Bioshock Infinite really resonated with me and is my clear favourite from the series. I just love everything about the world and art design, and I think the story works gangbusters for the most part. I think the parallel dimensions stuff is kinda like a lot of time travel stories where it can be picked apart afterwards but works in the moment (like Looper). I also really like the gunplay. I can understand being disappointed it's not more of an action-rpg like the older games but taken on it's own merits the shooting is strong, the vigors fun and unique and I like the tear mechanic a whole lot too.

I actually think the Infinite backlash is more off the mark than the initial launch reviews. They're probably inflated for where people view the game now, but the people who think it's junk are a small - and frankly silly - minority.

I wouldn't call them silly, everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but I agree with you that the reviews are more in line with what I think of the game than the backlash.

 

[HueyFreeman]

People pointing out instances where the game obviously faced development hell issues, which resulted in a much inferior product than was promised aren't wrong, even if you don't want to acknowledge them.

Agreed, and if that was what I was referring to, I'd be happy to be corrected. But I'm referring to threads or posts - not even necessarily this one, there are sooo many BI backlash threads - here where people decide the game is junk, whether it's based on failing to meet the initial promises or something else. The game is objectively not junk, I don't care how people spin it. That kind of overstatement has become oddly commonplace when discussing the game, and it works against effectively making a point about the game's problems.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Faux-deep is a great way to describe Bioshock Infinite. It brushes by a bunch of important themes but only long enough to briefly say "See this is bad!" before moving on to the next theme. There's no real cohesive message to bring it all together, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was a result of it's long-ass development time. And the whole dimension-hoping meta aspect is really not as clever as it pretends it is.

Isn't a bad game, I enjoyed it. Just a lot more shallow then Bioshock 1 in almost every aspect.

 

[Fracas]

I've grown to appreciate Bioshock Infinite a lot since 2013, but my main sticking point (one that the OP shares) is that Columbia isn't fleshed out. I'm missing the word for it, but it feels like every location is a movie set rather than a real place. Rapture didn't have this problem at all.

The most egregious point is the very beginning, when Booker is walking through Columbia and everyone stares at you while ignoring you while spouting their single line of dialogue, then nothing else. It feels so empty.

 

[Neiteio]

I've grown to appreciate Bioshock Infinite a lot since 2013, but my main sticking point (one that the OP shares) is that Columbia isn't fleshed out. I'm missing the word for it, but it feels like every location is a movie set rather than a real place. Rapture didn't have this problem at all.

Really? Rapture feels like a flooded basement. You actually see how Columbia functions as a living, breathing society. It's not even comparable.

Should also note, Infinite has a strong beginning and a strong ending. BS1 starts strong but has a nonexistent end-game culminating in the Hulk, while BS2 ends strong but takes forever to get going. Infinite was much more even, with a strong start and ending... and a protagonist and supporting character that were actually, well, characters.

 

[DevilDog]

I had to watch this game on youtube, I couldn't blast through 2 hours of this awful gameplay.

I've grown to appreciate Bioshock Infinite a lot since 2013, but my main sticking point (one that the OP shares) is that Columbia isn't fleshed out. I'm missing the word for it, but it feels like every location is a movie set rather than a real place. Rapture didn't have this problem at all.

The most egregious point is the very beginning, when Booker is walking through Columbia and everyone stares at you while ignoring you while spouting their single line of dialogue, then nothing else. It feels so empty.

Rapture was supposed to be desolate, and you should feel alone.

Columbia is filled with life, and the Bioshock formula doesn't support that.

 

[Plum]

The point of parallel dimensions (which is a plot device, not a "theme") is to show the many different turns a life can take when a person tries to resolve their cognitive dissonance. In this case, it's about Booker dealing with guilt over his hate crimes as a soldier and strike-breaker -- one Booker, by shirking responsibility and letting guilt crush him (booze, gambling, deep depression)... and the other Booker, by absolving himself through ideology, whitewashing his past with religion and reinventing himself (Comstock). The former cripples him so he can't make a difference in the world, while the latter allows toxic ideas to breed and multiply.

It's kind of topical, really -- the alt-right is arguably a reaction by those who don't like their bubbles being popped as their privilege is checked by those less fortunate, so they dress up their own hate crimes (sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia) in highly romanticized ideological terms ("ethics in journalism," etc) to avoid any semblance of cognitive dissonance.

At any rate, the resulting "circle goes unbroken" until Booker mans up to his sins, rather than running from them or trying to make excuses.

I understand what the ending was trying to say, though personally Booker wasn't a relatable nor a very interesting protagonist as we never get to experience that internal struggle. It's all just put in at the end with hints in the beginning but it's so rarely in the middle. However, the parallel dimension stuff is not needed to tell that story; it serves to bog down the game with needless plot holes whilst making one of the main attractions to the series, the idealogical criticism, take a backseat. We didn't need to go to Rapture to experience the struggle between those two sides of cognitive dissonance, for example. Booker's depression, drunkenness, guilt, etc also NEVER comes up in gameplay because by the time where it appears the gameplay has finished.

Let me tell the same story but without any parallel dimensions. Booker and Comstock were both soldiers in the Wounded Knee massacre (possibly even related), after they came home they went their seperate ways and the events of the opening transpire. Mid-game we learn that that fact and then the rest explores the cognitive dissonance idea to its fullest. Through gameplay we see the issues with Booker's response to guilt and through story we the issue of Comstock's. At the end both are killed, and thus the circle of guilt is broken for good. No need for elaborate explanations or needless plot holes, and the ideological criticism might actually have more time to shine.

My problem needs to be reiterated, I don't take issue with many of the aspects of Infinite's story when viewed in a bubble, but as a complete package it's a mish-mash of themes, story beats, plot holes, characters and more. Bioshock 1 was ALL about the idealogical criticism, The Last of Us, for example was ALL about Joel and Ellie's personal struggles. Bioshock Infinite wants to be a criticism of idealogy, a personal character-driven story, a quantum mechanics sci-fi adventure and a sequel to Bioshock's gameplay systems all at the same time and it doesn't succeed at any of them.

And I honestly doubt that Irrational was considering the alt-right when making the game. It's main development was in 2012, and whilst that shit was definitely around then it definitely wasn't as prevalent as it is today. But then again, the racism part of the story isn't explored as thoroughly as it should. As Matthewmatosis puts it "you can't be politically correct and portray a story like this at the same time." 1 has, for example, a free artist literally making art out of corpses, Infinite has a relatively tame depiction of slavery where the most "shocking" depiction of racism is throwing a ball.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Really? Rapture feels like a flooded basement. You actually see how Columbia functions as a living, breathing society. It's not even comparable.

Watch this and then say that Infinite had a 'living breathing society'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc15KgfNJsw&ab_channel=VideoGamerTV

Agreed, and if that was what I was referring to, I'd be happy to be corrected. But I'm referring to threads or posts - not even necessarily this one, there are sooo many BI backlash threads - here where people decide the game is junk, whether it's based on failing to meet the initial promises or something else. The game is objectively not junk, I don't care how people spin it. That kind of overstatement has become oddly commonplace when discussing the game, and it works against effectively making a point about the game's problems.

That's what they think the game amounted to after all the promises, after all the issues the game had, and some if it is directly in reaction to the overhype and completely undeserved bloated scores it got upon release, but much of it is also completely justified, as the OP explains in his OP. THe game had tons of issues.

I keep going back to the original trailer and always think that had Irrational survived, they'd have faced the same backlash as Gearbox did for Aliens Colonial marines in regards to showing something completely different from the final inferior product.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOx4HKrYHKc

I mean, 99% of all the stuff you can do in this trailer is either scaled back significantly, or is not even in the final game.

And you can tell they really had issues because this was a section that was supposed to be in the game only a year from release

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ9m6kJNeuk

A lot of the claims Ken Levine made close to launch about how Elizabeth's powers were completely unrestricted and you could do such insane things as make a door in the environment somewhere to escape encounters, or how you did not even have to engage enemies at many points and just walk past them are completely not even there.

 

[CloudWolf]

I completely agree. For some reason when the game released every reviewer was saying how genius the game was and how deep the story is and all I saw when I played it was a mediocre shooter with plot elements that either went nowhere (as mentioned, Fink), had no real purpose within the game aside from being there because it was in Bioshock 1 (Vigors and Handymen/Songbird as Big Daddy replacements) or came completely out of nowhere ("Oh hey, we're doing ghosts now!").

Really? Rapture feels like a flooded basement. You actually see how Columbia functions as a living, breathing society. It's not even comparable.

Sure, you had to use a little imagination to fill in the blanks, but Rapture is a much more fleshed out world than Columbia. Every time you see people living their lives in Infinite it's just a backdrop for the shooting which is about to occur (and as soon as the shooting starts everyone is magically gone). Rapture might've had very few sane NPC's, but they made up for that with amazing enviromental storytelling and the audio logs. With Columbia Levine & co. tried to create a living, breathing world, but they completely failed at doing so by making the inhabited sections of Columbia walled off from the shooting sections.

 

[DarkKyo]

Personally I love Infinite, but I also know that it could have been so much more.

 

[Silvawuff]

I totally agree with you, OP. For me I think the narrative tries too hard to be interesting. Infinite was a game I wanted to like but ultimately couldn't.

 

[Omega Kirby]

Shocker, a game has flaws. In this case the story plot holes.

Still was a darn good experience, I felt the gameplay was solid and fun.

 

[rtcn63]

I often see people describing Bioshock Infinite as a good, if not great, game, unfortunately I've never seen an argument to support that opinion.

The game has a awe inspiring opening and a roller coaster end, but the vast majority of the game is a complete mess and a linear slog.

The combat is serviceable and the aesthetic is nice. But like others have said, the feeling of "unfinished-ness" can be found in damn near every inch of the game. It's not terrible, and its bigger faults are more glaring mainly because of the two games that came before it and the expectations set by the early trailers. There are quite a few other AAA games I'd gladly replay it over.

 

[BasilZero]

Infinite is amazing. Loved the game and its story, setting, and gameplay. Better than the first by a long shot.

Same here


The setting I enjoyed more than rapture.

 

[Toxi]

I'm on mobile, so pardon typos.

Yes, you can kill innocents in many games and it won't count as canon. As for enemies... Self-defense, kill or be killed. They attack you on sight. Not the same as executing people who are at your mercy, which is what the Vox did to the upper class.

You're saying Bioshock Infinite is a story-heavy game where one of the most prominent themes is violence. But when the game gives me the option to murder innocent people with no story consequences, your excuse is "Well, it's not canon in the game." Isn't that a pretty big problem? It shows a massive disconnect between the story and the gameplay. It shows that I, the player, have no actual participation in the game's story. I might as well be watching a movie while simultaneously playing another video game.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

The obvious padding in the Lady Comstock section is horrendous.

Forcing the player to backtrack the same area again and again with no real difference so they can fight the same terrible bullet sponge boss three times, ugh. And on higher difficulties it's a complete mess because everything takes so long to kill and each death means you have less ammo.

That wasn't padding. That was the result of what was probably years of work on what were supposed to be the Siren enemies. The Boys of Silence fared even worse in my opinion. I was so hyped by those "Heavy Hitter" videos. So many broken promises with this game. Levine fucked up bad. For some reason critics loved this unfinished piece of mediocrity though. I remember being astounded seeing them reuse NPC's over and over and over and just wondered what the hell they were doing for 6 years.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Edit: double post, sorry.

 

[Prompto]

That wasn't padding. That was the result of what was probably years of work on what were supposed to be the Siren enemies. The Boys of Silence fared even worse in my opinion. I was so hyped by those "Heavy Hitter" videos. So many broken promises with this game. Levine fucked up bad.

I'm surprised Bioshock Infinite didn't get more backlash over this. Same thing happened with the Zeppelin too. The E3 2011 gameplay video is crazy to watch now considering how the actual game was.

 

[DevilDog]

Bioshock Infinite Metacritic - 94





I don't know OP, can I trust you or can I trust all these professionals?

Spoiler

Launch hype trains are a scary thing.

It's incredible that proffessional reviers said these things. I'm struggling to find one review that is actually true, and not hyped up nonesense.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

I'm on mobile, so pardon typos.

Yes, you can kill innocents in many games and it won't count as canon. As for enemies... Self-defense, kill or be killed. They attack you on sight. Not the same as executing people who are at your mercy, which is what the Vox did to the upper class.

It's addressed in the game itself that Booker is willingly murdering people he doesn't need to get what he wants; which is at the time nothing more than a pay day. You're right in that everything exist's in Columbia to illustrate the type of person Booker is, he always a violent psychopath who's willing to corrupt anything and anyone to get what he wants. He sells/steals his own child, he commits massacres, he indoctrinates an entire society to see an alternate version of himself as a devil, he uses racism as a means to achieve his goal, he turn the vox into savages no better than their oppressors, he uses miraculous science to only benefit him and he murders himself.

The main theme of the game was constants and variables with the narrative built around the constant of Booker being a sociopath. It had some serious downfalls such as using complex themes like racism and violent uprisings as nothing more than to show how terrible Booker is whilst claiming they were going to treat them as serious subject matters. However I still really enjoyed the game including how it played, then again I thought The Last of Us was terrible outside of the visuals so what do I know?

It's incredible that proffessional reviers said these things.

Reviews are utterly subjective you know?

 

[Inuhanyou]

Reviews are utterly subjective you know?

Its not subjective if its entirely off the basis of reality and a descent into hyperbole with generally zero criticism whatsoever.

That wasn't padding. That was the result of what was probably years of work on what were supposed to be the Siren enemies. The Boys of Silence fared even worse in my opinion. I was so hyped by those "Heavy Hitter" videos. So many broken promises with this game. Levine fucked up bad. For some reason critics loved this unfinished piece of mediocrity though. I remember being astounded seeing them reuse NPC's over and over and over and just wondered what the hell they were doing for 6 years.

This is the point i was trying to get at originally. Those heavy hitter videos were just so far off the mark from what the game ended up being

 

[Toxi]

I feel like "completely unfocused" also describes the problem with the combat of Bioshock Infinite. There are so ideas that just don't work together.

I'd describe it that way after a second playthrough.

• Two gun limit... Why.
• Health packs replaced by shield... Why.
• Lack of preparation before fights means enemies like Handymen feel much more unfair than the Big Daddies in the first game.
• Guns are boring compared to stuff like the Chemical Thrower or Crossbow, and the two weapon limit stops you from experimenting with upgrades. Didn't help the worst guns tended to be the most common, or that there was the inexplicable idea to have two of the same kind of weapon (One Vox, one Founder), diluting the weapon pool further.
• Plasmids are all too samey in the first half of the game. "Press R1 to fire, press R2 to make a trap!" Charge and Undertow needed to be earlier.
• Balance is horrible among both weapons and plasmids; did they even test the Charge shield recharge? It breaks the game in half worse than even the Wrench builds in the first game.
• Level design doesn't fit the gameplay at all because it surrounds you with enemies when a shield is designed to work with cover. Also battles often puts enemies at longer ranges when most guns and plasmids are designed for medium range.
• Enemies are bullet sponges, especially those rocket launcher guys. Seriously, why the fuck did they have so much health?
• The respawn system is somehow even worse than the first two games.
• Why is there so much backtracking in such a linear game? Almost as bad as Halo CE.
• Worst boss fight of the year with Lady Comstock.
• No Songbird boss battle was disappointing.

Every time they had some interesting idea, like Elizabeth, it ended up being inelegantly shoved in the system. Sweet, Elizabeth is gonna be my helper with superpowers? Oh, but she's basically just a random ammo/money dispenser, and every time it happens I awkwardly turn away from whatever I'm doing so she can say "Here you go!"

 

[Afrocious]

To say Fitzroy became some oppressor is hilariously absurd unless there's something in the DLC that has her wanting to conquer someone. The point that 'the other side is just as bad as the side we've been fighting' comes short when you're dealing with freedom fighters who hadn't done anything as bad as the people lording over them.

If anything, to say that the race and class issues were there to characterize Booker actually makes the writing in Infinite even worse since that would mean the writers of the game figured they'd make some immature point out of issues that parallel stuff we have in reality for the sake of fleshing out their protagonist - Booker - who was quite murderously shallow.

 

[Hispanic! At the Disco]

Its a shallow ocean. So many facets that on their own, deeply explored, could make a very enganging experience. Instead they're lightly touched upon and messingly tangled together.

That being said, I still love the game and its my favorite bioshock

 

[lightskintwin]

To say Fitzroy became some oppressor is hilariously absurd unless there's something in the DLC that has her wanting to conquer someone. The point that 'the other side is just as bad as the side we've been fighting' comes short when you're dealing with freedom fighters who hadn't done anything as bad as the people lording over them.

The DLC comes across as hearing criticism about how they failed the character of Daisy and the point they were trying to make and attempting to fix it with a plotline that's even more absurd. LOL

Its a shallow ocean. So many facets that on their own, deeply explored, could make a very enganging experience. Instead they're lightly touched upon and messingly tangled together.

That being said, I still love the game and its my favorite bioshock

Despite the major issues I have, this is how I still feel. I love Bioshock Infinite and feel it's still a great game and my favorite out of the series.

 

[DevilDog]

Reviews are utterly subjective you know?

I didn't know. I always thought critics tried to be objective even though they never could be completely.