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[Drizzlehell]

Released in March 26, 2013, the game follows the story of a former Pinkerton agent named Booker DeWitt, who in July of 1912 is sent to the floating city of Columbia to rescue a young woman named Elizabeth. Columbia is a city in the sky, built by the American government as a display of American exceptionalism and national pride. However, as Booker soon discovers, the city is plagued by racial, political, and religious conflicts, and a cult-like leader named Comstock is in power.

Being primarily a first person shooter with a heavy focus on immersive storytelling and exploration, throughout the game you have to fight off hostile forces and explore the city's various districts while uncovering the mystery behind Booker's dark past, his relationship to Elizabeth, Columbia's tumultuous history, and various supernatural occurrences that are closely tied to inhabitants of the city.

Bioshock Infinite is widely known for exploring a variety of themes throughout its story, some of which include American exceptionalism, racism and prejudice, free will and choice, religion and fanaticism, and quantum mechanics and time. All of these themes work together to create a layered, complex and thought-provoking storyline. And while it's been a subject of some scrutiny, mainly for depicting racism and class inequality without fully confronting these themes, as well as being accused of over stuffing its narrative with too many plot threads which confused a lot of players, the impact that the game made on the overall discussion of whether games can have an artistic merit is undeniable. It's been praised for its storytelling, setting, and characters, and is often regarded as one of the best video games of all time.

As for my personal experiences with Bioshock Infinite, without a doubt, this is one of my favorite games of all time and it only gets better for me with each subsequent playthrough. I could probably write an entire dissertation about various characters and themes presented throughout the game because there's just so much in it to analyze, both in terms of the complex narrative and how everything ties together, but also in terms of its artistic merit. While I can totally understand and recognize its flaws and how it may cause some people to bounce off of it, or sometimes even outright hate it, I can easily forgive any of those flaws due to the amount of thought and passion that was clearly put into this game by its creative director and lead writer, Ken Levine. It's one of those games that resonated with me personally on many different levels, to the point where I could call it one of the most profound gaming experiences of my life. And I will absolutely debate you to my last breath about why this game is so great while trying to provide and academic breakdown of each of its individual elements.

Now, with all that cringe shit out of the way, if for some reason you haven't had a chance to do it before, go play this amazing game.

 

[Imtjnotu]

One of my favorite games during that year.

 

[TexMex]

I loved this game then and love it now. Idk where the tide turned but I feel like people were high on this at launch but I usually only see people shit on it now. Just an amazing game, nearly as good as the original. Better in some areas, imo.

 

[SCB3]

fuck it is that old, its a game I have from release on PS3 (same day I bought Last of Us) and despite owning it 3 more times (PC, Switch and PS4 remaster) still not sat and pl;ayed more than an hour or 2, the worst part of this is that the original Bioshock is legit one of my top 10 horror games if not all games

 

[BryceNobody]

Infinite is a great game. It’s probably not quite as high on my personal favorites as it used to be, but it’s still got memorable moments and solid gameplay.

Was my favorite game outright for 2013, same year The Last of Us released.

 

[kanjobazooie]

Amazing game, but I wish they fleshed out Columbia more. They focused too much on Booker & Elizabeth and kinda de-emphasized the setting.

I know the devs intended to turn the spotlight on these 2 characters for the sake of storytelling, but still..

 

[bender]

I loved this game then and love it now. Idk where the tide turned but I feel like people were high on this at launch but I usually only see people shit on it now. Just an amazing game, nearly as good as the original. Better in some areas, imo.

I was negative on it from the beginning. When the game teaches you to melee and then proceeds to have you melee another half dozen enemies, I remember thinking "I get it, already" and that's the perfect microcosm for the game play structure. It always throws one or two extra wave of enemies at you in every encounter to the detriment of pacing. I pushed through because the narrative was interesting but I really wanted nothing to do with the game afterwards.

 

[drotahorror]

Only Bioshock game I've ever beaten.

I always quit 1 and 2 for some reason. Have tried multiple times.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

I never re beat this on PC...I'm sure it will be an amazing experience when I get around to it! My first playthroughs were on the 360 I believe...I remember being upset at the streamlined nature of it compared to the OG Bioshock but taken as it's own game, it's amazing, brilliant, original.

 

[skit_data]

I replayed Bioshock 1 and Infinite last year (gonna replay Bioshock 2 too at some point and I really really need to play Burial at Sea).
While I like the story and world building in both games I felt the moment to moment gameplay hasn’t aged that well, especially in Infinite. Handymans are a fucking joke to fight, bullet sponge galore.

Still, looking forward to Judas and the upcoming Bioshock game.

 

[Brock2621]

Replying to this just to say I started to play through this again and with my wife and it’s incredible. I’m older now than when this was first released and the themes hit even harder.

 

[skit_data]

Replying to this just to say I started to play through this again and with my wife and it’s incredible. I’m older now than when this was first released and the themes hit even harder now.

+1

Definitely, I didn’t even know who Ayn Rand was when I played Bioshock the first time I played the game, the themes and ideas definitely hits harder as you get older.

 

[flying_sq]

Really enjoyed this game, I don't particularly enjoy open world games, but this one would have definitely been a great open world with a hub of some sort. Would have been neat to have a dlc where Booker actually does a film noir style detective story.

 

[Wildebeest]

Very boring game compared to Bioshock, couldn't get through it, but it looks good, and might trigger some emotions if you cared about that period in US history. I don't, at all.

 

[R6Rider]

I still need to play this.

 

[Sam Hyde]

So good he never made another game and killed the franchise

 

[Grildon Tundy]

The game still looks beautiful. A benefit of going for art style vs realism.

I still really like Bioshock Infinite, but what I loved about Bioshock 1 was seeing the themes of Objectivism played out. I felt like Bioshock Infinite didn't explore the themes of nationalism to the same extent.

 

[Tarnpanzer]

Never played a single shock-game.

Got them all in Steam though...

 

[Alan Wake]

Still amazing.

 

[Thabass]

Literally the only game in the series I played in beat. Fucking loved Infinite.

 

[Doczu]

Still a piss poor entry in the franchise and a total let down after Bio 1 and 2.

Enjoy your corridor shooting fps with ome semi open sceneries to give you an illusion of being open world.

 

[Camreezie]

Recently revisited and still love the game. Cant believe its been 10 years with no bioshock release

 

[HotSauceEnema]

dreadfully overhyped game, remember speedrunning it during a free PS3 weekend, getting to the ghost section and just being like what the hell game am I playing here?

 

[RiccochetJ]

I absolutely loved the game at the time and completely devoured it.

As an aside, a lot of the OP read like they copy pasted the response from ChatGPT so I checked. Got a pretty good match if I do say so myself especially the last two paragraphs.

OP, you need to give your bestie AI a break from time to time.

 

[Davesky]

I missed out on the original Bioshock but glad to say I got to play this one. Sure it was overhyped and was nothing like it was portrayed to be in trailers but it was still one of the best experiences on PS3.

 

[Krathoon]

That ending was pretty messed up.

 

[daveonezero]

I played this one more than the first.

I still look at the Switch collection and want to pick it up for $10. Never finished the fist and remember this one fondly.

 

[AlteredForms]

I was actually about to make a thread about this Drizzlehell as I'm too currently playing through it. Currently at the Shantytown, though I'm a little burned out. To me it's easily the best game in the BioShock franchise. I'm not saying those people who considered the first game the best are wrong, but they just are and it's alright to be wrong at times, learn from your mistakes and be better next time .

Infinite wins due to the skyline alone! Yahooooo!!!

 

[Freeman76]

I thought the story was absolute bollocks, but loved the setting and the game in general.

 

[semiconscious]

i just replayed the trilogy within the last year, & it's still the weakest of the 3 games, imo. a bit too overly bombastic for its own good...

 

[AlteredForms]

i just replayed the trilogy within the last year, & it's still the weakest of the 3 games, imo. a bit too overly bombastic for its own good...

Did you just for a moment imply that BioShock 2 was better than Infinite? I mean wow, I'm at a loss for words.

 

[JonSnowball]

You know the only thing that really annoyed me about this title? The two weapon limit for guns and tonics.

 

[Wildebeest]

OP, you need to give your bestie AI a break from time to time.

No way. In fact, that's a great idea.

BioShock Infinite: A Decade of Hype, but No Substance


BioShock Infinite was released ten years ago today, and it was one of the most hyped games of all time. The trailers were incredible, the marketing was genius, and everyone was talking about it. But when the game finally came out, it was a huge disappointment.

The story was a mess. It was full of holes and inconsistencies, and it made no sense. The characters were one-dimensional and boring. The gameplay was repetitive and uninspired. And the world was beautiful, but it was also empty and lifeless.

BioShock Infinite was a huge letdown. It was a game that promised so much, but delivered so little. It's a game that should be forgotten, not celebrated.

Now the same with comments about hair and fruit.

BioShock Infinite: A Decade of Hype, but No Substance, and Weird Hair


BioShock Infinite was released ten years ago today, and it was one of the most hyped games of all time. The trailers were incredible, the marketing was genius, and everyone was talking about it. But when the game finally came out, it was a huge disappointment.

The story was a mess. It was full of holes and inconsistencies, and it made no sense. The characters were one-dimensional and boring. The gameplay was repetitive and uninspired. And the world was beautiful, but it was also empty and lifeless.

But what really stood out to me was the weird hair. Everyone in the game had weird hair. Booker's hair was greasy and unkempt. Elizabeth's hair was frizzy and unmanageable. And Comstock's hair was just plain weird. It was like a giant bird's nest on his head.

And then there were the exotic fruits. There were all sorts of exotic fruits in the game, but they all looked like they had been dipped in radioactive waste. The apples were green and moldy. The oranges were orange and mushy. And the bananas were yellow and radioactive.

Overall, BioShock Infinite was a huge disappointment. It was a game that promised so much, but delivered so little. It's a game that should be forgotten, not celebrated. But at least we got to see some weird hair and exotic fruit.

 

[MacReady13]

Infinite is a great game. It’s probably not quite as high on my personal favorites as it used to be, but it’s still got memorable moments and solid gameplay.

Was my favorite game outright for 2013, same year The Last of Us released.

That’s because it’s a better, deeper and far more nuanced game than The Last of Us. Infinite is simply a masterpiece that only fools criticised later as they didn’t know exactly what this game was trying to say or, more to the point, didn’t like what the game was saying.

 

[semiconscious]

Did you just for a moment imply that BioShock 2 was better than Infinite? I mean wow, I'm at a loss for words.

hey, nice knowing i'm still able to leave someone speechless...

 

[Vandole]

I only played it for the first time last year and I loved it. Really loved the story too. Everything going on in Columbia seemed more relevant today than it maybe even did 10 years ago.

I will say Burial at Sea felt like a let down. It wasn't terrible, but it felt like they were trying to cram a bigger game into 5 hours of DLC while trying to tie up a bunch of loose threads.

 

[Scotty W]

This game Terrie legacy will be to have popularized this song.

 

[Laptop1991]

I loved the game and the setting and the character's, i replay it quite often, it's been too long between Bioshock's

 

[SeraphJan]

I like it more than 1 & 2

 

[The Cockatrice]

Gameplay Bioshock 1 > Infinite
Story Infinite > 1
Atmosphere 1=Infinite
Sound=Infinite>1

Huge bonus points to Infinite for an incredible DLC tho, Burial at Sea. I was so happy when I saw/heard some familiar faces

 

[ZehDon]

Probably my least favorite of the three games, to be honest. I doubt I'll ever go back to it. The combat was bullet spongey, the plot thought it was a heck of a lot smarter than it actually was, and it completely fell apart at the end. Absolutely terrific setting, but it was absolutely wasted on a game that treats them as nothing more than window dressing. The DLC was rock solid, though.

 

[Loomy]

Amazing game, but I wish they fleshed out Columbia more. They focused too much on Booker & Elizabeth and kinda de-emphasized the setting.

I know the devs intended to turn the spotlight on these 2 characters for the sake of storytelling, but still..

That's how I feel about it a well. The game seems to be more interested in rushing you towards the reveal of the twist than anything else unfortunately. Columbia was given so little attention that the game could have been in any isolated community on the ground and it would have made no difference.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I absolutely loved the game at the time and completely devoured it.

As an aside, a lot of the OP read like they copy pasted the response from ChatGPT so I checked. Got a pretty good match if I do say so myself especially the last two paragraphs.

OP, you need to give your bestie AI a break from time to time.

I guess some of it does but how else would you write a plot summary for it, then? I used to be a copywriter and that's kinda how I got used to writing these things.

I'm not asking an AI to write my posts, you twat, lol. If you don't believe me then try asking it to compose a paragraph about how you feel about the game, which is what I focused on after summarizing the plot. See how far you're gonna get.

Fuck me sideways, put a little effort into your writing and suddenly you're a bot. There's no winning with you bozos.

 

[The Alien]

Bioshock Infinite is my 3rd favorite game of all time....in the franchise.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Really enjoyed this game, I don't particularly enjoy open world games, but this one would have definitely been a great open world with a hub of some sort. Would have been neat to have a dlc where Booker actually does a film noir style detective story.

Funny you should say that because Episode 1 of Burial at Sea DLC is exactly what you just mentioned. It's a classic film noir complete with all the familiar tropes, such as brooding private eye with a shady past who gets caught up in a dangerous case when a mysterious femme fatale knocks on his door. It's a fun spin on the genre that's used here to continue the story that was left ambiguous at the end of the main game. It's also set in Rapture which is just an amazing trip down the nostalgia lane and an interesting look at new locations that were never shown in the first Bioshock. It's only downside is its short length.

I made a point of revisiting those DLCs along with the main game during my current playthrough, particularly because I never finished Episode 2. I remember that it took a sharp turn towards stealth gameplay, with heavy inspirations from the Thief series, which I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about after 30 hours of zipping around freight lines and blasting everything with a machine gun. This shift in style felt too jarring and stealth mechanics only served to slow the pace of the story to a grinding halt. It was really off-putting.

At least this time I know what to expect going into it. My only hope is that they've at least put together a decent stealth game.

 

[MALpractice311]

i just replayed the trilogy within the last year, & it's still the weakest of the 3 games, imo. a bit too overly bombastic for its own good...

Agreed. 1 > 2 >>> Infinite. Infinite was severely dumbed down from the prior Bioshock games. The best part of the first two was exploring the world. It wasn't an open world game, but there was some choice in how to progress through each level. Player choice regarding progression was totally eliminated in Infinite to make it as linear and direct as possible. Level progression in Infinite consisted of shooting arena, storyline corridor, shooting arena, storyline corridor, repeat ad naseum. The problem is the story is absolutely dog shit. The constant tears into other timelines in effect keeps resetting the stakes and introducing plot holes, to where nothing ultimately nothing in the story means anything.

I will however give it credit for it's art direction. It's a visual treat.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Infinite was severely dumbed down from the prior Bioshock games.

People were saying the exact same thing about the original Bioshock when it came out, except the comparisons back then were to System Shock 2.

While I can understand how Bioshock was a dumbed down version of System Shock 2, with the latter being a much more complex RPG experience, claiming that Infinite is a dumbed down version of Bioshock is downright bizarre. In terms of gameplay mechanics they're quite literally the same games, with the only difference being that Infinite has a more refined gunplay and a couple of extra mechanics that weren't present in the original (which makes it all the more amusing to hear that Infinite is somehow the lesser game).

 

[Doczu]

Did you just for a moment imply that BioShock 2 was better than Infinite? I mean wow, I'm at a loss for words.

I hope you stay mute then, cause i'm gonna say Bio 2 is low-key the best in the trilogy, standing on the shoulders of Bio 1 which crushes Infinite on any level (bar being so streamlined and simplified it lost it's roots).

I mean, i understand some people may try to say how smart this game is, nuanced and philisophical, but they sound like they have more tattoo's than thoughts and drink decaff in the most obnoxious, hipster place in the whole world.

 

[unlurkified]

I remember everyone being disappointed in it when it came out because it wasn’t earth-shattering like the original. Still was a 9+. But man wouldn’t it be great to have gotten more games like this over the years. I remember how dismayed I was though at how heavily the graphics were downgraded from promotional content on 360.

 

[Drizzlehell]

I hope you stay mute then, cause i'm gonna say Bio 2 is low-key the best in the trilogy, standing on the shoulders of Bio 1 which crushes Infinite on any level (bar being so streamlined and simplified it lost it's roots).

I mean, i understand some people may try to say how smart this game is, nuanced and philisophical, but they sound like they have more tattoo's than thoughts and drink decaff in the most obnoxious, hipster place in the whole world.

I like Bioshock 2 more than I like Bioshock 1, I'll give you that.

But better than Infinite? Nah...