BioShock is an action RPG initially released in 2007. Developed by Irrational Games (2K Boston at the time), 2K Australia, and published by 2K. Set in 1960 in the awe-inspiring underwater city called Rapture, players are tasked with surviving in this utopia-turned-dystopia. In doing so, they will unravel the city’s many secrets. BioShock has come down in history as one of the best videogames ever made. Why? Well, today, we will answer that question in our BioShock retrospective!
This retrospective will be heavily compared to System Shock 2. It is Irrational Games’ other hit video game and the foundation for BioShock’s narrative and gameplay structure.
CHAOS AND ART DECO
The world of BioShock is described as Art Deco meets futurism. In addition to the spoken and written word, BioShock uses its detailed environment to tell a story.
Art Deco is a visual style originating from the early twentieth century. Based on creating products, architecture, and artworks around the theme of “fashion.” The fashion theme is meant to forge higher sensations like luxury and status. If you remove all the blood and rubble in the game, you’ll notice an elegance to Rapture: streamlined designs, consistent patterns, slick, provocative advertising, and majestic structures. Where there is impressive architecture, there are signs of violence and madness. The combination of Art Deco and destruction emphasizes the idea of “utopia turned dystopia”, one of BioShock’s core themes. There are constant hints that a society had developed in Rapture, with its own culture, economy, and history.
The visuals are not only good, but they are logical and consistent. Art Deco elements are less present in sections of the game that logically don’t need them, such as the Farmer’s Market and Arcadia—instead, relying more on natural materials, vegetation, and simpler designs. Details like that help ground the world in realism and give sections their personality.
The utopia-turned-dystopia theme is reflected in the enemies as well. In BioShock, there’s a substance called ADAM that allows people to rewrite their genetic code, a process called “splicing.” From changing appearance to generating flame from the tip of your fingers, the impossible becomes possible, only at a severe psychological and physiological cost. The enemies in the game are morbid. Regular folk turned insane due to constant splicing, now a shell of their former selves.
MUSICAL INCLINATIONS
The soundtrack was composed by Garry Schyman. Schyman has worked on various projects, from video games to television to movies. Violins are the main instrument in the game’s original score. It is used for the game’s more wonderous elements and horror moments. It’s like the Dead Space soundtrack, where erratic tunes help create a sense of incoming danger. Combine that with dark ambiance, and you have a soundtrack that pulls you into the moment. It is a story of a utopia-turned-nightmare.
Apart from a masterfully crafted original score, the game liberally uses licensed songs to create immersion—blues, jazz, that kind of stuff.
ORGANIC NARRATIVE
The narrative structure of BioShock is taken directly from System Shock 2. While radio chatter and the environment will give you immediate results, exploration will lead to recordings, similarly to the audio files in Irrational Games’ other masterpiece. And just like that game, these recordings reveal the mystery behind Rapture and pave the way to a bit of drama. Minor characters provide lore and intrigue, while significant characters like Andrew Ryan or Tenenbaum go over their character arcs. The dialogue and presentation raise many philosophical questions. Objectivism, progress, ethics, and destiny are chief among them.
The voice acting in the game is fantastic, with great use of period-appropriate accents and vocabulary. By far, the best character is Andrew Ryan, one of the game’s main antagonists. As a character, Ryan is centered entirely around the game’s core themes. Objectivism. Utopia. Dystopia. Progress and its cost. Every scene with Ryan builds suspense as he shows conviction, menace, and intelligence—the recipe for a good antagonist. Using radio chatter and recordings instead of cutscenes means the game’s pace remains consistent. Unlike System Shock 2, BioShock has a much heavier emphasis on morality.
SYSTEM SHOCK 2-INSPIRED GAMEPLAY
Just like System Shock 2 is the spiritual successor to the Ultima series, BioShock is the successor to System Shock 2.
Both put heavy emphasis on exploration and survival. They have dungeon crawler-style levels, emphasis on player freedom, hacking mechanics, and magic “equivalent.” Both have a research mechanic. Both have a security system mechanic and permanent upgrades. And a similar revive mechanic. If you play BioShock after completing System Shock 2, you’ll notice the similarities on the spot. However, there are some improvements to the formulae.
While in System Shock 2, you could play the game from start to finish without ever using Psi powers, Bioshock’s core is based around using Plasmids and conventional weaponry in tandem. Plasmids are your spell equivalent. Tonics provide passive bonuses. Plasmids, Tonics, weapons, ammo types, and environmental hazards allow multiple ways to tackle combat encounters. The combat’s flexibility makes even the most basic combat encounters feel interesting.
The lack of a typical RPG inventory system means the game’s got a faster pace, as the player no longer needs to worry about optimizing. The absence of a leveling system emphasizes skillful play and requires the player to adapt to their surroundings. The ability to swap Tonics and Plasmids means you’re not locked into one gameplay style. The beauty of the Plasmid and weapon system is that it always allows for both passive and active combat styles. You can use traps and hypnotize foes. Or you can opt for a more direct approach with a shower of bullets and electricity.
MINUTE FLAWS
Progression in the game feels fair; the deeper you are into the story, the tougher the game will get, continuously emphasizing skillful play.
The devs have tried to keep the gameplay loop fresh by adding little challenges to the objectives, such as defeating waves of enemies or hunting them down. However, the majority of objectives in the game are fetch quests: finding an item to build a bomb or pressing a button, with an extra layer of challenge sprinkled in between. It might not be the most riveting mission structure, but the gameplay, world, and story help compensate.
Even today, BioShock is a blast. Its gameplay, world, and story have stood the test of time.