BioShock is still worth diving into 15 years later.
Andrew Ryan, an underwater visionary, invited us to Rapture 15 years ago. It would be a city where creators, inventors, and other eccentric minds could come together and escape global politics’ oppressive, tyrannical chains. To mould the essence of life into its ideal form. You’ll find it impossible to believe that you are being taken down to the city’s deep watery depths, and the doors to your bathysphere are open.
The crazed locals (“splicers”) greet Jack, the game’s protagonist. You barely have time to comprehend the horror of this deep-water prison before you hear the Big Daddy’s heavy stomps and the demonic, shrill voice of a Little Sister. Atlas, your companion and a walkie-talkie are your only options for escape from this dark abyss. He asks you to help free Rapture from its mad leader.
This is just the beginning of Ken Levine’s horror adventure that brought the horror genre kicking and screaming into seventh-generation consoles. BioShock was needed because horror games had been somewhat stagnant in 2007. Dead Space had been a year away, Silent Hill lost in its fog, and Resident Evil created QTEs involving rocks. Although there were many other titles like Fatal Frame and Eternal Darkness, the game’s mechanics were becoming more outdated by 2007.
BioShock’s unique approach to horror gaming takes the best of existing play styles and creates a new, uncompromising experience. BioShock was a modern take on action horror titles like Quake and Doom. Every corridor and every room felt like a fight or flight. You never felt safe.
