Bioshock Infinite

If it was said before it needs to be said again, games with the substance of a true narrative and character development is the only way in for many, particularly when one tight gameplay is worth another, and amazing graphics are competing with each other.

Enters, Bioshock Infinite, the anticipated follow up to Rapture’s Saga.

One man must rescue a girl locked in a tower, while the game begins with the element of a simple fairy tale, things get much more complicated, it is first twisted by our hero, a former Pinkerton, with a bloody past on a quest for redemption, Elizabeth, is not your average damsel in distress either, she will handle herself during firefights, pick locks, scavenge for supplies and will be saving his life throughout the game. Not to mention her ability to open up windows to other realities, a very neat gameplay feature but also a key element of the narrative. As it happens, Elizabeth is the major character of the story, until the true nature of your own character comes to bear and that we finally realize both characters are linked.

The game is gorgeous and amazing to play, the moment you step in Columbia will take your breath away, the design and architecture of this world was taken to length very rarely achieved in a game.

However, besides the aesthetics, Bioshock deals with theme such as racism, nationalism and religion, throughout America’s ideological past, actual historical events are actually used by the leader of Columbia, Zakary Comstock, to uplift his twisted utopia. While the game is set in the early 20^th century those theme are bound to raise some questions about the present.

While the gameplay in Bioshock Infinite is solid, as we’ve come to expect, the actual action somehow finds itself placed in second, in a way I never experienced before. Bioshock has a story for us and won’t be denied, even the upgrade system for weaponry and powers was meant to compel you to explore the city and find more pieces of the puzzle by yourself, while the beautifully paced narrative will take you throughout the adventure until its incredible conclusion.

Bioshock also confronts you with a few moral choices, however these decisions will not impact the storyline, those moment are meant to break the fourth wall and reach out the player directly, these decision will stay with you throughout the game, simply because the game stepped aside to let you pull the trigger.

Ken Levine newest title can easily be classified as a piece of art, aesthetically beautiful, uncompromisingly compelling, the game stir up some historical truth as well as present, inducing reflections normally reserved for the greatest books and movies. The game’s ending will come crashing down on you in an emotional and mind bending fashion the way of which I very rarely experienced.