Love/Hate: Bioshock

Oh hey, it’s time for another Love/Hate series here on IC2S! After writing the list of my 100 favourite games ever, I had an overwhelming itch to replay Bioshock. The last time I played it was around 2008 or 2009, back when it was ported to PS3. Obviously, I really enjoyed it back then, but I remember having some issues with it, which really made me curious how it would hold up on a replay more than a decade later. This soon turned into a desire to replay the other games in the franchise, hence the development of this Love/Hate series. These are games that demand your attention, and boy did I have plenty of thoughts while playing. Well, y’know what I always say: would you kindly read on to find out what those thoughts were?

Love

• Unmatched World Building and Design – Every corner of Rapture is fascinating and intricately designed. The art direction and overall design of this game is absolutely unparalleled. The art deco aesthetic combined with turn of the century diving suits is just so iconic. Really, my favourite parts of the game are when you’re just roaming around an area after all the enemies have been cleared out, appreciating the bits of environmental storytelling while vibing out to an audio diary that you just found.
  • For that matter, I cannot neglect to mention the legendary opening sequence. The way that the game organically lays out the premise and then introduces you to the city of Rapture is awe-inspiring… before then suddenly showing you that something has gone seriously wrong. Not only does it get you hooked and curious to explore, but it’s also incredibly immersive and showcases the genius game direction which was groundbreaking on release in 2007.
• The Writing – While the story of Bioshock is fairly mundane by video game standards (you’ve become stranded in a hostile city, try to overthrow the tyrant running the show), the actual writing is uncommonly smart, especially for a videogame of this era. The entire game plays out as a critique of objectivist philosophy, showing that a society built around self-interest above all else will inevitably crumble into terrifying chaos. It’s fascinating to see play out and they’ve even weaved these themes into the gameplay mechanics, where you are encouraged to make decisions which aren’t in your self-interest. Plus, y’know, there’s the famous, earth-shattering narrative twist at the end of the second act. This sequence is so good and expertly directed that it legitimately managed to pull some of its tricks on me, even though I had already played the game and knew they were coming.
• Plasmids! – Mechanically, plasmids are basically just your magical powers, but the way that they’ve been implemented makes them so fun to use:
  • First of all, there’s some really creative abilities here: Cyclone Trap, Enrage and Target Dummy open up some creative gameplay options, and then Electro Bolt and Telekinesis are full-on staples in my arsenal.
  • Secondly, the way that plasmids have been implemented makes them a true highlight. Many of the plasmids will interact with the environment or cause enemies to act in ways that you can then exploit to your benefit. For example, Electro Bolt is really useful for stunning enemies, using Electro Bolt on a pool of water will damage, stun, and sometimes even kill all enemies caught in it. Similarly, Incinerate! will light enemies on fire, damaging them and causing them to try to put themselves out in a pool of water (which you can then Electro Bolt for some real shenanigans), but it can also be used to melt frozen sections of the world.
• Exploration – Bioshock‘s levels are packed with optional, substantial, explorable areas that always have some sort of reward at the end for your effort. I absolutely love this kind of level design in a game: those who want to get through quick can just stick to the beaten path, but those of us who want to see all that there is to offer will be spoiled for choice, and our reward for it is always worth it too!
• Andrew Ryan – It’s kind of wild that Andrew Ryan cemented himself as one of the greatest villains in gaming history, and he only has like two minutes of screentime. His influence looms large throughout Bioshock, and getting to hear his audio diaries (which are basically just Ayn Rand philosophy told verbatim) really makes you hate the guy. Subsequent games really go to lengths to make him a more transparent villain, but I prefer how this game allows you to connect those dots yourself.
• Big Daddies – THESE GUYS ARE SO FUCKING COOL. Hulking monstrosities armed with giant drills and guns are such amazing character designs. The fact that they aren’t even inherently hostile makes them so much more interesting. Taking on your first Big Daddy is one of the most intimidating experiences in gaming for good reason, they hype them up so much throughout the first couple levels. Battling them gets a bit too “normal” towards the mid-point of the game, but they’re always a nice challenge compared to the standard splicers.
• Sound Design – I do not appreciate sound in videogames nearly enough, but when I do notice it, it’s usually because it’s so good that even I can’t miss it crowbarring me in the face. Bioshock‘s sound design is spectacular, from the art deco soundscape, to the eerie moaning of the Big Daddies, to the inane babbling of the enemies.
  • Fun fact: I played the remastered version of this game on PC and this version has a bug which causes some audio to sound like it’s coming from the wrong direction. As a result, I could often hear enemies moving and speaking in directions which made absolutely no sense. Like, I was either in an empty room hearing people around me, or they were making noises in directions that made no sense (like outside in the ocean). Funnily enough, this actually made the whole feel of the game more unnerving, like the game had more enemies lurking around in it than it was ever going to show me.

Mixed

• The Gunplay – Shooting in Bioshock is functional at best (much like its contemporary, Fallout 3; I always associated the two games due to their shared lackluster gunplay which is offset by their many other strengths). It doesn’t feel great, but it’s passable. However, I can’t really hate this too much because of the way combat works with the inclusion of plasmids. Mixing and matching guns and plasmids is great fun and more than makes up for any complaints I may have about the general feel of the weapons.
  Morality – Bioshock presents you with a very famous moral choice: do you harvest the Little Sisters to get maximum upgrade points, or do you save the Little Sisters and get less points, but get a reward later? This was fairly compelling stuff in 2007, but in 2025, the game is so blunt with the way it handles this. Rescuing the Little Sisters is so transparently the “right” choice and the game hammers you with this, to the point where it feels like it’s actively talking down to you if you chose “harvest”. Funnily enough, I didn’t notice until this playthrough that this choice is basically the anti-Randian altruism vs selfishness argument in action. Interesting, even if the implementation feels very heavy-handed in retrospect.

Hate

• Hacking Mini-game – I enjoyed playing Pipe Dream as a kid, so the actual gameplay of the hacking mini-game isn’t an issue to me. However, even I got sick of Bioshock‘s hacking minigame quickly. There are two main issues here:
  • It halts the game’s pace every single time you hack something… which could be very often if you are getting spotted by security systems. However, if you want to play the game optimally (ie, not paying more at every item station), then you are going to be hacking constantly.
  • Harder difficulty hacks can be literally impossible to complete (if you are using a controller). This is because you can find yourself in a situation where you find that all possible routes for the pipe to reach the goal are blocked, meaning that you lost before you even started. The only way to avoid this is if you immediately changed the direction of the starting pipe on a complete guess, but this would also require you to randomly find the right piece to make that change immediately, so you’re fucked either way. Thankfully you can find auto-hacks for these situations, but these sorts of hacks basically force you into investing in hacking gene tonics to be able to progress.
• Level Design is Confusing – Granted, this issue is partially due to my “Love” for the game’s optional areas, but Bioshock can be a difficult game to navigate at times. The levels feel like a maze, causing you to constantly refer to your in-game map to make sure that you haven’t missed anything and that you’re going the right way… but even this can be a pain, because the map is really difficult to read due to the confusing way it connects staircases to each level.
• Looting – So much of Bioshock‘s runtime is spent going up to every box, garbage can, desk, and locker just to see if it’s hiding a bottle of alcohol, or a snack cake, or a bandage, or a pack of cigarettes… all so you can get a tiny bit of HP and/or EVE back. Not only is the image of your character running around and throwing everything he sees in his mouth ridiculous, but it also is just annoying. Like, I get that this fosters exploration, but there’s got to be a more elegant solution. Just having less rewards, but each one is more substantial would save a lot of the anxiety that comes with worrying you’re missing any loot in the area.
  • Now, as much as I hate the looting system, I will admit that it is integral to making the WYK room work, because you see the items before you even enter the room, so you’re primed to enter with your back already turned to the wall. Then, when you turn around, you slowly go “hey wait a sec…”
• Alarms SUUUUUCK – The security systems are cool in concept, and it’s really fun to turn them against your enemies… but, my God, set off an alarm and you are going to get subjected to a full minute of wave after wave of flying gun turrets swarming you and unleashing a torrent of gunfire your way. Getting spotted basically forces you to rush to the nearest alarm shutdown panel, or hack a few of them to make it a tolerable fight (which also halts the game’s pace), but that’s something you’ll need to do for EVERY single alarm that goes off in this game. It is, frankly, not very fun to deal with.
• Finale – It’s pretty well acknowledged that Bioshock‘s final stretch is disappointing. It all starts when you undergo the process to become a Big Daddy. What should have been a fascinating body horror sequence, akin to the infamous “Stroggification scene” in Quake 4, instead just has you collect a few ingredients, put on a suit, and bada-bing, bada-boom, you’re a Big Daddy now. So what’s it like being a Big Daddy? Well, they put an awful helmet filter over the screen (which covers a lot of screen real estate in the process) and give you +25% damage resistance… that’s it. I’m not even exaggerating when I say that they don’t even change your character model’s hands to show the equipped diving suit… that’s the level of effort that’s gone into making you feel like a Big Daddy here. The subsequent final boss fight with Atlas is also a pretty underwhelming way to end the game.
  • Oh, bonus, during this point in the game, Fontaine constantly calls you to taunt you. He won’t shut the fuck up, to the point where it gets annoying. It’s like I’m living rent free in the dude’s head.

Bioshock absolutely holds up as one of the greatest triumphs in the history of gaming nearly two decades after its initial release. Every complaint I have is minor in comparison to the totality of what has been achieved here, and even the larger issues (ie, the mediocre shooting) are offset by other strengths (ie, the plasmids and how they interact with the environment). The world of Rapture is absolutely spellbinding and getting lost in this world is a joy that few other games can even dream of replicating. If you haven’t played it, I strongly recommend it.

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Barloq

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Writer, blogger, father. Blogging since 2012, writing my whole life. Was blessed by the chupacabra and the guardian shepherd.

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