[Bioshock Infinite] Why this game is one of the best ever made!
Bioshock Infinite
Bioshock infinite is most literally an on rails shooter/story based RPG game, with the sky hook that you ride around on and go from place to place. But I'm not here to describe the game. I am here to gush about how amazing it is, but hopefully in a structured, non-spoilery way.
There were a couple things that this game banked on getting right in order for it to be a success:
It had to be able to stand alone and be played without having played the first 2 bioshock games. Most people will turn away from a game if they are required to play multiple older games first in order to enjoy it. It puts a huge barrier for entry, one that bioshock infinite does not have. It can be fully understood and enjoyed without ever plaything the first 2. Does it make connections? of course. But it doesn't rely on the other games to make it good. The only part that does is the DLC, but that is a little different.
They had to get Elisabeth right. The game directors and story writers in an interview said they knew that if Elisabeth was not likable, the game was dead. Seeing as the entire game revolves around her, I would say so. This is the single best part of the entire game, is her character. They could remove the great world-building, dialogue, the story...everything, but if they still left Elisabeth as a character, the game would be good. She started out as a character viewed from the outside, quite literally through an observation window, as a princess locked away in a tower/cage. But that is not at all who she is, and this subversion of expectations/growth of character is nothing short of amazing. You Feel emotion towards her almost right away.
This is important enough to say on it;s own: if a game can create a deep and complex emotional connection to a character, it instantly becomes an amazing game. There are simply so few that accomplish this that any that do stand out.
Also, the intro the the DLC where she is finally in Paris is quite emotional. Simple scenes in the main game such as her dancing in a circle, looking happy evoke great emotion.
Now lets discuss the main theme of the game: Choice. In a game about time travel, parallel universes, superpower like abilities, the game game manages to convey a message that is somewhat profound. It is done through the twins, who are going through infinite versions of Booker to find the one who can accomplish what they desire. Through that they discuss constants and variables: things we can/do change, and those we cannot or should not. He does not row. The false choice with the coin flip, the false choice between the bird and the cage pin, which has deeper meaning, etc etc. We are given choices, and yet we are not. The ultimate message is oversimplified to choices are meaningless. There are some things we cannot change.
The time travel tears and Elisabeth: the one dark, horror type portion of the game was one where you had to go through and essentially listen, helplessly to time pass by for Elisabeth as she was taken hostage. It is a horrible torture, both for her and for Booker, and is the best example of such a story element of any medium of media. Never have I felt so powerless as I did struggling to get to Elisabeth and get her home. It was dark, it was heartbreaking, and it was beautiful.
The music: People love to discuss different music choices in games, and Bioshock fully embraces it as part of the world. From the religious type choir music that you start out with, to the barbershop quartet singing, to the slave woman sitting, singing her heart out among fire and death. All are beautiful in different ways, but None come close to the simple, short, miss-able piece of music that plays when you go into a small home and pick up a guitar. It is also in full played during the credits, but during the game, among the horror and ruin, among the pain and helplessness, simply sitting down and having this quiet, beautiful moment was the best break of pace for a video game ever, hands down. Not to mention that the lyrics have either a literal or metaphorical meaning in every single world. Will the circle be unbroken... if only I knew what was waiting for me as the twist ending.
Speaking of the ending, people love to make fun of it: either it was too predictable, or that it made no sense. I thought it was neither, even if it took a bit of artistic liberty with the logic.
The after credits scene, however, left me even more emotionally raw than I thought possible.
One thing that the game did much better than most others is world building. It is not the world itself that is so much better than other games, but rather how they introduced you to it. They showed, never told, except in the audio logs. This is the number one factor for making a good game. SHOW DO NOT TELL. You enter this paradise like world, yet you can almost immediately tell something is wrong. From whispers of people to different buildings, you can tell, if you are paying attention, that there is a whole race suppressed. There was never a time where you were told that Comstock was a strong, stern, religious dictator, but you learn that through the world. There was never a time where the twins told you what their story was outright, but you can piece it together. There was never a time where you were told who you were, untill the very end, and even then there is some mystery. Bioshock infinite knew exactly how much to show you and when, and what to leave as a mystery.
The graphics were beautiful. They simply were gorgeous and really were the icing on the cake.
The action was fast paced, the game mechanics were great, but they alone did not make the game. They, while being a majority of the game, somehow managed to integrate seamlessly with the story, almost taking a back seat in terms of my enjoyment factor.
In short, this masterpiece was amazing because of how it conveyed its messages, and most importantly the emotional connection you had with Elisabeth.