Bioshock might be one of the best games of all time the story, the art, the creativity of the city and abilities. As a kid I was so scared of the start and the characters. All just amazing and beautiful. Can’t wait for the next one
While this is true (very true at that) they still seem to be chasing the high they got from the first one ie burial at sea episode 2, hopefully Judas can be different
I think the bioshock games are great but not the greatest of all time if it comes to environmental storytelling then I can agree bioshock is top 5 easy
16:06 What's funny about that is that there really isn't that much of a difference in the amount of ADAM you get, you can rescue all the Little Sisters and you still get all the ADAM you'll likely need.
I recently started playing the remastered version and it didn't disappoint, the game mechanics of plasmids and guns are even today a revolutionary idea to gameplay
I really, really hope you do Bioshock 2 as well after this. It got a lot of flak when it had to stand next to the first game, but I really enjoyed its more self-contained story and emotional connection. Possibly even more than the first one. Plus, the multiple endings there feel like they make more sense, since you're influencing someone else's idea of what is right and wrong.
In my opinion 1&2 will always be better than infinite. Infinite was a mess during development, I've played all the demos back then I could get my hands on. So it's save to say infinite was not only downgraded massively, but also narratively. Now it's a pretentious mess that tries to retcon the good things of 1. A soulless regenerative shield based shooting gallery with no Bioshock charm or atmosphere.
I can see that I always enjoyed the first one more because of the environmental storytelling the little hints of everything that you could just pick up from reading things on the walls. There seems to be a lot less of that in 2. I still love two as a game don't get me wrong it's fantastic to play and the story is pretty good I just always felt like the first one felt more throughout and deliberate with the environments.
One thing I don't think many people know is that in fallout: New Vegas is that if you beat Mr house to death with a golf club, you gain the achievement "a man chooses, a slave obeys", inspired by this game
I started playing the series in chronological order and I’m currently at Bioshock 1. And I gotta say playing this game right after Burial At Sea Part 2 is something else.
Until Bioshock horror games I’ve never touched and still haven’t but when I saw the Big Daddy it opened my eyes to how horror games can have amazing character designs
If you're looking for another game that really messed with your perception of a linear narrative, that could be considered horror, which has amazing stylised characters. Then you should play Pathologic (2). You could play one, but just play 2. It's "basically the same" but not. It is the better play experience though.
Even on Easy mode it's still extremely hard to take down The Big Daddy's They still hit You hard and The Spider and Houdini Splicers are really hard to beat even on Easy mode.@@theblackbaron4119
36:30 I always saw it as Ryan *daring* Jack to break free from his conditioning. Ryan respects his objectivist philosophy. A tool *designed* to free the mind from all constraint. So he tries to impart his wisdom onto Jack. To free him. By bluntly confronting Jack with the alternative. Being a slave inside his own body. He gave his life, on his own terms, in the hope his philosophy might free his killer. Something something died for our sins.
Atlas being the same name of a god banished by the Greek gods to carry the sky after leading the titans against the gods is also pretty neat reference.
What you stated in the beginning of his surface world life. jack isn’t that old. He probably didn’t have much of a surface life to begin with given his role. Due to the very genetic modifications and memory implanting by Suchong, Jack thinks he’s lived a normal full life, but in reality he’s only four or five years old at the time of the game. But due to the alterations he has the build and mind of a 24 year old. He was smuggled out of rapture in 1958 and Fontaine states he was no more than two, he returns in 1960
This might be a controversial opinion but I actually think having the two endings actually works great on a narrative level. The big twist when you get to Ryan as many have pointed out is a brilliant deconstruction of the concept of "player choice" because as it points out we are doing what the developers intended regardless of which "choice" we make in video games. But if you look at it from a narrative perspective, Jack thanks to the mind control implanted on him never had any ability to choose for himself until that moment where he corners the first little sister since Fountaine did not want to risk showing his hand to Jack at this point and that choice ultimately comes to define him. He can become every bit the monster that both Ryan and Fountaine were, killing and exploiting others for his own benefit leaving a trail of death and destruction in his wake without a shred of remorse or humanity. Or he can rise above his fathers and as Tenenbaum put it give the Little Sisters what was stolen from them by the monsters of Rapture, a chance. Additionally, the good ending has Jack not only rise above his fathers, but it is also serves as great middle finger to Ayn Rand and her repugnant beliefs.
Agreed It's kind of poetic if you think about it. The man without any control of his life, which in reality has been nothing but a lie, with no home or family, manages to get what he thought he always had thanks to the choices he made with the little free will he had.
One thing to note about Point Prometheus is that Mary Shelly's Frankenstein has the subtitle, 'a modern day Prometheus'. And it is indeed at point Prometheus that the most Frankensteinian experiments took place, Ryan even calls the bog daddies Frankensteins at one point. And the proving grounds were Raptures natural and scientific museum at one point. So all in all Atlas/Fontaine has quite literally placed himself at the pinnacle of Rapture, and through his injection of ADAM has ascended to the status of a true titan. Point Prometheus is also in the tallest building in Rapture and located at Olympus heights. with Prometheus of Greek mythology being a titan that would climb to the top op Mt Olympus, home of the gods. In rapture, the residents of Olympus Heights were equally the elite.
Oh man i remember when bioshock at the head of the debait of weather or not "Are video games art ?" and man I remember the BioShock series fondly. Bioshock was the one the prime games that was used for the side of video games are art. I would love to see you do the other BioShock games especially the infinite and burial at sea DLC with how that DLC sets up Bioshock One's story line.
Played it after College. Mom banned M games due to my younger siblings, but I could rent it and play it at night after everyone went to bed. Which was... a thing. I ended up having to return it RIGHT after Julie Langford was murdered and I harbored intense guilt over that for years since I wanted to fulfil her dying wish. Irrational, yes. But I love it and 2. Brigid Freaking Tenenbaum is one of my favorite characters of all time anywhere (her and Cyan Garamonde) due to her massive pre game character arc that is just WONDERFUL. And then Mark has to go and be great too. I miss Something in the Sea. Honestly surprised you didn't talk about Brigid in the video. I'm not sure where to put her in, but she has some large parallels to everything and also survives Rapture.
I would love to see a Spec Ops: The Line video one day soon. It’s a thought I’ve had a lot watching this channel, but especially hearing you dive more into the philosophical, psychological side of the story of BioShock, I think you’d find a lot to love and think about there. Plus the morality choices offered in that game are a much better true test of a player’s moral beliefs, since there’s never really obvious right or wrong answers and it‘s more about determining what actions you can live with yourself for taking. It took a bit of a toll on me the first time I played it, and I’d be really interested to hear your thoughts on it because of it.
I was just a wee boy of 21 when I played it back in 08; I think I got most of the philosophy, but I've grown and learned a lot in those 15 years so it'd be interesting to go back some time
Bioshock is one of the few games that actually gets MORE interesting every time I play it. The first time I played it, I was like 10, so all the philosophy went right over my head; I was way too young to understand any of it. But as I grew up and kept playing it over and over again, I started to notice so many things I'd never noticed before. There's always something new to think about or something new to see. This game never gets boring.
I love that the splicer is the first enemy we see and that we already get a dreadful feeling because of that encounter and then when you actually have to fight these things...absolutely fucking terrifying enemies
Something I'd like to note, this game makes it clear you have no control, the second game says you do have control and that your decisions make you and those who look up to you what they are. The games are at odds but somehow compliment eachother perfectly. What's further, this game had such a big impact on me that I still try to replay it once a year, my first tattoo was the phrase "would you kindly", this game is what made me love the science of genetics and biology something I'm still studying today. This game changed my life for the better, it's why I'll never forget it. And why I will always return to rapture.
I’ll mention that the remaster has a museum to all the cut content from the first bioshock. Some made it to 2 and infinite, but most were left on the cutting room floor with the museum being the only place it’s shown including the slugs and concept art for a level where said slugs were made
@@joechallenger Bioshock 2 is a great game overshadowed by one if the greatest written games ever. Let's be honest the plot of 2 is wack but the gameplay is FAR BETTER than 1's. 1 is fun but seriously clunky and repetitive. 2 allows more creative freedom and feels a lot more powerful
I have to say, despite enjoying video games since I was a kid, Bioshock is by far the first game to give me literal goosebumps in the beginning, and kept me in awe throughout. Ironically, this is one of the first new games I played after graduating from college with degrees in PoliSci and Economics, and it was so cool to be able to see Rand's Objectivism and Ryan's laissez-faire themes play out in the ruins of this fantastical underwater world. Definitely one of my favorite games of all time!
18:08 Actually, the song the spider splicer is humming there is "If I Didn't Care" by the Ink Spots, which is actually the song you hear playing when you walk into the Kashmir Restaurant earlier in the game.
Bioshock was my very first game series I ever seriously played. I was only able to get into it the year before the pandemic started, but ever since I've been OBSESSED with it. I've been WAITING for you to make this video!! I'm so glad you did, and it came out AMAZING!!!
It's definitely one of the better games of the modern era, I think. Visually stunning, and a FPS with an actual story. I've been meaning to replay it in the form of the remaster at some point. I remember liking Bioshock 2, though I don't recall that game's story so much, beyond the 'you're a big daddy with free will?' or whatever. Bioshock Infinite though. I couldn't get into that, I stopped playing that game like a third of the way through? Interested in where they go with the next BIoshock. A space station or the moon would make sense. Underground could work.
Still one of the greatest games of its generation and still just as timeless today. Its direct sequel is underrated, but its DLC "Minerva's Den" was such a chilling experience.
I think the best part about Bioshock is just how one of a kind it is, I’ve played it so many times over the years and in my opinion it’s the purest definition of “often imitated but never duplicated”. This game brings me so much joy and memories
Honestly a remake of this game and the 2nd would be a dream. The setting of one of the more unique one in videogame EVER. Would love to see it remade, with great audio tech & pathtracing. Both games are so unique.
My interpretation of objectivism was always that everyone works to become the best person they possibly can be. In my mind, it is trying to be the fairest system imaginable by valuing people based on their effort, work ethic, and all the other skills that they have rather than by an arbitrary factor like race or gender. Wealth is generated by those who deserve it by working hard and creating things that are new and innovative. Don't want to get too political but to me, the idea of rapture was the perfect middle ground between the conservative right and progressive/liberal left. Working toward progress, valuing advancement and art as well as the individual while also championing personal freedom, responsibility, and the best aspects of capitalism. Sorry for the rant but I think this is what makes Bioshock so special. It creates a scenario and a world that is so rich in philosophy and can really make you think while also providing a great story for those who are just looking to have some fun. I hope that in the future there will be more games like Bioshock.
Remember the first ads for this game. First person perspective of a character running after a little girl, meeting the hulking monster in a diving suit and getting his hand drilled through with a bit of gameplay. It looked amazing and terrifying
Bit of fun trivia... as well as voicing the Circus of Value and Dollar Bill vending machines in the Bioshock franchise, Ken Levine voices Martin Finnegan.
I know it was just a joke at cinema sins but the apple comment about Andrew would actually kind of fit with all the other religious references, Ryan being like the devil, Lucifer, the very snake that tempted Adam and Eve in paradise, tempting them with an apple
Love the suggestion of how to take the atmospherics you another notch. Definitely on my replay list, and inspirational game for mixed magic/guns and story
i went good ending and hacker focused and i only just played it for the first time last month so i was spoiled on the story still Really enjoyed playing it though, the world and everything its amazing but what i got out of it the most was the child rebelling against their parents, ryan rebelling against god u rebelling against fontaine, in the second game its your daughter rebelling against her mother and in the third game its again a daughter rebelling against her father, and i def noticed everything else but thats what i pulled from it maybe it has something to do with my relationship with my parents? i dont know but it was a fun game and i am def playing them again i loved it so much i beat the second game in a single day not from speed running but just not putting it down. especially cause i got the wrong ending in bio 2 on accident. (also havent played 3 yet wanted the first two to sit for a while) sorry if i have bad grammar but i love these games and wanted to share!
Ok kinda late but I’m surprised you didn’t mention in the fort frolic section how Sander Cohen Never once said the trigger phase. So technically in this section, Jack is doing what Sander want out of his own free will, albeit only to continue on, but still something I think is worth mentioning.
Would love to see you cover the rest of the Bioshock series. I got to the end of Infinite and had not seen the twist coming, I just sat there for about 15 minutes completely mind blown.
As someone who you might call a "bleeding heart", I can't bring myself to get the 'bad' ending where you kill the Little Sisters. I love the imagery of the good ending too much, the idea of all these children (including Jack, who is actually in terms of age still a child despite being my age mentally and physically) finding in each other the family they were all ripped away from and denied. Something good came out of Rapture, and that good was Jack and his found family. They left the underwater hellscape behind and returned to the surface to live out their lives in peace and that's beautiful. Plus going the good route gets you access to the "Hypnotize Big Daddy" Plasmids, which are so fucking useful in gauntlets and standoffs. Also, Bioshock was my first cosplay, a simple sign around my neck that said "Harvest or Rescue" with the Playstation buttons on it. It was actually kind of a hit at the con I went to.
Just downloaded the first game randomly to play in january of this year, i knew it was famous so i wanted to know why, and i fell in love with Rapture in the first minutes of the game, so much that i played the trilogy in just a week. Infinite definetly set it as one of the greatest histories i played in a while and i didn't know what i had missed out on, But i'm so glad i played this year and Bioshock is deflnetly in my top 5 games of all time, and i say for the trilogy as a whole, i can't decide between 1,2 and Infinite, i love them all for different reasons.
I like to believe that it’s Jacks choice to pick up the plasmid and shotgun mainly because I believe that his survival is more imbedded in his mind than the mind control.
My favorite joke in Bioshock 2 is when you pick up the golf club in the theme park and hit the Andrew Ryan animatronic in the head with it, you get a trophy called “9-Irony”
Don’t know if anyone mentioned it but if u do the math you actually get a lot more when you save the little sisters when you factor in the gifts they leave you.
I have the series on Switch, and I've played it more now than I did on Xbox. Actually got to play it ON the beach at night while I was chilling with my dog and some red wine. Quite the experience!
No, harvesting earns more ADAM, saving earns you exclusive plasmids and tonics you can't get elsewhere. The gifts don't make up the difference in ADAM, you'll have 280 less ADAM saving. More if you use the extra sister exploit.
One of the scary parts is during the flashes of the ‘Would You Kindly’ reveal, where Fontaine says ‘Would You Kindly forget this’ Just how much did Jack do in Rapture that we never saw? And *what* did he do?!
34:55 See I saw it the other way around. By the time I got to Ryan I had no desire to kill him, as it was clear he only fell after Rapture did really. I felt sorry for him by then. He had been betrayed by everything, including his ideals, just as much as he had betrayed them. And his betrayal was always reciprocal, not initiating.
I LIKE that the game has multiple endings, even if they're not great. They show a choice you can make beyond what the people like Fontain and Atlas thought. One that doesn't affect their plans. Whether the player accepts or denies their philosophy. I think the EXISTENCE of a bad ending empowers the good one. Because you have to actively choose it, again and again.
One little thing to maybe add, the fact that you are related to Ryan is mentioned fairly early on. I forget when, i think when you first reach the market, Altas mentions that Ryan had the vitachambers tuned to his genetic code. Making it so only him and anyone related to him could use them. Yet Jack has no issue with them. Which also kinda make you think...what stopped Ryan from just being revived by one of these chambers after you kill him?
There's an audio log in Neptune's Bounty that mentions the bathyspheres can only be used by Ryan ,his relatives, and his inner circle, also. It's near one of the two turrets under the wharf when you first enter.
Decided to play BioShock for the first time stoned out of my mind and it was one of the most emotional and fantastic yet horrifying experiences of my life. One of the best games I've ever played. I also hacked LITERALY everything and by the end of the game I was a master at it, makes the game a lot easier if your willing to go through the trouble, and I never harvested a little sister. I'm not ashamed to say that the good ending made me cry.
17:59 😂oh how I love it when videos say this an then YT throws in an advert...almost like they're gonna "me na don't know what your talking about I'm cool"...then when no ones looking....banned...
I've played a lot of games over my almost 40 years of life, but I had never played Bioshock until Tim Pool mentioned it recently on his show. I started a couple weeks ago and played through. I understand the janky combat (I was obsessed with Oblivion when it came out) and so I came into the game knowing it was dated. But man, I was surprised at the story and how philosophical and in-depth it was. Games nowadays have completely lost this sort of creativity. No one seems to know how to create a new world, probably due to the internet echo chamber. Bioshock was refreshing and a great insight to a gaming world that we've completely forgotten. Everything nowadays is a reboot of a reboot of a reboot or a sequel of a sequel of a sequel. It's rare to find a great game that is totally new and original. I miss that about the world 15+ years ago. So many new ideas and concepts back then.
I loved the endings in bioshock. I can see what you mean about there being no right answers, but with some extra work, jack getting a real family could've been a very poignant ending, The man who was a puppet and had a fictitious family memory implanted in him, forges his own path and finds a family for himself. We are defined by our choices, not our circumstances.
16:30 It depends on if the creator signed away rights to it to the person who paid for it. Contracts are oaths after all, and without oaths, our word means nothing. The person with just the idea though doesn't get any credit. Any schmuck can dream up an idea, but if you can't make it real you are just that, a dreamer.
When I was little I played bioshock and enjoyed the “would you kindly” part of the game. Now that I’m grown up, I love this game as a critique of Ayn Rand.
37:00 I think that point describes this game (and something like Spec ops the line) perfectly: we WANT to see whats next. We are as much a slave as jack
37:05 See I saw it as him begging you to overcome your programming, to be worthy of being his son, of his ideology, not that he was trying to die on his own terms by making you HIS slave.
