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Replaying Bioshock 1: This game makes me feel uncomfortable

T

The perfect Dark

Banned
Bioshock-1-Wallpaper-1280x1024-1203.jpg




So, I've played every Bioshock game and recently replayed Infinite.
Due to the sad news of Irrational Games shutting down I decided to start another playthrough of the original Bioshock....and wow...this game hasn't aged at all. What a masterpiece.
But: Playing this game makes me feel really uncomfortable. I think it's because of the atmosphere. Everything is destroyed, the innocent people were killed or turned into crazy monsters. Survivors (like Sander Cohen) have gone insane. There's no hope, everything is lost...Rapture feels like a big graveyard.
It's just a sad and depressing feeling when you walk through this world.
And then there are the little sisters. Cute little girls that were kidnapped and changed into ...well I don't know.
The Big Daddys....their constant groaning makes you think that they're suffering the whole time. AND you have to kill them to rescue/ kill the little sisters and gain Adam. They are harmless and their only purpose is to protect the little sisters.
And the worst is yet to come: The little sisters cry when you kill their "daddy".

Man, this game is so good but I can only play it for about 2-3 hours before I need a little break, lol.

BTW: I just completed Fort Frolic. One of the best level ever made? I think so.
 
That's what made Bioshock so great.

The sense of tension drives the narrative forward and creepy moments mess with your head and make you question yourself and the environment and thus, put you on edge.
So, when there's a splicer standing behind you, you're thinking about some stray bit of philosophy instead of "oh shit I might be about to get killed by this psycho".

Bioshock 1 is everything Infinite isn't and that's why it's a great game.

The final section is still awful, though.
 
Buckethead said:
That's what made Bioshock so great.

The sense of tension drives the narrative forward and creepy moments mess with your head and make you question yourself and the environment and thus, put you on edge.
So, when there's a splicer standing behind you, you're thinking about some stray bit of philosophy instead of "oh shit I might be about to get killed by this psycho".

Bioshock 1 is everything Infinite isn't and that's why it's a great game.

The final section is still awful, though.
Click to expand...

I can't remember the final section :)
Of course I remember some parts of the levels but the last time I played Bioshock was in 2008, so it often feels like I'm playing this for the first time. It's awesome ^^
 
Everything about the first BioShock made it my favorite game. The story, atmosphere and gameplay came together to create an awesome experience. I have to agree though that everything past the big twist did feel weak compared to the first half of the game. It really is a shame that Irrational is gone. Hopefully Ken's next game is just as incredible as BioShock 1.
 
Yeah, definitely one of Bioshock's strengths. I really have to replay it sometime, I can't even remember Fort Frolic.

Bioshock 2 was also pretty good in this regard. I liked walking around underwater too.
 
The perfect Dark said:
Due to the sad news of Irrational Games shutting down I decided to start another playthrough of the original Bioshock....and wow...this game hasn't aged at all. What a masterpiece.
But: Playing this game makes me feel really uncomfortable. I think it's because of the atmosphere. Everything is destroyed, the innocent people were killed or turned into crazy monsters. Survivors (like Sander Cohen) have gone insane. There's no hope, everything is lost...Rapture feels like a big graveyard.
It's just a sad and depressing feeling when you walk through this world.
Click to expand...

Couldn't disagree more. I played it a few months ago and it feels like you're shuttled through the narrative with a collection of pretty, amusement park set pieces inhabited by ridiculously over-the-top enemies with poor AI, and even poorer dialogue. Encountering one of these silly, shouting freakshows immediately destroys any sense of immersion and atmosphere, along with the forced narrative device that were the tape logs, and the amateurish dialogue of the main NPC characters. I rarely had the sense that I was experiencing anything else than a videogame with Bioshock -- no suspension of disbelief at all. The Big Daddies and Little Sisters are actually the most evocative and emotional parts of the game, but if you choose not to interact with them you're left with a very sterile world that has nice art direction and lots of fan fiction writing. Bioshock is a great idea, but the gameplay as executed, the narrative, and how those two things interacted weren't up to the task of creating a living world.
 
Bioshock's eerie nature is the core. It does a swell job at portraying the animalistic side of man. Tragic and beautiful simultaneously.
 
It's doing it's job, then. It's atmosphere is really second to none. Probably my very favorite single player game of the past generation.

I'm sad to see Irrational go, but then again I'm happy it's not going to overstay it's welcome. It holds a very special place in my heart now, up there with San Andreas, Gran Turismo 2, Pokemon Sapphire and CoD4.
 
The best game of the last/current generation. Deal with it. Dat atmosphere.

GTA V and Infinite are pretty close, though. And I haven't TLOU yet.

eyeball_kid said:
Couldn't disagree more. I played it a few months ago and it feels like you're shuttled through the narrative with a collection of pretty, amusement park set pieces inhabited by ridiculously over-the-top enemies with poor AI, and even poorer dialogue. Encountering one of these silly, shouting freakshows immediately destroys any sense of immersion and atmosphere, along with the forced narrative device that were the tape logs, and the amateurish dialogue of the main NPC characters. I rarely had the sense that I was experiencing anything else than a videogame with Bioshock -- no suspension of disbelief at all. The Big Daddies and Little Sisters are actually the most evocative and emotional parts of the game, but if you choose not to interact with them you're left with a very sterile world that has nice art direction and lots of fan fiction writing. Bioshock is a great idea, but the gameplay as executed, the narrative, and how those two things interacted weren't up to the task of creating a living world.
Click to expand...

Wat.
 
eyeball_kid said:
Couldn't disagree more. I played it a few months ago and it feels like you're shuttled through the narrative with a collection of pretty, amusement park set pieces inhabited by ridiculously over-the-top enemies with poor AI, and even poorer dialogue. Encountering one of these silly, shouting freakshows immediately destroys any sense of immersion and atmosphere, along with the forced narrative device that were the tape logs, and the amateurish dialogue of the main NPC characters. I rarely had the sense that I was experiencing anything else than a videogame with Bioshock -- no suspension of disbelief at all. The Big Daddies and Little Sisters are actually the most evocative and emotional parts of the game, but if you choose not to interact with them you're left with a very sterile world that has nice art direction and lots of fan fiction writing. Bioshock is a great idea, but the gameplay as executed, the narrative, and how those two things interacted weren't up to the task of creating a living world.
Click to expand...
Go away.
 
I feel so bad I couldn't get into that game. I can't even explain it (actually that was a lie, I can). I had the entire story spoiled for me before I even started the game, so the mystery that was surrounding the whole collapse of Rapture and the characters just wasn't present. I didn't find the gameplay anything exceptional, so without the main draw of needing to find out what happened next I just... I couldn't see myself devoting the time to it.
 
I think that overall, the first Bioshock isn't as strong a singular narrative as Infinite. (Bioshock spoilers)
Bioshock really peaks out at the big reveal, and the third act is pretty sloppy
.

That being said, taken individually, parts of Bioshock are great little short stories. Steinman and Fort Frolic are incredible.
 
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This asshole almost gave me a heart attack the first time I played.

Bioshock was the first FPS I played in the PS360 era (played it on PC though), so that added to the experience becoming very memorable to me.
 
Pfft, if you think BioShock makes you uncomfortable try System Shock 2. That game still gives me chills playing it, goddamn psychic monkeys.

EDIT:
I actually played BioShock 1 before playing SS2 and couldn't believe people claiming SS2 was a superior game and that BS was a dumbed down version. Then I played it and realized BioShock was using a cheat sheet called System Shock 2. I disagree with the notion that BioShock is super dumbed down for console masses because many parts of SS2 are just asinine to playthrough today, like the weapon degradation system and I also found pisonics (essential plasmids) sorta kinda useless. But, it still knocks down the ingenuity of BS1 knowing that SS2 did nearly everything first and most of the times better. At the end of the day I like SS2 more but that is simply beaus i love a sci-fi Space atmosphere more than an underwater 50's art deco city, but the two are equal masterpieces.
 
For me it's the best in the series and one of my favorites games this gen. To me every change in the sequels that came after were downgrades. From removing the hacking mini-games, to being unable to pick up health packs. Even Columbia's design is no match to rapture.

Like it was mentioned in a post above it's got a weaker second half after the twist, but the good moments are total masterpieces.
 
One of my top five games of all time. Amazing opening, great areas, amazing voice acting, and I love the story. Also, the medical pavilion was so creepy first time through.
 
I'm do for a replay of this. Haven't played it since fall of 07 when it came out on xbox. I got a free copy with Infinite on steam.
 
I played through it for the first time last year. It's okay. I liked the experience as a horror game with great atmosphere, and I'd call myself a fan.... but the wave of hyperbolic praise does start to sound like nostalgic worship has started to set in......
 
eyeball_kid said:
Couldn't disagree more. I played it a few months ago and it feels like you're shuttled through the narrative with a collection of pretty, amusement park set pieces inhabited by ridiculously over-the-top enemies with poor AI, and even poorer dialogue. Encountering one of these silly, shouting freakshows immediately destroys any sense of immersion and atmosphere, along with the forced narrative device that were the tape logs, and the amateurish dialogue of the main NPC characters. I rarely had the sense that I was experiencing anything else than a videogame with Bioshock -- no suspension of disbelief at all. The Big Daddies and Little Sisters are actually the most evocative and emotional parts of the game, but if you choose not to interact with them you're left with a very sterile world that has nice art direction and lots of fan fiction writing. Bioshock is a great idea, but the gameplay as executed, the narrative, and how those two things interacted weren't up to the task of creating a living world.
Click to expand...

Well your entitled to your opinion but your wrong (through the gameplay isn't that great)
 
I was really looking forward to Infinite, but was quite disappointed when it didn't come close to the magic of the first one. The love for the first did have a lot to do with the era and art deco design.
 
System Shock 2 is the scariest game I've ever played, but Bioshock never even approached creepiness for me. Good atmosphere, but not scary to me.
 
I only ever played the PS3 demo and didn't care for it. Is the rest of the game like that? I did enjoy Infinite though.
 
One of the best games from last gen. The atmosphere it exhumes is ridiculously good. All these Bioshock threads make me realize how disappointing Infinite is compared to the others because of it. Rapture was just on another level compared to Columbia.
 
Game was incredible best Bioshock by far, love the creepy feeling and all the pieces came together art and sound, atmosphere, gameplay, tension. It does fall apart last few levels, but like another said the good moments were amazing. Tryin to replay on pc but having sound issues :(
 
I returned to it late last year to finally get the platinum, Agree it aged fantastically well (clunky controls aside). Playing on the highest difficulty without the Vita chambers really gave it a survival edge, you have to be very careful and search everywhere. I think it added a new dimension to the game.
 
The Skater said:
I only ever played the PS3 demo and didn't care for it. Is the rest of the game like that? I did enjoy Infinite though.
Click to expand...

If the intro didn't do anything for you then the game probably is not for you. Imo it's the best start to a game ever
 
The perfect Dark said:
And the worst is yet to come: The little sisters cry when you kill their "daddy".
Click to expand...
This and the horryfied look on their faces when you release or harvest them is what killed me. One of the few games I legitimately felt bad about my actions.

Even when I set out to harvest Little Sisters on my second playthrough to get the bad ending I couldn't do it. I just want to save them :'(

eyeball_kid said:
Couldn't disagree more. I played it a few months ago and it feels like you're shuttled through the narrative with a collection of pretty, amusement park set pieces inhabited by ridiculously over-the-top enemies with poor AI, and even poorer dialogue. Encountering one of these silly, shouting freakshows immediately destroys any sense of immersion and atmosphere, along with the forced narrative device that were the tape logs, and the amateurish dialogue of the main NPC characters.
Click to expand...
This sounds more like BioShock Infinite than BioShock 1.
 
Genuinely great game with fantastic atmosphere. The final section certainly does sour the experience though.
That final boss was so so so so dumb, seriously. Couldn't believe when I first fought him, still can't
 
The perfect Dark said:
But: Playing this game makes me feel really uncomfortable. I think it's because of the atmosphere. Everything is destroyed, the innocent people were killed or turned into crazy monsters. Survivors (like Sander Cohen) have gone insane. There's no hope, everything is lost...Rapture feels like a big graveyard.
It's just a sad and depressing feeling when you walk through this world.
And then there are the little sisters. Cute little girls that were kidnapped and changed into ...well I don't know.
The Big Daddys....their constant groaning makes you think that they're suffering the whole time. AND you have to kill them to rescue/ kill the little sisters and gain Adam. They are harmless and their only purpose is to protect the little sisters.
And the worst is yet to come: The little sisters cry when you kill their "daddy".
Click to expand...
I have never been this emotionally invested in a game in my life.

That's not to say that I don't get absorbed by the atmosphere, but I guess I just cant take things that seriously from an emotional perspective. Games just aren't there yet for me.
 
eyeball_kid said:
Couldn't disagree more. I played it a few months ago and it feels like you're shuttled through the narrative with a collection of pretty, amusement park set pieces inhabited by ridiculously over-the-top enemies with poor AI, and even poorer dialogue. Encountering one of these silly, shouting freakshows immediately destroys any sense of immersion and atmosphere, along with the forced narrative device that were the tape logs, and the amateurish dialogue of the main NPC characters. I rarely had the sense that I was experiencing anything else than a videogame with Bioshock -- no suspension of disbelief at all. The Big Daddies and Little Sisters are actually the most evocative and emotional parts of the game, but if you choose not to interact with them you're left with a very sterile world that has nice art direction and lots of fan fiction writing. Bioshock is a great idea, but the gameplay as executed, the narrative, and how those two things interacted weren't up to the task of creating a living world.
Click to expand...

What you recommend as a counterpoint? Ie a similar style game that nailed all the things you're criticizing about Bioshock?
 
Funny, I tried the game again after loving it back when it came out and found it aged pretty badly already. It's still pretty good but has a lot of bad designs I didn't really notice then that won't help it in the years to come.
 
Anyone get it to run on Windows 8 (with sound). I remember I could get it running before with no sound, but last time I tried it would just crash on startup. It might be the only unreal engine game that I have had problems with.
 
eyeball_kid said:
Couldn't disagree more. I played it a few months ago and it feels like you're shuttled through the narrative with a collection of pretty, amusement park set pieces inhabited by ridiculously over-the-top enemies with poor AI, and even poorer dialogue. Encountering one of these silly, shouting freakshows immediately destroys any sense of immersion and atmosphere, along with the forced narrative device that were the tape logs, and the amateurish dialogue of the main NPC characters. I rarely had the sense that I was experiencing anything else than a videogame with Bioshock -- no suspension of disbelief at all. The Big Daddies and Little Sisters are actually the most evocative and emotional parts of the game, but if you choose not to interact with them you're left with a very sterile world that has nice art direction and lots of fan fiction writing. Bioshock is a great idea, but the gameplay as executed, the narrative, and how those two things interacted weren't up to the task of creating a living world.
Click to expand...
Don't be 'that guy'.

Thank you OP, after reading how poor Thief might end up and the possibility of cancelling my pre order I wanted to play something good. I haven't touched Bioshock in a while and would love to visit Rapture again.
 
eyeball_kid said:
Couldn't disagree more. I played it a few months ago and it feels like you're shuttled through the narrative with a collection of pretty, amusement park set pieces inhabited by ridiculously over-the-top enemies with poor AI, and even poorer dialogue. Encountering one of these silly, shouting freakshows immediately destroys any sense of immersion and atmosphere, along with the forced narrative device that were the tape logs, and the amateurish dialogue of the main NPC characters. I rarely had the sense that I was experiencing anything else than a videogame with Bioshock -- no suspension of disbelief at all. The Big Daddies and Little Sisters are actually the most evocative and emotional parts of the game, but if you choose not to interact with them you're left with a very sterile world that has nice art direction and lots of fan fiction writing. Bioshock is a great idea, but the gameplay as executed, the narrative, and how those two things interacted weren't up to the task of creating a living world.
Click to expand...

your discrepancies are entirely based in your inability to become emotionally present in the game world. You sound like all those people who lack any semblance of an imagination and need a game to entirely create the immersion for them. Let alone your complaining about one of the most atmospheric games of last gen which is anything but a shuttled amusement park.
 
No exaggeration, Bioshock 1 was my favorite game last generation. The game was amazing and I've played through it like 3x over, once every couple years, so I'm due for another playthrough this year.

For Frolic is one of the best levels in a game...ever.
 
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