BioShock and BioShock Infinite were both praised for story, gameplay, and characters, but where Irrational Games succeeded the most were the settings (BioShock 2 shares the same setting as the original). Irrational managed to create two incredible worlds in the form of Rapture and Columbia, that immediately stood out above the rest; worlds that players could get lost in because they felt unique, expansive, lived in, and utterly fascinating in their design and aesthetic. Now that 2K has finally announced there’s a new BioShock game in development, we can’t help but wonder if the series should return to Rapture or go somewhere brand new?
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Returning to Rapture
All three BioShock games have spent time in the famous underwater city known as Rapture. Perhaps considered as one of the best video game setting ever created, Rapture was a utopian city located in the Atlantic Ocean and designed for the world’s elite artists and thinkers to prosper far away from governmental control. When the player reaches Rapture at the beginning of BioShock, its been a year since a civil war broke out that left the majority of Rapture’s citizens dead and turned the rest into psychotic “splicers” that were hooked to a drug-like substance called ADAM that could change the human genome and give new abilities. Every element of Rapture felt unique and alive from the horror-like atmosphere to the fancy 1940’s aesthetic, and the mess of an abandoned city with so many stories to tell.
Returning to Columbia
On the other hand, there’s BioShock Infinite’s Columbia. Where Rapture was full of dark and dimly corridors, Columbia was bright and vibrant at every turn. BioShock Infinite took to the skies with Columbia, a steampunk city-state of America designed as a floating World’s Fair and a display of American exceptionalism. Columbia is just as fascinating of a location as Rapture because of the stories it has to tell. Set in 1912, Columbia is a vibrant city that is full of life but touches on heavy themes such as religious ideology, racism, white supremacy, and class structure. Columbia also introduced a new traversal system called the Sky Line, rails that connect every part of the city and allow Booker DeWitt to travel around the map and fight enemies from above.
Or Somewhere New?
Both Rapture and Columbia have one very important thing in common - each city is treated as a character. Settings are woven into the DNA of BioShock and so far, both locations have featured a deep and expansive back story, a world that feels lived in at every turn through characters and environmental storytelling, and unique locations that take elements from life as we know it and flip them on their head. From a floating cloud city in the sky to an underwater city full of skyscrapers and interconnected tunnels, Irrational Games created two fascinating worlds that we could only dream of.
Moving the future of the BioShock series to a brand new location seems like the smartest move that Cloud Chamber could make if it wants to create a new entry in the series that is its own, without ignoring what makes BioShock stand out. And based on online feedback from players on social media and in forums, a new setting is exactly what players want to see from a new game on a new generation of consoles. Cloud Chamber’s BioShock will be coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X, so taking advantage of next-generation technology will help give the team everything it needs to create something special.
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After the closure of BioShock and BioShock Infinite developer, Irrational Games by series creator Ken Levine, the future of the BioShock franchise and IP was left in the hands of 2K. While BioShock and BioShock Infinite were both developed by Irrational Games, BioShock 2 was handled by 2K Marin and didn’t receive the same level of acclaim from audiences or critics so it’s only natural that fans may feel a little skeptical at the announcement of a brand new studio taking over the reins.
If reports are to be believed, this would also be 2K’s second attempt at developing a fourth BioShock game. Before the creation of Cloud Chamber, BioShock 4 (or 3 depending on how it’s perceived) was in development at Halo Wars 2 developer Certain Affinity and was restarted under a new studio in 2017. Regardless, Cloud Chamber is full of talented developers and as long as 2K allows the team to have creative control and the sequel is faithful to what makes the series great, then the BioShock franchise is in great hands no matter what the next setting is.
Cloud Chamber’s BioShock is currently in development for unspecified platforms.
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