The underwater city of “Rapture” from the original BioShock is perhaps one of the most famous video game settings of all time. It appropriately sets the mood from minute one, as you emerge from the ruins of a plane crash to find yourself battling Splicers and Big Daddies for the next 10 or so hours. There’s no denying Rapture’s place in the video game history books as a fantasy setting.
However, while BioShock Infinite was critically acclaimed upon release and garnered its fair share of acclaim in the years since, Columbia has never quite achieved Rapture’s iconic status. However, 10 years after the release of Infinite, we want to celebrate the city in the clouds of BioShock: Columbia is still an incredible world to explore.
You already know you’re in for a treat after the initial lighthouse introduction, but the game’s seafaring start still evokes the big vibes of BioShock 1. It’s not until you ring those bells and ride Columbia that you realize how different it will be. environment of the dark and gloomy corridors of Rapture. We still consider Infinite one of the best video game intros in history. If you haven’t played it then… do it now. What better time than exactly a decade later!
Anyway, once you arrive in the game’s floating city and are successfully baptized (whether you like it or not), Infinite begins to open up, and after exploring Rapture earlier, Columbia can’t wait to take a deep breath of incredibly fresh air. . The atmosphere is open, colorful, welcoming. Of course, we talked a lot about this point in BioShock Infinite when things get a little less appealing for the game’s protagonist, but luckily Infinite’s location never takes that turn for the player at home.
From wonderfully preserved boardwalks to ramshackle slums and everything in between, BioShock Infinite has a bit of everything to make the player’s jaw drop, when not tackling hordes of bad guys, anyway. The game looked pretty amazing even on Xbox 360 at the time, and the most recent remasters have further highlighted the amazing work Irrational Games has put together over a development period of around five years.
It’s not just pictures either; BioShock Infinite’s gameplay is downright funny And dare we say it, it’s more enjoyable to come back to than the instant fights of the original game. Mix up these incredibly skilled skyhooks and you have an amazing environment to play around with; launch enemies into the air with your various “Fortitude” powers or drop into the unsuspecting baddies below.
You know, when you get that “birthday needs repeating” feeling, that’s exactly what we’re going through right now. Despite the game’s dark and often extremely violent undertones, BioShock Infinite’s Columbia still invites us to come back with open arms, and guess what? We think the game is more than ready for our first iteration of 2023. Another game won’t add too much to the delay… will it?
Happy tenth anniversary to BioShock Infinite! Oh, and Irrational Games, we’re ready for “Judas” when you are!