During the last videogame generation the panorama of the main reference platforms - PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 - was enriched by some magnificent experiences, for many still qualitatively unattainable today. Let's talk about BioShock (2007) BioShock 2 (2010) and BioShock Infinite (2013), by the hand of Irrational Games, a software house that after being renamed to 2K Games it returned to its original nomenclature before the publication of the last chapter. Exactly, because unfortunately the three-year release rate was interrupted by the author of the series, Ken Levine, with the arrival of the magnificent Bioshock Infinite. The man stated that managing such a large team turned out to be a rather stressful role, and this affected his personal life outside the development team.
After several years of hiatus, the developer completely moved away from the brand, which however 2K Games did not actually want to abandon completely. Precisely for this reason, over the last few years a reboot was very often attempted, with the hiring of various developers from the ranks of the great software house and with the recent officialization of a new chapter by a new development team, which takes the name of Cloud Chamber. The former Irrational Games has instead been renamed to Ghost Story Games and is still conducted by Ken Levine, who is working on a Shock-Like title that does not seem to interface with the previous narrative universe conceived by the author. We are awaiting further details regarding both projects in question, but it seems that these are not going to emerge any time soon. We therefore ask ourselves today what the new chapter of BioShock, probably called BioShock 4, and what we would like from the latter. Read on to learn more!
The new way after BioShock Infinite
Over the course of his career, Ken Levine has managed to give birth to two magnificent settings that have undoubtedly marked the history of the video game showing themselves as some of the best ever, also considering all the other mediums. Let's talk about the very mysterious and dark Rapture, underwater city with an incredible and terrible history behind it and Columbia: its exact opposite, almost traceable to paradise, albeit also in this case corrupt.
The first question that is consequently spontaneous is related to the setting of the next chapter, which could more likely follow in the wake of Rapture, or perhaps propose a new universe, possibly just as amazing. The same DLCs from BioShock Infinite brought Rapture back after several years in the two episodes of Burial At Sea, much appreciated by the community. Avoiding plot spoilers for the three games - which you can retrieve remastered through BioShock: The Collection on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox one - we can say that narratively speaking Rapture has probably already offered a lot to players, but it could still be treated through new perspectives, as did the two aforementioned DLCs. Columbia is actually much less open to further narrative pretexts, and it is therefore difficult to imagine the latter as the main setting, as it would perhaps prove more suitable for simple cameos.
In constant evolution
While being proposed in all three cases in the last generation, the various chapters of the BioShock saga have presented important evolutionary phases, clearly visible despite the only 3 years distance between each of the episodes in question. Only considering the graphic level, the jump between the second chapter and Infinite is very marked, although several details loved in the first production have not been preserved in the later ones. Some new features were also hated by a part of the community, such as the perennial "armor" of the second chapter and the many Skylines that animated Columbia, somewhat impractical for those who have enjoyed the works with a controller.
So what do we expect from the next chapter? Without doubt a further evolution of the gameplay, which brings the saga in the current generation (or perhaps in the next?) In every sense, from a more modern shooting system to new unexpected ideas. To be successful the game will have to offer content in step with the times and not just exploit the nostalgia factortrying to continue earning sales simply by living off past successes. Rapture is missing a bit at all, but the old chapters are already available on digital stores: no one feels the need for a production created to be a simple sop, we want the soul of BioShock even without the presence of Ken Levine!
Trouble ahead!
It seems that lately a real mass terror for those waiting for the new chapter has spread, born from the ideologies that seem to have been undertaken by 2K Games, as a recent news has in fact shocked many of the users who are waiting impatiently for this return. A branch of 2K Games is looking, which may also have been finalized by now, for a developer to take care of content intended for the endgame. It seems that the purpose of the software house is to make the new game world alive, and not perhaps for a well thought-out realization that leads to a constant evolution of the latter in the single player, but for a perspective from Game as a Service.
BioShock… a gaas? It doesn't seem like this is the route players want, as it is completely distorting from the original idea of the brand. The basic peculiarity has always been its extremely concentrated narration, with a rather closed level design that did not expand as an open world might think, and consequently did not get lost in small talk going straight to the point. Thinking of BioShock as a multiplayer title, or perhaps one that is ever expanding, can therefore seem really strange and would conflict with everything the saga has been loved for.
However, not all evils come to harm, given that there is still a lot of time - according to what has been declared - for the debut of the new chapter. It could therefore be a simple dynamic endgame, which allows the player to visit new areas after completing the campaign, or perhaps a multiplayer mode in its own right. Precisely in the latter case there would not be too much to complain about, with amazing settings like those patented by Ken Levine you could really do anything. If you were able to combine good gameplay with additional pleasant elements, as Resident Evil Resistance seems to want to propose, for example, interesting surprises could appear in a few years.
