4/5 ★ – peacebrendanp's review of BioShock Remastered.

I haven't touched the Bioshock series probably since Bioshock Infinite came out. That was 12-years ago now. So, playing through Bioshock (Remastered) for the first time, was something that I wanted to do. What a wonderful game this is, despite some flaws. There isn't many games that have an opening quite as memorable as this one. From the opening, the game establishes its main strength: the world. The environments are incredible and varied, with different areas purposed for different things through Rapture. The actual setting of the game taking place in an underwater city is cool as hell. The vibes are immaculate, in a dark and damp sort of way. The story is great too, being primarily told through audio transmissions via the radio in the game. The story is dramatic, well acted, and impactful, with it housing many different twists, but ultimately culminating in a fully-realized world and lore. I will say, while the story has a great twist and impact, I don't think it ends in a way that is 100-percent satisfying. And, some of the beats just don't hit the same way they did over 18-or-so years ago. However, the cast of characters here is as colorful as ever, with some great standout and distinct personalities. The combat is pretty great here, for the most part. Plasmids are great fun, and guns feel punchy. I loved the different upgrades you could get for both weapon types, and how there were visual changes with each of them. There are a variety of weapons and plasmids, which ultimately is a plus. But, some of them feel like fluff, specifically in the plasmids department. I wish there were a bit more refinement around the different weapons and plasmids, but it's nice to have options. You really need to utilize the different ammo types and plasmid types depending on what enemy you are fighting. I guess combat is good, but it can feel a bit stiff at times. It lacks a smoothness or flow that I have come to appreciate from more contemporary titles. The ragdolls definitely have a stiffness to them throughout combat, but honestly, it works out in the games favor. It’s fun to see the physics, however basic, at work here. The game encourages exploration, and there is almost always a payoff for doing so. However, the map can sometimes be inconsistent, and challenging to read. There is plenty of enemy variety. There is a hacking mini-game that is mostly fun, but can feel repetitive throughout the entire playthrough of the game. There was a slice of the game that required someone following you around, and it got a bit annoying as they would box me in from moving forward due to their placement, but that was a minor issue. There are a very small number of things that show their age, but it's nothing that really obstructed any immersion or fun. And, the soundtrack is so good. Given the time period, there are some really eerie moments with the soundtrack in the game. It's important to note, that I did feel some tedium throughout my playthrough. While the length of the game is perfect to me, I found myself feeling that it dragged a bit here and there. Both in combat and in terms of pacing. The pacing isn't terrible, and there is a decent variety of things to do here, but it just felt like sometimes there wasn't enough to keep the entire experience engaging. That feeling was small, and easily shakable, but I wanted to note that I had it a couple of times while playing. I'm not sure if the feeling was elicited via the combat or the game design, but it was there. There is a messiness to the game design here. I'm not quite sure how to articulate this point other than it feels like there is a lack of refinement in certain systems. Specifically around the upgrading and the vending machine options. Or, when you are assigning which plasmids and tonics to equip. It's just a generally confusing menu system, that was probably sufficient back in the day, but lacking by today's standards. It took me nearly 17-hours to complete the game, with a lot of side-activities completed as well. I played almost the entire game on the Steam Deck, and it was cozy-horror-core as fuck. The game ran great, and just felt better on a controller for me, which is not usually the case for first-person-shooters. Overall, this game has aged wonderfully, all things considered, and is definitely worth a playthrough, despite a number of aspects maybe lacking for me (or aspects that have just aged a bit). The writing, environments, and combat all contribute to weaving a linear, but grand story. Can't wait to return to Rapture. Console Played On: PC (Steam) / Steam Deck (SteamOS) Game Played: 02/2025 - 02/2025 Review Written and Published: 02/23/2025