2.5/5 ★ – sirreldar's review of BioShock.

Overall, I liked this game, but ultimately it left me somewhat disappointed. Minor nitpicks prevented me from really loving it. I tried to bear in mind that Bioshock is 15 years old at this point, and be as forgiving as I could. To begin with, I really enjoyed the overall setting and aesthetic throughout the game. The retrofuturism theme felt consistent, but the individual areas were still varied enough to still stay interesting. The theme felt much more natural to me than it has in some other games. Many times, retrofuturism feels overbearing to me, with constant reminders shoved in your face, to make sure that you don't forget the theme. But in Bioshock, the theme and setting were established at the start and then just allowed to play out and "be". It was a nice break from the heavy handedness I usually feel. Also, the underwater setting felt unique and interesting, and it allowed for some truly memorable, cinematic moments. Mechanically though, I struggled most of the time to enjoy the game. The combat felt mediocre at best. Guns felt underpowered (even when fully upgraded) and I found myself using a LOT of ammo to get through even a few enemies. I discovered within the last few hours the power of the wrench, which would have definitely helped this issue if I had realized that earlier. That is my own fault for not experimenting enough, but at the same time I don't like the idea of being forced (or at least strongly pushed) into a single playstyle. I also struggled to stay stocked on first aid kits, EVE boosters, and cash. Most plasmids also felt very weak in combat , and much more useful in their utility than their pure damage. This complaint is exacerbated by the fact that I played the game on the second easiest difficulty, specifically because I wanted to enjoy the story without feeling bogged down by tedious combat. The gunplay itself was good for its time though. As I recall, most FPS games of that era relied on reduced accuracy to simulate (or rather stand in) for recoil. But Bioshock actually had "real" recoil where the gun and camera moved while shooting. It felt a bit unpolished by today's standards, but it was something I was pleasantly surprised to see. The hacking minigame became extremely tedious as well. It was interesting at first, but very quickly felt chore-like. The puzzles grew in complexity, size and difficulty, but never really grew mechanically or did much for variety. I blame this mostly on its age, as I feel this was typical for games from that time. The story and characters definitely felt above average to me. The voice acting was quite good and the plot was unique and interesting. The plot twist/reveal was unexpected without feeling overly contrived. I do wish they had spent a little more time explaining some things, but I can also appreciate leaving room for personal or artistic interpretation (I also didn’t listen to most of the journals since there were just... so... many...), so again, that complaint is probably on me. Related, I wish the game had paused during dialog. I very often found myself struggling to listen to dialog and read subtitles during the chaos of combat or other hectic moments. I usually caught the gist of what was being said, but I wish I had been able to really focus on the conversations and absorb them better. Overall, I definitely didn't hate Bioshock 1, but some of its mechanical flaws and my personal preferences seriously detracted from my enjoyment. Also, I have spent the last decade and a half hearing overwhelming praise for it, often hearing words like "masterpiece", "life changing", "11/10", "must play", etc. This may have caused me to set the bar a bit too high in my own mind. While undeniably a good game, it would be hard for me to categorize it much better than "above average for its time" without looking at it through nostalgia-tinted glasses. Had I played it upon release, along with everyone else, I suspect my opinion would be much better.