Amateur Recommendation Hour: Bioshock

Today’s recommendation doesn’t necessarily classify as horror, but it’s still atmospheric and tense enough to experience with the lights off and have a spooky good time. It’s a unique blend of horror, first person shooting, and action that was a gaming milestone in 2007 and I believe still holds up to this day. If you missed it then, you absolutely should give it a go now.

BioShock, developed by Irrational Games (RIP), created as a spiritual successor to System Shock, and directed by Ken Levine (don’t worry he’s still alive) is one of the smartest American works I’ve ever experienced. Going, philosophically, further than many even consider going, let alone actually go. I desperately wish more creators in the United States had the ability and/or were given the chance to oversee projects such as this one. (Expect to see an opinion piece about that further down the line.)

A plane crash, a lone survivor, a strange lighthouse, and a society that has collapsed under the weight of its flaws. BioShock has one of the most impressive openings of any game I have ever played and manages to keep that momentum going throughout most of the experience. You play as Jack, the man who has found himself in the attempted and failed utopian underwater city with seemingly no way out. 

Ultimately this game has a lot going on, asking many questions of the viewer (as good art should), but if I’m going to formulate a concise interpretation I would say that BioShock is a criticism of libertarianism and communicating that we should not grossly underestimate the human condition by idealistically over-simplifying ourselves and what we need to thrive as a species. Though this is the kind of work that you could seemingly endlessly dive deep into. (GET IT BECAUSE IT'S AN UNDERWATER CITY HAHAHA)

I look forward to seeing what Ken Levine and his (hopefully mostly intact) remarkably talented team that have moved onto Ghost Story Games are able to create next. I'm sure it will be something wildly thought provoking and overflowing with fascinating depth.