The Bioshock series is one heralded throughout gaming, both for its strides in storytelling and its timeless appeal to gamers. Not every entry was created equal though, so we’re here to rank every game from fine to phenomenal.
Note that this list will only include the full releases. DLC like Minerva’s Den and Burial at Sea will be factored into the ranking of the larger game’s they’re tied to. Likewise, some story elements will be discussed, so be aware that there are *Spoilers Ahead.*
3. Bioshock 2
It’s not uncommon for a legendary game’s sequel to fall short of expectations, and Bioshock 2 is no exception.
Set ten years after the first game, the title sees players take the role of Delta, a prototype Big Daddy tasked with rescuing Eleanor Lamb, his former Little Sister.
Standing in-between him and his goal, though, is Sofia Lamb: Rapture’s former psychiatrist and the city’s new ruler following the death of Andrew Ryan, as well as the mother of Eleanor.
Intent on unifying the world’s consciousness by using Eleanor’s Little Sister abilities, she’ll throw everything she has at you, be it hoards of splicers, the newly created Big Sisters, or even threats against Eleanor’s own life.
It was a decent premise, with plenty of potential to live up to the first Bioshock’s story. In execution though, that potential never shined through.
To be sure, it was a competent game. The shooting was tight and precise, there were plenty of Plasmids to use and experiment with, and the story had twists, turns and new perspectives that made the series’ universe as a whole more enjoyable to be in.
Likewise, the Minerva’s Den DLC offered an exceptional side story for fans to delve into. In only a few hours, it developed a memorable character and told a story that easily could have occurred on the fringes of Rapture, achieving what other full games still struggle to do to this day.
Over all though, it never escaped the original Bioshock’s shadow. The risks it took, like introducing the Big Sisters, never truly paid off, and felt more like ideas that needed more time to be properly fleshed out.
Toss in a multiplayer mode that was tacked on for no other reason than to chase trends at the time of release – only to be scraped entirely upon the game’s remastered release – and you’ve got a passable game that didn’t live up to the pedigree of the series it was tied to.
2. Bioshock Infinite
Though hindsight might not have been as kind to it as other games, one can’t deny that Bioshock: Infinite was commendable in what it did with the Bioshock series.
Departing completely from Rapture for its base game, the title saw players travel to the flying city of Columbia as private investigator Booker Dewitt. Tasked with taking a girl named Elizabeth back down to Earth, he ventures into the metropolis, only to discover that it is far from the utopia it appears to be at first glance.
What follows is an adrenaline-fueled shooter full of fast-paced gameplay, story revelations and mind-bending concepts, all while Booker and Elizabeth slowly grew closer as their adventure together progressed.
Where Bioshock 2 failed to stray too far from Bioshock’s shadow, Infinite leaps out of it into something almost unrecognizable. Save for a few gameplay mechanics like flinging elemental abilities akin to plasmids, the game has its own identity that gamers still couldn’t help being drawn into.
As a result though, it was all the stronger for it. The quality acting put on by its lead characters in cutscenes; its jaw-dropping reveals both at the beginning and climax of the story; and the commitment to exploring difficult themes all made it feel like its own title while still carrying on the spirit Bioshock was known for.
It lost a bit of this with its Burial at Sea DLC, but even then, it still stuck to its ideas and concepts enough to keep from being entirely overtaken by the original Bioshock’s reputation.
As for flaws, most of its shortcomings stem from the risks it took. While its tackling themes of racism and classism, and its character-driven storytelling, were impressive for their time, other games have come along since that handled it much better. This makes it all the harder to sit through them now, and even make some moments incredibly cringeworthy.
Still though, it did what it had to as a sequel to a legendary game, and set the stage for great things to be done with the next entry in the series.
1. Bioshock
Shocking, we know, but was there ever really any question that the original Bioshock would stand out as the best in the series?
The premise alone stands out as one of the best in gaming. As the survivor of a plane crash, players swim towards a lighthouse in the distance. Once inside, they wander into a submersible that takes them to Rapture, a city built under the sea.
Not long after reaching the city though, they discover something is terribly wrong. The inhabitants have gone made from overusing a drug capable of giving them other-worldly powers, and with the help of an oddly cordial man named Atlus, the player needs to find a way out as fast as possible.
Everything that follows – the open-ended approach to gameplay thanks to Plasmids, the silky-smooth shooting controls, and the immersive world full of twists, turns and shocking discoveries – is so delicately crafted and well-executed that gamers new and old still flock to the title whenever it’s released on a new platform.
Not only that, but the story still stands as a pinnacle for video game storytelling. Whether players have had it spoiled over the years or not, experiencing it is still a right of passage for most gamers, and a testament to what can be done through this medium that can’t be achieved anywhere else.
Bioshock is, and likely always will be, an exceptional piece of gaming media, and one that has more than earned its status as the best in its series.
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