Rapture and Wellington Wells
Both cities clearly have the potential to be the perfect world. As you walk around, gazing upon what could be, it becomes difficult to resist the draw of each utopia. Rapture, and even Columbia, showed what great minds could do when put to task. Otherworldly tech, beautiful landscapes and indoor facilities, lavish party rooms, and more showcase a world begging to succeed. You can almost see the memories the walls hold, and it makes their ruin inviting in a sense. Even though Rapture was dark and dangerous, you wanted nothing more than to explore its every nook.
Wellington Wells is quite clearly the opposite. Everything is pristine and happy in an institutional sort of way. It’s not the work of geniuses, but of those seeking to control the masses. There are bright colors and beautiful trees, but they all seem to lack that life that free people provide. Everything is so… sterile. Compulsion games did a great job of building a perfect world that does nothing more than creep players out and repulse them.
The inviting nature of BioShock’s rapture is nowhere to be found in Wellington Wells. No wonder players are so eager to escape its unnerving confines.
