The BioShock series has found its way into most player’s favorite game list over the last 14 years. BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite are each, in their own way, a truly beautiful piece of art. Of course, these games have had their inspirations, with 2K openly stateing that one of the main influences for BioShock is the System Shock series.
Resident Evil 4 and Ayn Rand’s literary magnum opus Atlas Shrugged are also included in the prestigious list of influences. Now, as BioShock 4 looms in the distance along with a rumored Netflix series, it’s interesting to think about the new games that have been inspired by its legacy.
Close to the Sun
Close to the Sun is a first-person horror adventure game that imagines a world where all of Nikola Tesla’s ideas come to life. The style, level design, and themes played out in the game, which was developed by Italian developer Storm in a Teacup and spans 10 chapters, all of which are very similar to the BioShock series. The idea of ‘objectivism’ which Ayn Rand described as “Full, pure, uncontrolled, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism” is a horrifying theme that can be found throughout both narratives, as Close to the Sun's trailer made Nikola Tesla scary.
Though Close to the Sun might not be as polished as BioShock, its art-deco design still creates a wonderful opportunity to get lost in a mood-rich and beautiful environment. The gameplay does not require any combat, which might be a welcomed feeling after some of the intense firefights to be found in the halls of Rapture. It’s a slower moving, puzzle-based, world-building exploration game, full of lovely voice-over work that gets players excited to swim in the horrors of an alternate reality.
Gears 5
Gears of War has cemented itself as one of the best third-person shooting games available today. The reason it’s been able to stay that way is its ability to change and improve with each new title. Gears developer The Coalition decided to take influence from BioShock Infinite and adjust its combat system compared to past installments.
Typically, when a player enters a hostile area in Gears of War, all of the enemies are alerted about the presence of an intruder and they start attacking. In Gears 5, the fighting system has been slightly altered to resemble BioShock Infinite's use of player-initiated combat. Players can now experience a more personalized approach to battle with the choice to either sneak up on enemies, hold back and attack from far away, use the environment to fight, or run in and be as aggressive as possible. In addition to the story and lore in Gears 5, players get to experience more choice in how the levels should be handled, which creates infinitely more possibilities for how the game can be enjoyed.
Bugsnax
Bugsnax delighted PlayStation 5 owners with its silly premise and cartoonish character designs, and its popularity may soon allow gamers to play Bugsnax on more platforms. It exists in a world where bugs are made of various foods that, once they’re eaten, have a mutating effect on the consumer. Overall, the look and feel of the game doesn’t necessarily echo BioShock, but the developer t team has stated that it was a major influence.
According to Creative Director Kevin Zuhn, Bugsnax's core gameplay loop has a lot in common with BioShock. “The plot does involve you going to a strange location after being invited by this charismatic leader character,” Zuhn explained in the interview, “but also, BioShock, mechanically, has a lot of setting traps and playing different characters off of each other. It’s a very reactive world and very explorable world.”
Bendy and the Ink Machine
Bendy and the Ink Machine is a puzzle action horror game developed by Joey Drew Studios and TheMeatly games. The player character is a cartoonist name Henry who gets invited back to his old workshop, Joey Drew Studios, 30 years after he worked there in the 1930s. From there, the story takes a surreal and horrifying turn as Henry quickly realizes that a large ink machine is bringing cartoon characters to life.
The game design definitely nods at BioShock, as fans will recognize that both games feature a gloomy atmosphere and the use of audio logs to give exposition throughout the story. Both feel as though they’re set in similar eras. The story of Bendy gave life to a great book series that paints a world as substantial as BioShock. Though it is not very similar to BioShock in terms of gameplay, Bendy and the Ink Machine is a truly wonderful experience that echos the aesthetic of BioShock and is worthy of its popularity.
Prey
Not to be confused with a game under the same name developed by 2K in 2006, the first-person shooter Prey had fans of BioShock raving when Arkane Studios released it in 2017. Prey topped UK game sales charts in its second week, and it felt like Prey could be the next installment in the BioShock franchise. Prey is often described as 'BioShock in space,' which is interesting because the first BioShock was initially supposed to be set in space. It really feels like the BioShock that never was.
The style, interface, and even puzzles required to unlock doors feel and look like BioShock. However, it does stand alone as its own game and never really crosses the line in terms of feeling like it’s copying BioShock. Players have the ability to turn into inanimate objects in Prey, which is a unique and interesting gameplay device. Prey's immersive story and brilliant environments coupled with tremendous RPG elements informed by other inspirations culminate into an experience that can easily turn into 40 hours.
BioShock: The Collection is available on PC, macOS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.