BioShock 4 needs the following features to truly be great

Although it seems like it may never be released, BioShock 4 is still reportedly in development and with BioShock widely regarded as one of the best video games of all time, it is safe to say that this upcoming entry has a lot to live up to.

As a veteran BioShock fan, I am both excited and nervous for BioShock 4 but in the meantime, I have put together a list of features I would like to see when Cloud Chamber takes on the next instalment.

A New Location

I recently wrote about how BioShock’s Rapture is my favourite game setting of all time so you may be asking why I would like to see the series move away from this iconic location.

Well, if you have played all of the current BioShock titles (including the Burial at Sea DLCs), you will know that the story has officially come full circle with the events of Burial at Sea - Episode 2 linking straight back to the start of BioShock.

So would it make sense for us to return to Rapture again? Will the magic still exist over two decades later?

Listen, I am not adamant that I want a brand-new location and will be happy to be proved wrong if Cloud Chamber decides to revisit Rapture. However, I also don’t want to see the current story ruined as the underwater city remains one of the most iconic video game locations of all time with one of the best narratives.

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Which also leads us to the second problem.

How do you beat that?

Of course, BioShock Infinite took us to the floating city of Columbia but inevitably, our story still ended up in Rapture. This could mean that BioShock 4 could take us back to the city within the clouds to explore more of what it has to offer but with the third entry being considered the weakest by many, this may not be a good idea.

So, as much as I love Rapture, maybe it is time for the story to head elsewhere and have no links to the previous three entries.

Details surrounding BioShock 4 are scarce but previous rumours have hinted at the game being set in a fictional 1960’s Antarctic city supposedly called Borealis.

If true, this will be the first time that a BioShock entry is set entirely on land and not in the deep recesses of the sea or the very clouds themselves.

No Open-World

This leads me on to my next point surrounding the rumours that hint at BioShock 4 potentially being an open-world game.

This comes after fans discovered a Cloud Chamber job listing back in April 2021. The role was for a senior writer who can “weave impactful, character-driven stories in an open-world setting”.

The listing was taken down not long after but it was enough to shock fans as the previous BioShock entries had all been set across linear maps.

Of course, you can still explore to a certain extent and both Rapture and Columbia were rich enough to feel open-world even when they weren’t and quite frankly, this is the way I want it to stay.

Open-world games can be hit or miss. Sometimes maps can be too big for their own good and end up feeling empty. On the other hand, open-world games can feel quite daunting with missions, side quests, random events, points of interest, and much more at every turn and as a result, the story can play second fiddle.

I am not saying that Cloud Chamber could not achieve the latter, but for me, the BioShock series has kept its narrative and characters at the forefront and I don’t want this to be jeopardised for the sake of a large, unnecessary map.

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More Horror

Maybe it was because I first played BioShock when I was 11 but that game was my first introduction to the horror genre and certain moments have stayed with me to this day.

In an environment where people have become almost possessed by a genetic substance to the point of stripping them of their humanity and making them nothing but killing machines, it is safe to say that BioShock 1 & 2 were pretty horrific.

As a result, the first games leant into the survival horror genre and I would like to see that continued in BioShock 4.

Depending on where the story takes us, I would like to see the horrors that humans are capable of as a result of greed. If we head back to Rapture, I would love to see how the underwater city has changed since we last saw it.

Has ADAM continued to twist the minds and bodies of its inhabitants? Did more experiments take place? If so, have the residents morphed into something new entirely? We only got a glimpse of this with Fontaine’s final form at the end of BioShock.

I don’t know about you but the idea of humans “becoming” monsters or partaking in monstrous acts has always appealed to me more than mythological monsters and beings and I think that was explored perfectly in the beginning of the series.

After all, what can be more horrific than an act committed by your fellow man?

Option for non-combat approaches

This one is not a necessity but this style of playing was introduced during Burial at Sea when players took on the role of Elizabeth.

Instead of all guns, drills and wrenches blazing, Elizabeth relied a lot more on stealth and distractions which definitely fit her personality more but also gave players the opportunity to approach situations with more strategy.

In such a story-based series, I think this would make sense for a future instalment, especially if it introduced the ability to decide how a situation unfolds based on how you approach it.

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This is quite shocking coming from me as I am not a fan of stealth. However, I enjoy when a game at least gives you the option and doesn’t force entire stealth sections on the player.

Additionally, with the use of Plasmids (if the series continues with this), being able to combine abilities to perform stealth takedowns or set up traps could be interesting.

Overall, I think what I want most from BioShock 4 is just more of the atmosphere, story-telling and originality that was featured in the first games.

Since BioShock’s release back in 2007, it is safe to say that video games have come a long way so BioShock 4 has a lot to prove in more ways than one.

However, I remain optimistic.