I never played the original Bioshock series, so a friend recommended I play the first two games before I get into Bioshock: Infinite. I think the first game is definitely groundbreaking for its time, with a unique art style and vibe, but as a whole it has not aged particularly well.

It is short, extremely linear, and there is not much gameplay variety or side stuff to do along the way. Personally, the only replayability it has for me would be saving versus harvesting the little sisters, and I just don't want to sit through the exact same beat-for-beat experience again just for that. I enjoyed figuring out the plasmids and ammo management, but about halfway through I realized that was all it would be and the gameplay got old quickly. This was compounded by the fact that, once all of the enemy types had been introduced, in order to keep increasing the "difficulty" they just start throwing hordes and hordes of enemies at you at every turn. I found myself groaning a little bit every time I turned a corner or reached a new room. But to be completely honest, this is an aspect of game design that is common in older games, so I can't fault it completely for that.

Nitpicks aside, it really was fun enough my first time through and I am very interested in the lore and the world of Bioshock because of it. The philosophy of the game is especially interesting, with a lot of Ayn Rand references that initially went over my head. If you are at all interested in the series, I do recommend that you pick this one up; just don't get it at full price. It goes on sale a lot, and you can buy the whole series as a bundle.

Still holds up pretty well in 2024

The best game I have ever played.