The world is still waiting to see hair or hide ofBioShock 4, Cloud Chamber’s upcoming follow-up toBioShock Infinite. Hopes are high for the title, but at the same time, one could imagine it going either way: it could be a glorious reinvention of the seminal and prestigious series, or it could fail to live up to its inherited legacy.
Cloud Chamber is a studiospecifically formed to continueBioShock, much like how 343 Industries was created to keepHaloalive.
With the last entry in the series beingBioShock Infinite, it’s only natural that audiences will compare it toBioShock 4, when it eventually gets revealed.Infiniteis a rather interesting game as, while it came from the same creator (Ken Levine) as the first two games, and reportedly didn’t suffer from any outside forces meddling in its development, it is rather far removed from its predecessors. Whether this is good or bad has been a matter of rigorous debate over the years; many have argued that dropping the immersive sim and horror elements of the Rapture games makesInfinitea downgrade, while others posit that the straightforward and action-packed narrative is both more accessible and more exciting. Time will tell whatBioShock 4will learn from such discourse, and one key story element could sit at the heart of these creative decisions.
DeWitt Is a Unique and Compelling Leading Man
BioShockand its sequeltook rather unconventional approaches with their protagonists:
In both these cases,BioShockplays with the idea of a conventional protagonist, using them to explore concepts of free will and self-determination. So, when Booker DeWitt,a traditionally masculine hero, arrived inBioShock Infinite, many may have felt disappointed by this apparent dumbing-down of theBioShocknarrative formula. But asInfinite’s story unfolds, it becomes clear that Booker is far from a John McClane or an Indiana Jones: his relationship with free will is just as complicated as those that came before him. Through this subversion, and by making him more human and relatable than the previous two protagonists,Infinitepositions Booker DeWitt as an exceptionally memorable lead.
Booker DeWitt Could Be Hard to Top in BioShock 4
At the risk of being reductive,BioShock 4can be said to be at a crossroads when it comes to its protagonist: it can either take the same approach as the first two games, featuring a silent and somewhat unsettling main character, or it can build off the more recent foundation set by Booker DeWitt. If Cloud Chamber wants to take the series forward rather than retread old ground, then perhaps its strategy will be closer to the latter than the former.
But this raises an interesting question: how can the studio improve upon Booker DeWitt? As previously noted, DeWitt himself is a progression of the archetypes presented in the first twoBioShockgames, as his gruff likability and stereotypical machismo are used to divert attention away from the bizarre nature of his mission. This trick has already been pulled, so Cloud Chamber can’t exactly do it again.
Of course,BioShock 4could simply keep its character-building surface-level, not exploring deeper themes through its protagonist, but this would obviously be disappointing for different reasons. It’s not impossible, by any means, but making a protagonist better than Booker DeWitt, or the first twoBioShockleads for that matter, is quite a tall order.
BioShock Infinite (dupe)
WHERE TO PLAY
Indebted to the wrong people, with his life on the line, veteran of the U.S. Cavalry and now hired gun, Booker DeWitt has only one opportunity to wipe his slate clean. He must rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl imprisoned since childhood and locked up in the flying city of Columbia. Forced to trust one another, Booker and Elizabeth form a powerful bond during their daring escape. Together, they learn to harness an expanding arsenal of weapons and abilities, as they fight on zeppelins in the clouds, along high-speed Sky-Lines, and down in the streets of Columbia, all while surviving the threats of the air-city and uncovering its dark secret.The City in the Sky – Leave the depths of Rapture to soar among the clouds of Columbia. A technological marvel, the flying city is a beautiful and vibrant world that holds a very dark secret.Unlikely Mission – Set in 1912, hired gun Booker DeWitt must rescue a mysterious girl from the sky-city of Columbia or never leave it alive.Whip, Zip, and Kill – Turn the city’s Sky-Lines into weaponized roller coasters as you zip through the flying city and dish out fatal hands-on punishment.Tear Through Time – Open Tears in time and space to shape the battlefield and turn the tide in combat by pulling weapons, turrets, and other resources out of thin air.
