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2007 was, in many ways, the pivotal year of video games. Among the many titles published, in particular two much loved video game seriescame to the light for the first time, involving and thrilling thousands of players ever since: Assassin’s Creed and Bioshock.
This latest saga revisits the myth of Atlantis, in a modern but profoundly dystopian key. The setting, designed following the art deco style, is explored between shadows and lights in a profound decadence, all immersed in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. So what is Rapture? What lives, in spite of himself, Jack, the protagonist?
Rapture, the beginning and the end of everything
Jack’s adventure begins in the worst possible way: with a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Finding himself alone, in the midst of wreckage and, above all, surrounded by water, he discovers a strange island in front of him, the peculiarity of which is a large lighthouse. Looking for help, Jack will soon find himself inside a bathysphere, a sort of submarine that will take him to the ocean floor. But the surprises don’t end there.
In fact, there is not only water waiting for him, but an entire city: Rapture. Immersed deep above a geothermal spring, Rapture is a retro-futuristic city, the utopian dream of its founder, Andrew Ryan, of freedom from all strong powers.
What made it a real Atlantis of the future is certainly the technology that characterizes it, very far from any city built in the same period, the end of the 1940s. Not only that, its inhabitants are given the opportunity to use the EVE kits, containing ADAM, a substance obtained from mysterious sea snails, capable of changing people’s DNA and providing them with “powers”, from lighting fire with fingers up to telekinesis, ice, electricity.
But as in any situation in which perfection reigns supreme, it doesn’t take long before utopia unravels, decaying into the most total dystopia. ADAM, in fact, begins to create addiction, almost as if it were a real drug: the inhabitants of Rapture become “splicers”, deformed and obsessed beings, who resort to violence to obtain the substance.
In order to survive, Jack will have to make his way through the hordes of dangerous Splicers; not only that, he will have to fight the strongest enemies in the game from level to level: the Big Daddies. Gigantic humanoids in diver suits, armed to the teeth, their purpose is to protect the Little Sisters: genetically modified girls, able to recover ADAM from the corpses of splicers. The player will have the opportunity to choose whether to save or kill the girls: based on these choices, the ending of the game will change.
The uncertain future of the Bioshock saga
After 2007, Bioshock had two sequels. The second chapter, also set in Rapture eight years after Jack’s story, features the most unexpected character: a Big Daddy in search of his Little Sister. The player will wander into new areas of an increasingly decaying Rapture, where the splicers have formed a sort of cult, the Family, and where finding allies will become increasingly difficult.
Finally, Bioshock Infinite was released in 2013. The focus shifts from Andrew Ryan’s lost Atlantis to the sky: the game will be set in Columbia, a city built above the clouds above, again, a large lighthouse. As it is possible to imagine, especially thanks to its DLC, this game will also be firmly linked to the progenitor of the saga: it is possible to say that, thanks to these games, it is possible to close a circle.
Since then, and for the next ten years, there has been no more news from the developers. Technically, thanks to the ending of Infinite, the saga would seem finished. But, 2K Games argues that there is so much to explore: it is for this reason that, from 2019, a new title would be in development.
However, the wait will still be long: although the game tells of perfection resulting in dystopia, each title approaches the most perfect and detailed videogame creation. The Bioshock chapter, therefore, would not yet seem to have seen its end, and there could still be a lot to discover: the most loyal fans of one of the saga that has sold around 40 million copies worldwide continue to wait, celebrating a game surprisingly topical, despite the fact that 16 years have passed since its publication.
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