Bioshock released and became an instant classic. It's excellent narrative and engaging gameplay leave it still feeling like a masterpiece despite its age.

It's hard to convey the greatness of Bioshock's narrative without spoilers. It covers the themes of power and capitalism in a great way. Andrew Ryan has some of the best quotes in video games and is an amazing character. The world of rapture is written very well and makes it one of the most unique game worlds I have experienced and its downfall is super interesting. This story getting added flavor through audio logs you find scattered about is a fun way to convey extra elements of the story. The big moment at the game's climax is unforgettable and unlike any other game I have played. The ending sequence of the game is very well done and the narrative decision you make isn't overly complex but it serves the themes well.

Bioshock's gameplay is probably its strongest design area. All of the different plasmids you can get offer a lot of gameplay options. There is also a good bit of weapon variety and you get to make your own build with the upgrade system. The boss fights in the game, besides the final one which was very well done, are a bit forgettable and feel like bullet sponges at times. Battling with big daddy's is an extremely fun optional experience that feel more noteworthy than any of the main bosses. The level design is also well executed and exploring areas never feels monotonous.

The art direction of Bioshock is also wonderful. I like all the glowing signs and the classic 1920's vibe they went for. When you look out of the glass tunnels and see the rest of rapture or just the sea in general it is stunning. The character design of big daddy's is also another fantastic addition to the art direction. The voice acting of the game is surprisingly good for its time and this enhances the game quite a bit since most of the story is told through dialogue or audio logs. The soundtrack doesn't jump out at you often but there are definitely times where it enhances the gameplay experience such as the classical music in the Sander Cohen section of the game.

Bioshock isn't a game with an extremely high level of replayability. There are standard difficulty options and the option to turn off vita-chambers. There is 1 major decision you can make that affects only the ending of the story and technically also affects the difficulty of the game. The rest of the replayability comes through large variety of weapons and plasmids. However, at higher difficulties some plasmids or weapons are so situational that there are dominant builds you will find yourself gravitating towards. Since the game is not very large, I would have appreciated a little bit more replayability.

Bioshock is a masterpiece that has aged quite well and is easily one of the best games released during its console generation. The story, gameplay, and visuals you experience when exploring rapture are one of a kind.
( 90/100 )

Level design: 10\10;
Gráfico: 10\10;
Gameplay: 10\10;
Diversificação: 9\10;
Trilha: 10\10;
História: 10\10;
Fator replay: ?\10;
Motivo de não zerar: Joguei quando criança e lembro de ficar arrepiado com as cenas inicias, não tenho muitas lembranças dele, mas as que me vem na cabeça são boas, então quero zerar um dia.

I had an absolute blast with the story and gameplay of this game. I found the atmosphere incredible, the characters fascinating, and most importantly the gameplay was a lot of fun, with tons of ways to approach each encounter with the variety of weapons and powers available.

The start of the game was super creepy, and it was very satisfying to upgrade the different systems and feel yourself getting dramatically stronger as the game progressed. The combat was always the perfect amount of challenging, and never got tedious.

I loved the visuals and audio in this game. Rapture is one of the most immersive game worlds I've seen - even the fairly repetitive level design didn't draw back too much from the fantastically realised world. The mission structures were linear enough that it was always clear what needed to be done, but open ended enough that there was plenty of time for exploration - which was heavily rewarded.

The audio logs were a favorite feature of mine - I loved how much of the story of the world was amongst the worldbuilding, rather than told to the player in cutscenes. It made everything feel very natural, and all of the various villains so hateable.

This game did fall off in atmosphere towards the end, as I'd become so strong in terms of abilities that any sense of vulnerability or horror was lost in the final third of the game. It's very difficult for games to stay creepy though, and it was incredibly fun using all the different abilities, so this isn't a huge downside - but thought it was worthy of note.

My main criticism of the game were the vita-chambers - dying and then being able to just jump right back in, without any consequence other than a small bit of time completely destroyed any fear over some of the more intense sequences of the game. I feel as though there should have been a higher penalty to death to make fighting the Big Daddys truly terrifying.

Can't believe I waited this long to play this game properly. I did play it once as a teenager, but didn't pay attention to any of the story, so it still felt fresh on this playthrough.