The masterpiece that was the originalBioShockhelped launch 2K Games' dystopian series into the stratosphere, and fans have eagerly anticipated each entry in the years since, including the upcomingBioShock 4. After the first game received universal acclaim for its innovative gameplay, mature storytelling, and compelling themes, the future of theBioShockfranchise seemed assured. However, after the restructuring of Irrational Games and a change of hands for the franchise’s development, some weren’t so sureBioShock 4would ever see the light of day.
Publisher 2K Games has assured fans that there was still plenty of life left in the IP and confirmed thatBioShock 4was in active development, laying some fears to rest. However, details of the highly anticipated installment have been few and far between since then, with only a few drip-fed insights like the identity of itsnewBioShockdevelopment team, Cloud Chamber Studios. With rumors covering everything from whereBioShock 4will be set to how it could tie into the previous entries, it doesn’t look like gamers will be getting their answers anytime soon. While fans wait for official news from 2K Games and Cloud Chamber Studios, there are a handful of similar titles they could play to help scratch that pervasiveBioShockitch.
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We Happy Few
It may not take place in a submerged metropolis like Rapture, but players will find some seriousBioShockvibes in Compulsion Games’We Happy Few. The action-adventure title has similar first-person melee combat and stealth elements as theBioShockgames, and its retrofuturistic design and alternate take on history feel very reminiscent of the first two entries in the series. InWe Happy Few, players attempt to blend in with the conformity-obsessed and drug-addled inhabitants of a fictional town in 1960s England, or else risk a turn toward violence. The eerie atmosphere and omnipresent Uncle Jack would be right at home in aBioShockgame, but the procedurally generated world and inclusion of the perception-altering Joy helpWe Happy Fewfeel unique.
Prey
In a world where humanity was able to head into space much earlier and construct orbital stations,Preyfollows the story of a scientific team researching the Typhon, an alien entity with shapeshifting abilities. Players must escape the confines of the space station while using a number of weapons, powers, and stealth mechanics to avoid or destroy the malignant alien species. LikeBioShock,Preyis a first-person shooter that requires gamers to explore a confined location as they collect new weapons and tools to help them escape, all the while encountering hostile entities. Its claustrophobic and tense atmosphere is expertly wielded to put the player on edge, andPrey’s interesting sci-fi story about human folly and the search for societal advancement has its ownBioShockflavor too.
Contrast
Contrastis an earlier game from the developers ofWe Happy Few, and shares that title’s stylistic design and sense of darkness below the surface. With an art style reminiscent of Art Nouveau and noir cinema, the puzzle-solvingContrastemploys a mechanic where players manipulate light sources to help them flit in between 2D shadows and the physical 3D world as they navigate the streets of a 1920s city. It may lack some of the intellectual exploration of aBioShockgame, but the environmental storytelling that reveals the existence of multiple dimensions and alternate realities emulates the themes of laterBioShockentries.Contrastis an evocative and heartfelt gamewith some challenging puzzles and an interesting concept that could prove to be the perfect distraction from the absence ofBioShocknews.
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Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Eidos Montreal’s action RPGDeus Ex: Mankind Dividedwas the fourth entry in the popularDeus Exseries, and helped to elevate the franchise’s gameplay, narrative, and overall graphics. LikeBioShock,Deus Ex: Mankind Dividedis a first-person shooterwith stealth mechanics that lets players unlock more abilities as they progress through a variety of levels, making them more adept and creative when it comes to taking down enemies.
But in the place ofBioShock’s Plasmids and Vigors,Deus Ex: Mankind Dividedhas an array of mechanical cybernetic implants that protagonist Adam Jensen can upgrade and add to, in keeping with the game’s futuristic sci-fi setting.Deus Ex: Mankind Dividedadeptly weaves its complex themes together in a cohesive narrative and combined this with enjoyable, fast-paced gameplay to create a title that wasn’t only fun to play but built on many of the elements that make the genre great as well.
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Set around the same time as the originalBioShock,Wolfenstein: The New Orderalso explores an alternate 1960where history deviates from the player’s own and creates a dystopian environment full of peril and twisted morals. Packed with more action and gruesome violence than gamers might expect in aBioShockgame,Wolfenstein: The New Orderfollows Captain William “B.J.” Blazkowicz as he takes on a victorious Nazi Regime with his fellow resistance fighters. The combat mechanics are intense, varied, and pleasantly challenging, and plenty ofWolfenstein: The New Order’s enemy encounters will push players to their limits. Underneath the bombastic action,Wolfenstein: The New Orderalso has a surprisingly sensitive story about survival, trauma, and human connection with excellently acted characters and well-written dialogue.
Deathloop
Arkane and Bethesda Softworks’Deathloopis another stylishly designed and innovatively crafted game that pushes the boundaries of its genre with fresh ideas and unexpectedly deep themes. Another 1960s set title with its own original take on history,Deathloopmarries chaotic FPS action with a slick time-based mechanicas a single day is repeated again and again until protagonist Colt can eliminate all of his targets on the remote island of Blackreef.
With an added component of optional multiplayer that lets gamers invade one another’s playthrough as Julianna and try to disrupt their own target-killing goals,Deathloopfeatures a ton of great gameplay ideas that feel novel and unusual, while also building on lots of the mechanics that Arkane has been able to hone over the years with its other releases likeDishonoredandPrey. Time travel aside,Deathloopconfronts players with some moral quandaries that would also feel at home in aBioShockgame.
Bioshock 4is in development.
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