Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea DLC - Episode 2 (2014) (PC) (Irrational Games)
0After having finished Bioshock Infinite shortly after it came out in 2013 I was definitely not in the mood for more of the same and didn't play the two DLC packs Burial at Sea at the time of their respective releases. Infinite was a huge disappoinment to me not only because of its stagnant gameplay mechanics but also because it casually dismissed all of the story's fascinating real world themes - structural racism, American exceptionalism, the nature of utopia, socialist uprisings etc. - and instead indulged in the most inward-looking, pretentiously metaphysical sci-fi nonsense I've ever seen in a video game (the Lutece twins were freakin' awesome, though). By the time "Booker" looked too deep into the baptismal font I was sick and tired of Ken Levine's storytelling, and when Episode 1 got lackluster reviews I stopped paying attention altogether (even though I'd purchased the Season Pass and thus would get the DLC whether I wanted to or not).
However, after scrolling through a screenshots thread over at Rock Paper Shotgun a few days ago and seeing some nice-looking environments from Burial at Sea Episode 1, I decided to finally check out the downloadable content. After having played through both episodes, I can at least say that they'd be worth €15 as a pack (however, at non-sale prices they are currently sold separately at €14,99 each on Steam, which is a bit much).
Episode 1 starts out as an entertaining film noir pastische before moving on to some familiar Bioshock-style FPS action and exploration which works rather well (apart from an annoying scarcity of checkpoints). Episode 2 is both longer and more experimental, with a particular emphasis on basic but functional stealth mechanics (!), and sneaking around in the shadows while listening to the eery taunts of Splicers proved to be a more immersive and appropriately unsettling experience than I had anticipated. EP2's rather ambitious storyline explores some surprisingly tangible connections between Rapture and Columbia only hinted at in the main campaign, and as far as fan service goes there are quite a few returning characters from the original Bioshock. Also, playing as Elisabeth instead of Booker in Episode 2 has the added bonus of giving center stage to excellent voice actor Courtnee Draper instead of the dependable but ubiquitous Troy Baker.