Very little has been revealed aboutBioShock 4, but previous iterations might have some clues as to where the next entry could lead. 2013’sBioShock Infinitetook players to the flying city of Columbia, leaving behind the underwater city of Rapture seen inBioShock 1and2. However, a major confrontation at the end ofInfiniteends with a brief trip to Rapture, revealing thateveryBioShockgame so fartakes place in parallel universes.
Though this complication was originally assumed to be specific toInfinite, there are some clues in the originalBioShockthat suggest the games have existed in a multiverse since the very beginning. If this is the case, then developer Cloud Chamber Studio might need to find ways to connectBioShock 4to the first game from the series.
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BioShock: Songbird’s Swan Song
Careful Planning or Clever Trick?
Of course, that level of foresight would imply that Songbird had been fully designed in 2007, six years beforeInfinite’s release and six months before development on the title even began. Assuming the sound is actually meant to be Songbird, it’s far more likely that the creature’s telltale screech was created to sound somewhat similar to the ambient noise inBioShock 1. The original game was filled with strange sights and loose story threads, so developer Irrational Games would have been spoiled for choice when looking forconnections toBioShockInfinite.
It’s worth noting that the specific sounds Songbird makes during its death scene inInfinitedon’t quite match up to the faint sounds heard inBioShock. This likely means the scene was changed inInfinite, or could be proof that the sounds heard inBioShockaren’t Songbird at all. It could also mean that there are multiple universes in which Songbird suddenly appears in the ocean, and that Booker and Elizabeth don’t actually visitthe same universe seen inBioShock 1. While it would be a disappointing to see such a tantalizing fan theory debunked, it would mean that Rapture also exists in infinite universes — including one where the city never collapses.
“There’s always a city.”
IfBioShock 1andBioShock Infiniteare as intricately connected as it seems — andInfinite’s DLC campaignBurial at Sealeaves little doubt that they are — then Cloud Chamber Studio has a lot ofmajor decisions to make while developingBioShock 4. Most critically, it has to decide whether players will revisit Columbia and Rapture or stay in the same city throughout.Infinite’s Tear system showed that there are countless versions of any given city, so players might have the opportunity to explore some of those alternate realities. There might also be more than one new city, giving players the opportunity to explore a variety of new environments.
The developer will also need to decide how seriously to take Elizabeth’s statement that “There’s always a lighthouse. There’s always a man. There’s always a city.” That line suggests thatall futureBioShockgames must contain those elements, but it also assumes that Elizabeth has seen all potential realities. It’s possible that her statement was only specific to the universes that she’s a part of, and that there are separate multiverses which defy that cycle. If that’s the case, thenBioShock 4wouldn’t need to intersect with the stories of Columbia and Rapture at all. Such an omission would be risky, but ifBioShockfans have learned one thing, it’s not to trust their expectations.
