“There’s always a lighthouse, a man, a city.” – Elizabeth Comstock With that in mind, here are a couple of my favorite BioShock Infinite quotes: I’ll admit, it was tough to hone this into a top 10 list. While I could probably write an entire dissertation of the sociopolitical nuances this game remarks on, that’s not why we’re here today. Only sinners seeking their own brand of reconciliation - for better or worse for everyone else around them. And while there might be a lot of controversial and offensive things happening in the floating city of Columbia, BioShock Infinite forces us to confront the reality of how shitty human beings can be, twisting whatever philosophy and ideology to suit their needs. Infinite certainly blows that out of the water (see what I did there?). I thought that the anarcho-capitalist critique in BioShock was enough to wrap my head around. ![]() Come to think of it, a lot of its premise revolves around saving someone who was once very innocent from becoming consumed with hatred and setting the world on fire. Perhaps it’s apt to say that BioShock Infinite is a game of demagogues and populists, of flawed characters who seek redemption or those who, despite meaning well, sink into the perversion of their ideals as they struggle to maintain power. That said, it also has some interesting takes on everything including labor movements, capitalism, and the corruption of both, taking advantage of the masses in favor of enriching the few. The ultranationalist/nativist mural in question. The funny thing is that the game effectively calls these kinds of people out and shows how dangerous nativism and ultranationalism can be. In fact, BioShock Infinite was subject to some controversy as some in the American far-right unironically used a mural found in the game to represent themselves and their beliefs. Fascinating characters and gameplay mechanics aside, the social commentary on American exceptionalism, race and nationalism, religious extremism, and even quantum theory easily leave one’s head spinning. ![]() A couple of years later and Irrational still has me hooked on its crazy stories, especially with that of BioShock Infinite. When I was still in high school, my mother bought me the very first BioShock game as a reward for having good grades that quarter and I beat it within the first night. With exceptional writing of any sort come important lessons we can derive from it. BioShock Infinite - and arguably the whole BioShock series - has some of the best writing in video games.
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