A lot of hype, but no game showcase yet, is a hard recipe. Outside of Cloud Chamber, some job listings have suggested BioShock 4 is an open-world RPG, but many have taken that in stride. BioShock is a franchise that could really run away from the concept. However, that’s a double-edged sword. Not much has been shown of Starfield, as an example, but it’s in a similar boat. Many took its hard delay, not because of what they had seen of it, but because of the promise it had. Truly, this puts a lot of undue expectations on a game no one has really seen much of.
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BioShock 4 Has an Elder Scrolls 6 Problem
To make matters worse, BioShock 4 has the gargantuan task of following the original BioShock games. The first BioShock and BioShock Infinite are some of the highest-rated games of all time, with the franchise having a dedicated following. It’s also quite possible that BioShock 4 releases 10 years after Infinite, and while that represents a huge leap in technology, it also represents an increased level of expectation.
The best comparison is perhaps The Elder Scrolls 6 and Grand Theft Auto 6. Both are titles fans have wanted for quite some time, with the predecessors being over and shortly under a decade old. The sales success of each game no doubt played a role in these sequels being so far pushed out, but the expectation cannot be understated either. The Elder Scrolls 6 has the impossible task of following Skyrim, one of the most influential RPGs on the market, and Grand Theft Auto 6 has the even more impossible task of following the most profitable entertainment product of all time.
BioShock 4 is in these exact shoes, having to follow its highly-rated predecessors. There’s a golden rule in the industry that anything can flop, no matter how anticipated it is, with games like Anthem and Cyberpunk 2077 being proof of this. This holds true of The Elder Scrolls 6, GTA 6, and BioShock 4, and so with all of this combined, it can be quite daunting.
However, there is a silver lining to this. If BioShock 4 manages to live up to or surpass its predecessors, then it’ll likely represent a huge step forward for the franchise and gaming. BioShock 4 could prove to be a seminal release, and there’s little reason to doubt its capabilities—given the staff at Cloud Chamber. The challenge may be tough, but diamonds are made under pressure.
BioShock 4 is in development.
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