With rumors circulating that suggest BioShock 4 could be set in an environment unlike any other before it, the series appears due for a major shift in tone and presentation when it eventually returns. Taking place in Antarctica, as has been suggested by leakers, would be a shockingly barren departure from the more bustling locations featured in previous games. Given the history of the series, however, Antartica could ultimately subvert expectations through having sustained a vibrant and living world of its own leading up to BioShock 4‘s events.
An alleged leaked screenshot from BioShock 4 hit the internet earlier this year, but leaks on X/Twitter indicated possible details about the game back in 2022. Insider @oopsleaks described an Antarctic setting split between two cities known as Borealis and Aurora within an overall 1960s-inspired aesthetic. This seems to be a rather natural evolution for the extreme scenarios that drive this franchise, but the dynamic of a frozen tundra would have to deal with some unavoidable differences.
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A Potential Antarctica Setting Would Be Unlike Previous BioShock Premises
Leaving the Art Deco and Art Noveau Styles of Rapture and Columbia Behind
Each of the distinct settings of the BioShock games featured their own identity in terms of architectural influence, starting with the mid-century sophistication of Rapture’s Art Deco look. The contrast of that aesthetic with the disturbing, underwater dystopia of the city achieved a sense of immersion that wasn’t seen again until Infinite‘s Columbia presented itself as a unique floating utopia-turned-nightmare. American exceptionalism pushed to extremism underscores the twisting of Art Noveau into a grandiose display of horror, and now BioShock 4 is seemingly set to abandon both of those design inspirations.
Frozen Tundra Seems Naturally Less Lively Than the Sea or Sky
With the next game rumored to be focusing on Modernist styles like Brutalism and Bauhaus this time around, it appears set to contrast the vibrancy of past settings by leaning into the desolation of Antarctica in Bioshock 4. The ocean around Rapture or skies around Columbia at least provided a sense of dynamic scale, but seeing empty permafrost as far as the eye can see in the backdrop of a minimalist city would hardly have the same effect.
Why BioShock 4’s Antarctic City Could Be More Similar to Past Locations Than Anticipated
The Franchise Relies Upon Reflecting on Once-Thriving Settlements
BioShock games have been about exploring the remnants of innovative societies which rose and experienced decline, mostly revealed through environmental storytelling. This sort of premise necessitates that a given setting was reaching new heights of prosperity at some point, and this would mean the rumored Antarctic cities may have greatly succeeded before splitting apart. New powers and arms are implied to be featured from the leaked image of the game, so new weapons and technology in BioShock 4 would be strongly indicative of a civilization which was able to push the boundaries of scientific and industrial progress at all costs.
A Dense Colony in Harsh Cold Could Repeat the Claustrophobia of Previous Cities
Being at the bottom of the ocean or at a seemingly unlivable altitude didn’t prevent BioShock‘s isolated Rapture and Columbia from boasting impressive populations at their peaks, so it stands to reason that even the tundra could end up supporting more lives than ever before in reality. Overcoming the challenges of extreme weather and the need for self-sufficiency could have fostered a tightly-knit community, but also eventually led to the moral and psychological decay that BioShock is known for. While an Antarctic setting in the next game might be a busier city than one may think, such an atmosphere is almost guaranteed to take a toll on all those citizens in traditional series fashion.
- Franchise
- BioShock
- Released
- February 26, 2013
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 3
- ESRB
- m