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Here’s everything we know about Bioshock 4’s gameplay, setting

Bioshock Infinite Columbia City

2K Games has confirmed the existence of Bioshock 4, but what is known about the sequel to the nihilistic FPS beyond its existence?

Series creator Ken Levine shut down and repurposed Irrational Games after the launch of Bioshock Infinite and won’t be working on Bioshock 4. These days, Levine is working at Ghost Story Studios on Judas, one of a number of reported new IPs under the Take-Two Interactive umbrella. Montreal-based Cloud Chamber is taking the lead on Bioshock 4.

Cloud Chamber is seemingly ramping up work on the next Bioshock game. Senior cinematic designer Jeff Spoonhower announced on LinkedIn that over 30 positions have opened up at the studio. The positions range from artists to narrative designers, but what’s out there when it comes to the game’s content, setting, and style?

Bioshock 4 reportedly set in Antarctica

A Bioshock 4 screenshot has reportedly leaked showing its general style and a small tease of one of its locations.

MP1st posted the screenshot which shows a “ricochet shotgun” weapon and the game’s low-profile UI. It’s labeled as “Parkside demo,” with Parkside being widely reported as the codename for the next Bioshock game. Centered in the image is what appears to be a tower with a massive orange orb at the top.

The outlet claims the screenshot is from an in-development build of Bioshock 4 from 2021 pulled off a 2K visual effects artist’s showreel. 

According to Sacred Symbols’ Colin Moriarty, Bioshock 4 is set in the 1960s in an Antarctic city named Borealis. The screenshot might hint that the major scientific goal of the city is creating an artificial sun. This setting and concept could easily lead to the kind of horrorscape Bioshock is known for.

Bioshock 4 seemingly adding new powers, possibly time travel

The leaked screenshot has multiple time-based UI elements suggesting that the game will involve time-centric powers.

The Bioshock series is no stranger to superhuman powers called Vigors. Bioshock Infinite, the last game in the series, had eight different Vigors, ranging from ordering a crow attack to using a water whip to bring enemies closer. There are no Plasmid or Vigor meters on the screenshot; instead, three abilities are mapped to controller buttons. 

The icons show a lightning bolt, a magnet, and a clock. There is also an hourglass icon next to the health bar and what appears to be a stamina bar. It’s unclear what these abilities are, but the multiple timepieces stand out.  

The leaked screenshot also shows a ricochet shotgun. Bioshock games offered ricochet as a possible weapon upgrade, which, as the name suggests, has bullets that bounce around after impact. Generally, players didn’t favor the upgrade, as it didn’t reliably hit targets after the bounce. 

Take-Two Interactive will have its hands full with Grand Theft Auto 6 coming out next year. Bioshock 4 will likely be released after the GTA storm has died down. 2K and Cloud Chamber haven’t officially announced any details about the game yet. 

Written by Bilawal Bashir

Bilawal is a software engineer who loves video games, comic books, and anime. But he will never love pineapple on pizza. In over two decades of gaming, he has only broken two controllers. His work has also been featured by TheGamer and WhatIfGaming.

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