Why Bioshock Is Secretly One Of The Best Horror Video Games Ever

Won't You Come On Down To Rapture?

The magic of Irrational’s masterpiece lies in its unwillingness to lean too heavily on overused tropes that have plagued the genre for years. Instead, Bioshock’s ability to muster an immense sense of fear through building an atmosphere that never falters through its runtime is its biggest draw. Horror cliches are kept to a minimum and John Carpenter-esque screeching stringed instruments are nowhere to be heard. So many games in the genre are mistaken for others as the repetitive horror plot devices are present in abundance (with some even using them as a basis for the entire game, like Until Dawn), but Bioshock is decidedly frightening simply because of its lack of horror elements.

Rapture’s decline into insanity is immediately compelling, and its unpredictability is essential in maintaining its tone until its --albeit unspectacular-- conclusion. Deciphering Bioshock’s ability to instil a sense of intense anxiety is part of the fun, and while half of the game will be spent absorbing a complex narrative about the fall of Andrew Ryan’s utopia, all of it will be witnessed behind a cushion and on the edge of your seat.

Bioshock’s existence is destined to be marred by its lack of a definitive genre. Pigeon-holing such an ambitious tale, wrapped in a truly unique gameplay loop, is a difficult undertaking, to say the least, but suffice to say it’s as frightening as they come.

You’d be a fool to skip out on Bioshock in favour of any other horror game this spooky season, so head on down to Rapture at your earliest convenience, would you kindly.