Irrational Games’ Amanda Jeffrey has spilled fresh details on the forthcoming BioShock: Infinite expansion, Burial at Sea.
Speaking with IGN, Jeffrey revealed that Elizabeth’s character isn’t a brand new incarnation of the heroine we saw in Infinite, despite the fact she and Booker DeWitt find themselves in Rapture prior to all hell breaks loose.
“Liz in Rapture is very much a continuation of the Liz that we saw in Infinite,” said the level designer. “This is not some brand new, ‘we have no idea who this person is’.”
Burial at Sea is split into two parts: the first sees you controller DeWitt, while the second pits you in the shoes of Elizabeth.
Irrational Games boss Ken Levine said that the expansion picks up after the events of Infinite’s campaign, and that the switch from DeWitt to Elizabeth will be a crucial moment story-wise.
"At the end of the first part of Burial at Sea, Elizabeth goes into another sort of realisation and, to put you then in her shoes, we thought was gonna be something very powerful," said Levine.
"She is very much Elizabeth, but also has a character. She’s affected. She’s definitely changed by what she’s done. I will say certainly you are picking up after the events of Infinite, and this is a person who has seen all the things you’ve seen in Infinite, and that’s had an effect on her."
As for Elizabeth’s reality-tearing powers, Jeffrey explained that Irrational is still working out the kinks in regards to how powerful they’ll be. However, she assured controlling her won’t be merely like ‘Booker in a dress.’
"We’re still trying to work out exactly how extensive Liz’s tear abilities will be in the playable Liz sequence," Jeffrey added. "She will have far more powerful ways of interacting with the world than we saw in Infinite proper, but at the same time, it won’t just be a case of walking to a space and going, ‘I’m just going to press a button, and now happy ending for everyone!’
"Liz is such a different character to Booker, and if we were to just put Booker in a dress, then that would be the most awful betrayal of what we’re doing for Liz," she said. We would be betraying her character again if suddenly she’s got these huge biceps and she’s running around the place with a ginormous machine gun.”
"Elizabeth has to take things more from the side view. She needs to be kind of thinking in a roundabout way of how to deal with her enemies. And, sometimes, that might mean completely bypassing the enemy entirely, because she doesn’t need to. It may mean, in another situation, using the enemy’s strength against them. There’s all of these different kinds of ways of being more thoughtful, and – I hesitate to say it – almost more feminine way of approaching a problem, where there’s all of these people and, to be very brutally honest about it, they have the advantage in strength. But Elizabeth has the advantage in smarts."
BioShock: Infinite’s Burial at Sea expansion will be released later this year, with each part costing $14.99. Those of you who own a Season Pass will be able to snap it up as part of the package, similar to last week’s DLC drop.
Are you looking forward to revisiting Rapture before its fall? Are you excited to be finally given the chance to play as Liz? Let us know in the comments section below.