Irrational Games was always onto a winner with its first chunk of single-player DLC for BioShock: Infinite, Burial at Sea. After all, from the get-go it was confirmed that players would be returning to the underwater metropolis of Rapture, which has already been firmly imprinted on gamers’ consciousness as the setting of the original BioShock and one of the most evocative video game locations to date. We all wanted to go back at some point for a full-on adventure, and creator Ken Levine clearly has no qualms in giving us what we want. However, one can help but feel slightly short changed by the whole affair, no matter how compelling a trek it might be.
Set on the eve of Rapture’s fall from grace in December 1958, Burial at Sea reunites Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth for an all-new adventure that sees the pair hunting down a missing girl named Sally. Here, DeWitt is working as a Private Detective and well-established in the city, while Elizabeth’s backstory and motivations are fogged in ambiguity. While our gruff-voiced hero is more or less the same as we last saw him, Lizzy has undergone a makeover; decked out in sultry garb and smoking a cigarette like a 1950s movie cliché, our once-timid heroine is every bit the quintessential femme fatal you would expect from Hollywood’s women of that era.
Indeed, the disparities between Elizabeth in Infinite’s main campaign and Burial at Sea also extend to the setting. Rapture’s gloom is the very antithesis of the vibrant, skybound Columbia, and one can’t help but marvel at how difference both stories feel. Early on, Burial at Sea encourages player exploration, giving you ample opportunity to listen to dialogue, explore shops and generally potter around in Andrew Ryan’s sprawling architectural eye-opener. There’s plenty of fanfare thrown around here, and it’ll help extend the campaign’s length too — which sadly, is pretty damn short.
Eventually, after an exposition-heavy intro, players get down to the nitty-gritty of capping familiar splicers and exploring the claustrophobic halls of Rapture’s less-welcoming areas. Sunk to the bottom of the ocean by Ryan, Frank Fontaine’s stronghold is dark, grim and punctuated by danger. This marks the most striking change in comparison to Infinite’s main campaign, as areas are far less open than Columbia, pushing stealth into the mix more than ever before. This is facilitated by the fact DeWitt is capable of sneaking up on enemies for a one-hit kill using the revamped Skyhook device. While the bread-and-butter mechanics are familiar – the satisfying cocktail of using guns and vigors (aka plasmids) in battle is as fluid as it’s ever been – combat is generally tighter and more proximity-based due to the more cosy conditions. I was forced to watch my ammo carefully and rely more on surprise tactics and lining up headshots to survive.
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Needless to say, it’s certainly more satisfying to creep up on enemies than simply go in guns blazing, and the game encourages you to try out more tactics, such as using the environment to your advantage. With ammo scarce, blasting an explosive barrel or zapping a pool of water with Shock Jockey to take out a group of foes is not only rewarding, but near crucial if you are going to make it through in one piece.
Elizabeth still provides a shoulder to lean on, scavenging for health packs and other items to give you a boost mid-combat, but you can’t rely on her for everything. I died quite a few times due to lack of ammo and being overwhelmed, and as with previous games, the old routine of die-regenerate-have another go is overly familiar, but never frustrating due to the generous checkpoint system. As previously mentioned the Skyhook also makes a return, though I found its inclusion here slightly contrived and definitely more suited to the open locations of Columbia. More new weapons or plasmids in its place would have been more welcome; the new freeze-style vigor and Radar Range weapon are nice additions, but overall your arsenal doesn’t feel as unqiue as it could have given the time and place.
Graphically, Rapture is a haven of stunning beauty, from the gorgeous underwater vistas you’ll gawk at from nearby windows, to the grimy, leaking corridors of the sunken areas where the main chunk of the game is set. The atmosphere is palpable, and anyone who has played BioShock 1 or 2 will feel right at home. Audio is ever impressive, and the main cast deliver with utter conviction, with Elizabeth’s new-found confidence and wit a real highlight and strike contrast to her Columbia counterpart.
At the end of the day though, Burial at Sea’s glaring fault is its length. At just 2 hours (slightly more if you explore), you can’t help but feel Irrational would have been better off combining episode 1 and 2 into one package. Forking out $14.99 is a bit steep, but the narrative payoff, ample audio files and gear to obtain, not to mention the anticipation that builds for episode 2 does well to compensate. However, there’s no denying that Burial at Sea: Episode 1 could have been fleshed out that little bit more. I await Episode 2 with excitement, but until then, the first part of this underwater excursion offers an enjoyable but all-too-brief trip back to one of gaming’s most iconic locations.