Do you like trapping innocent, extinct animals in diabolical, broken worlds of your own devising, miring them in a purgatory of genre comparisions from which they may never escape? Because Ark: Survival Ascended developers Studio Wildcard and Grove Street Games are promising/threatening to “put the power of unbridled game creation directly in your hands” with the game’s next major dev kit update, which will release by the end of January.
This will greatly expand the game’s moddability, though concrete details are thin on the ground. It’ll ship with a “Mario-inspired” platformer to show you how. There’s also a dev kit update planned next week for multiplayer spin-off Ark: The Survival Of The Fittest. This will allow you to “sculpt the ultimate battlegrounds where your fellow ARK survivors will fight to see who will be the ultimate survivor”.
GameStop has announced that it has “decided to wind down” its NFT marketplace after initially launching in July 2022.
As reported by Decrypt (thanks, VGC), users will be unable to buy, sell, or create NFTs as of February 2nd, 2024, with GameStop citing the “continuing regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space” as its reasoning for the closure.
Eddy is Tekken 8’s first DLC character, Bandai Namco has announced.
The veteran Tekken character launches at some point this spring, as revealed in a new video showing off Tekken 8’s opening movie.
Eddy sports a new high-top dreads hairstyle and a new outfit for Tekken 8, although his capoeira fighting style is present and correct.
The video reveals four DLC characters are currently planned for season 1, the first of which is Eddy. Another follows in summer, another in the autumn, then the fourth in the winter.
As for the opening movie, it’s more of a character montage rather than a story set-up, with over-the-top expressions from the many characters packed into the clip.
Tekken 8, due out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC on January 26, sees the return of the famous fighting game franchise following Tekken 7’s release in 2015. Check out IGN’s Tekken 8 Final Preview to see how it’s shaping up.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Time for another week desperately shovelling quotes, release dates and trailers into the Maw, our weekly news liveblog and also, an abyssal abomination poised to guzzle the waking world and all forms of existence, unless we can satisfy its hunger for headlines. The year is starting to pick up, with a few intriguing titles slated to drop this week in addition to the widely acclaimed Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, out 18th Jan, which Katharine has called “a deep and challenging Metroid-like with some of the best platforming this side of Moon’s Ori games”.
2024 is off to an exciting start, and there are some exciting deals that have gone live now that the holiday season has long passed. From video games to PC accessories, there is no shortage of deals you don’t want to miss out on. The best deals for Sunday, January 14, include an Anker 60,000mAh Power Bank, Xbox Elite Series 2 Core Wireless Controller, Street Fighter 6 Collector’s Edition, Elgato HD60 X, Persona 5 Tactica, and more!
Anker 60,000mAh 192Wh Power Bank for $114.99
This massive Anker power bank is a solid option if you need some extra juice on your next road trip or getaway. With a 60,000mAh capacity, you can charge an iPhone 14 Pro Max up to 7.4 times or a MacBook Air 2.9 times. This power bank is made for activities like camping, as it has a built-in light at the top that you can retract up and down. Additionally, you can recharge the device with onboard solar panels, so you can continue to power your devices regardless of how long your trip is.
Save $44 Off This Xbox Elite Series 2 Core Wireless Controller
This deal from Walmart on the Xbox Elite Series 2 Core controller is one you can’t miss. Widely regarded as one of the best controllers on the market, the Elite Series 2 has so many great features you can use to your advantage. This includes modifying the tension of the thumbsticks, creating custom button profiles, and so much more. The Core version of the Elite Series 2 controller allows for a cheaper price point with less premium outer materials and textures. Additionally, you won’t get the paddles or charging dock in the box, so you’ll need to buy those separately if you’d like them.
$120 Off This Centr Adjustable Dumbbell Pair
If you’re in the market for a solid pair of reliable dumbbells, this pair of Centr Adjustable Dumbbells is perfect for you. With this adjustable pair, you can switch between 5lbs and 50lbs on each dumbbell. This saves a ton of space in your home gym, as ten pairs of potential dumbbells are now just one. If you grab this deal, you’ll also get a three month Centr membership. This will give you plenty of assistance with nutrition, training, and more from the Centr team.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition on Sale for $40
Amazon has the Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition listed for $39.97. If you got a PlayStation 5 for the holidays, you should play the first two Spider-Man games before you jump into Spider-Man 2. This is an amazing deal since you’re essentially getting both Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Spider-Man Remastered for $20 each. Both rarely go on sale for that low, so this is your best option to pick up these games.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns for $19.99
You can grab one of the best tactical RPGs of 2022 on Amazon at a discount right now. Marvel’s Midnight Suns features a unique cast of Marvel characters with plenty of fan favorites, such as Iron Man, Wolverine, and more. We gave the game an 8/10 in our review, stating the game “makes excellent use of card game mechanics to keep battles fresh, evolving, and unpredictable over the course of an epic-length campaign.”
Elgato HD60 X for $158
A capture card is an essential piece of technology for anyone looking to produce video content of some sort. Whether it be for YouTube, Twitch, or even TikTok, this Elgato HD60 X will allow you to take your content to the next level. The HD60 X has support for the latest consoles, so you’ll be good to go with recording your PS5 or Xbox Series X. Additionally, you can record in either 1080p60 or 4K30, both of which at incredibly low latency.
Save 75% Off the JLab Talk Pro USB Microphone
A great USB microphone can make a huge difference in your audio quality in voice calls, voice recordings, and so much more. The JLab Talk Pro features 192kHz/24BIT audio, which is assisted by three condensers and four directional pattern modes to pick up your voice regardless of where you’re located. The four included modes are Cardioid, Omni, Stereo, and Bidirectional. You can change the mode with the press of a button, making the JLab Talk Pro a fantastic choice if you’re looking for a new microphone.
Save $20 Off Super Mario Maker 2
Super Mario Maker 2 is one of the most creative titles available on the Nintendo Switch. Building off its predocessor, this game has so many different options to create Mario courses you could once only imagine. There’s even a Zelda powerup available, where you can transform Mario into an 8-bit Link and traverse the course with a sword.
Street Fighter 6 Collector’s Edition for $99.99
If you either haven’t picked up Street Fighter 6 yet or loved the game, Woot has the Collector’s Edition available for a significant discount. For $99.99, you’ll get two Pop Up Parade figures of Luke and Kimberly, the Mad Gear Box, an Artbook, a Sticker Set, Figure Diorama Boards, a copy of Street Fighter 6, and a code for the Year 1 Ultimate Pass. Both Xbox Series X and PlayStation 4 variants of the Collector’s Edition are available. This deal won’t last forever, so pick it up while you can!
Lowest Price Yet for Persona 5 Tactica
Amazon has Persona 5 Tactica listed for $34.99, which is an even better deal than Black Friday. This action-packed adventure takes the Phantom Thieves into a new adventure with tactical combat. If you enjoyed Persona 5 Royal or Persona 5 Strikers, P5 Tactica should be a game on your radar. Erina, a character new to the series, is a great addition to an already amazing cast of characters.
Yoshi’s Crafted World for $39.99
If you didn’t own a Nintendo Switch before 2020, you might not be aware that Yoshi got a game on the system in 2019! Yoshi’s Crafted World is a bright platformer where each stage has two different paths. Once you complete one run of the stage, the entire thing flips, and you’ll see the backside with all sorts of secrets and hidden items. There’s some suggestion that this title could be going out of print, so grab it while you can!
Apple AirPods Pro with USB Type-C for $189.99
Amazon has dropped the price of the 2nd gen Apple AirPods Pro truly wireless noise cancelling earbuds with the universal USB Type-C connector by $60, now only $189. With this current gen AirPods Pro, Apple has replaced the proprietary Lightning port with the more universal USB Type-C. For people who want to bring along a single charging cable for all of their mobile devices, this is a godsend.
19% Off the Returnal Original Soundtrack Vinyl
If you were a fan of Housemarque’s Returnal, check out this deal on the Returnal OST vinyl! A total of nine tracks are available on this single LP, with a gorgeous front cover that displays Selene Vassos. The vinyl itself is pressed on gold semi-translucent material, making this a record you should add to your collection.
If you’re a Paper Mario fan, then there’s one key thing that you probably share with all other Paper Mario fans: Disappointment. However, Paper Mario is set to make a big return in 2024 with the remaster of the GameCube classic, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
It’s time to judge some game covers as we dive into another edition of Box Art Brawl!
Last week we took it to the fairway as we matched up two covers from Mario Golf: Advance Tour. Reader, it was a washout. The North American / European cover took the competition by a country mile, snatching up 81% of the vote and leaving the Mario-less Japanese cover with the remaining 19%.
Earlier this week, Ubisoft rolled out a demo for its first release of the year Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. It’s got us wondering what everyone thinks and how you rate the experience out of 10. So vote in our poll and leave a comment below:
Players were enamored by the BioShock series from the moment they escaped a crashed aircraft, entered a mysterious lighthouse, and embarked on their undersea voyage to the crumbling city of Rapture. Often referenced and paid tribute to, many consider Irrational Games’ immersive action-horror classic a masterpiece, and in the years following its debut, it blossomed into a long-running franchise.
But in classic BioShock fashion, its sequels were the furthest thing from traditional. As expected for a series that hinges on otherworldly scientific discoveries and reality-tearing experiments, BioShock’s story frequently switches between alternate universes, leaving its games out of chronological order.
So, for those looking for a linear way to play through BioShock’s full narrative, here’s a quick runthrough of the BioShock series in chronological order.
In total, there are four BioShock Games (three released on home console and PC and one released exclusively on PC via web browser) and three expansions.
This list won’t include remasters or ports, including the BioShock Collection, which bundled remasters of the full trilogy and its expansions. It also won’t contain challenge map packs, such as Clash in the Clouds or BioShock’s Challenge Rooms DLC, as these are purely gameplay-focused and thus considered non-canon.
Every BioShock Game in Chronological Order
These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.
1. BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution
Launching as a pre-order bonus for BioShock Infinite, BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution was a browser-based flash game that acted as a prequel to Infinite’s story. Casting players as a worker completing cog-based puzzles, Industrial Revolution allowed pre-ordering customers to unlock special items and upgrades that transferred to BioShock Infinite.
As players completed challenges, they learned more about the conflicts running through Infinite’s world, including the battle between the Vox Populi and the Founders. They could even choose which of the two groups to support, unlocking different rewards as a result.
Note: The game was shut down a decade ago and is no longer available to play online.
2. BioShock Infinite
The third mainline BioShock game, BioShock Infinite follows a Pinkerton detective named Booker Dewitt. Drowning in debt, Dewitt is tasked with a simple mission to wipe away what he owes: venture to the city of Columbia and locate a mysterious girl named Elizabeth.
However, when Dewitt arrives in Columbia, things are far from simple. Columbia is a city floating above the clouds and its citizens have branded Booker a “False Shepherd”, rallying together to execute him. Things get even stranger when Booker finally locates and rescues Elizabeth, who reveals she can open tears in reality, allowing her to reach into other universes.
Teaming with Elizabeth to escape Columbia, players are taken on an adventure through the flying metropolis, facing off against the locals, their towering mechanical security bots, and Elizabeth’s relentless bodyguard, Songbird. Along the way, they can open rifts to other dimensions using Elizabeth’s unique powers, utilizing her gifts to scrounge up resources or venture into new realities altogether.
Set in the same universe as BioShock and BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Part 1 is the first of two expansions for BioShock Infinite. The DLC follows an alternate-universe Booker Dewitt who acts as a private detective in the city of Rapture. Set before Rapture’s downfall, the game begins with Dewitt meeting Elizabeth, who tasks him with assisting her in rescuing a missing girl named Sally.
Burial at Sea’s first part allows players to explore a fully operational Rapture set before the events of the first game. Alongside getting to see the city as it once was, the DLC includes several returning faces from previous Rapture adventures, including Sander Cohen and Yi Suchong.
Taking place directly after the events of Burial at Sea – Part 1, Burial at Sea – Part 2 switches control from Booker to Elizabeth. Waking up after the dramatic conclusion of the previous expansion, Elizabeth meets Atlas, who strikes a deal with her: He’ll let her and Sally live if she can help him escape Fontaine’s Department Store and return to Rapture.
Taking on a new stealth-focused playstyle to fit Elizabeth’s skill set, players explore Fontaine’s Department Store, attempting to figure out how to return to Rapture and save Sally. Burial at Sea – Part 2 was Irrational Games’ and BioShock creator Ken Levine’s final take on the BioShock universe. It attempts to wrap up some of the franchise’s biggest mysteries while directly setting up the events of the original game.
The franchise’s debut entry, BioShock follows Jack, the sole survivor of a devastating plane crash. Escaping the wreckage of the accident, he finds refuge in a mysterious lighthouse, where he discovers a submarine that transports him to the underwater city of Rapture. Although the city looks like a technological marvel from afar, Jack quickly realizes it’s hardly the oceanic utopia it appears to be.
Envisioned as a neon-lit metropolis where society’s greatest minds are allowed ethical and creative freedom with no governmental intervention, Rapture is a fallen wasteland by the time Jack arrives. The blood-drenched streets are patrolled by monstrous citizens slaughtering each other in search of a genetic-splicing drug known as Adam, while the city’s shadowy founder, Andrew Ryan, controls the ruins with an iron fist.
Teaming with a fellow survivor named Atlas, players are tasked with venturing through the city, attempting to escape Rapture and return to the surface. Along the way, they gain access to plasmids, powerful injections that unlock elemental powers. In the years following its release, BioShock has become a classic, with many regarding it as one of the best games of all time.
A sequel to BioShock, BioShock 2 was developed by 2K Marin rather than Irrational. Strapping players into the hulking suit of a Big Daddy, BioShock 2 has players return to the submerged dystopia of Rapture eight years after the events of BioShock.
Taking control of a Big Daddy codenamed Subject Delta, the story follows the towering protagonist searching through the ruins of Rapture for a Little Sister he used to protect. Along the way, he’s pursued by Sofia Lamb, a scientist who’s filled the power vacuum left by the deaths of Frank Fontaine and Andrew Ryan.
BioShock 2 was largely a continuation of the gameplay and themes of the first game, albeit with a hefty arsenal of brutal Big Daddy weaponry and a new mechanic where players defend Little Sisters while they scavenge Adam.
An expansion for BioShock 2 that occurs alongside the events of the main campaign, Minerva’s Den follows a second Big Daddy codenamed Subject Sigma. Tasked with tracking down and accessing The Thinker – Rapture’s computer mainframe – Sigma works alongside the creator of the system, Charles Milton Porter, to retrieve it.
Minerva’s Den offered a short campaign that fills in some crucial Rapture lore and offers new gear, including the Ion Laser and Gravity Well Plasmid. Minerva’s Den currently marks the end of the BioShock timeline.
Plans are already well underway for a major BioShock return. After years of leaks and rumors, 2K officially announced the series was getting another entry back in 2019, which we are tentatively labeling Bioshock 4. Following the closure of Irrational Games, developer Cloud Chamber will be the brains behind the next BioShock, although there’s little indication of how far along the reboot currently is.
Although we know it’s in the works, we’ve still yet to see the sequel in action or hear more about the Cloud Chamber’s direction for the series. That’s not to say we have no information on the sequel though. For one, we know Ghost of Tsushima writer Liz Albl has taken up the role of narrative lead. The game will seemingly also follow BioShock Infinite’s lead by opting for a fresh setting, with job listings referencing the team building a “new and fantastical world.”
A sequel isn’t the only long-awaited BioShock product currently in production. Back in 2022, Netflix revealed it had greenlit a movie adaptation of the original BioShock. Netflix later confirmed the film will be directed by I Am Legend and Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes director Francis Lawrence, while the script is being handled by Michael Green, one of the writers behind Blade Runner 2049 and Logan.
BioShock creator Ken Levine’s next project, Judas, is also deep in development. From the early glimpse we saw at The Game Awards in 2022, it seems akin to BioShock, from the dual-wielding combat to the high-concept sci-fi setting. If all goes to plan, it seems BioShock fans will be feasting on a banquet of twisted sci-fi goodness over the next few years.
Callum Williams is a freelance media writer with years of experience as a game critic, news reporter, guides writer and features writer.
