Candyland got its hands on the PC version of BioShock: The Collection remaster. There's some good comparisons on here between the first BioShock (2007) and this spruced-up edition, nine years later.
The remaster added undersea plantlife to the outer decks on Rapture's high rises. Starfish cling to windows. More schools of fish cast about, and they get some glowing jellyfish in there.
The lighting from the fire of the plane crash is more vibrant and menacing. But it's also interesting to note where they scaled things back a little. Like on the lighthouse's walkway, the stone surface doesn't look as rain-slick as it used to. The lighting seems to have taken it down a notch where it makes sense, though upping the contrasts in other areas: there are generally darker darks and brighter brights, which highlights some things it didn't before and obscures some things it didn't before. Shadows are crisper. And if you know anything about BioShock, then you know that plenty of its aesthetic plays out on creepy shadows on the wall.
And it might just be my imagination, but the lighting in the remaster seems to have softened the "No Gods or Kings. Only Man" statue of Andrew Ryan. He looks a little more tired, a little less menacing. And somebody turned on the internal fans in Rapture. Leaves and grasses shuffle around inside, every banner is (maybe a little too) billowy.
But hey. The moral of the story is, BioShock looked super good when it came out nine years ago. I can't believe that's even a real sentence. That it came out nine years ago. And, to be honest, it seems to hold up pretty well. But the remaster appears to make a few nice updates. Nothing mindblowing though.
BioShock: The Collection, which packages together BioShock, BioShock II and BioShock Infinite, launched last week on September 13 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
