BioShock™ 2 Remastered

A major step up from the original in almost every way. The gameplay is faster, enemies are more interesting, Plasmids and Gene Tonics feel more varied, weapons are stronger and get much better upgrades and the game just looks better, not to mention the fact that you can now wield a Plasmid and gun at the same time. Story isn't as strong as 1, but has some great characters

Remastered is rather prone to crashes, however, particularly around the end. But I'd still recommend this game, especially if it's on sale for a good price

Have loved this game since I was a kid, 1 and 2 are my top games of all time, so glad they remastered it <3
10/10 Would recommend

The game crashes randomly time to time and there is no real solution to fix this. Either ruining the immersion to save every 5 minutes or get used to lose hours of gameplay..

The game has an insane dystopian aesthetic, gameplay is much faster than in the first one, a mind-blowing yet wholesome story about being protective towards posessed girls

And the replayability is just as fun

A classic sequel. Took everything that worked with the first and developed it. Bravo.

The lore development and how it ties to gameplay is fantastic. Scarcity seemed fine tuned. I like the secondary and tertiary functions for all the weapons. Individual villains are better developed and the moral choices are a smidge more interesting here.

The bar for Infinite is high.

BioShock is an amazing game, but it does not matter how good a game is when it is constantly crashing and with no known fix for it. Might as well not get it or forget about it.

I like this game a lot! My favorite bit is when it crashes, but I also like when it crashes. I thought it was really cool when it crashed... but then it got even cooler by crashing! If I had to give this game a rating, I think I would give it crash/10! (pro tip: ALWAYS save before putting a little sister down to harvest ADAM)

All of the things I've talked about in my original BioShock 1 review still hold true in BioShock 2: the themes are poignant, the voice acting is still top-notch, and this version is still a cash grab (when it was initially released).

However, 2 does something incredible: it's a good sequel to a game that should have never received a direct sequel.

For starters, and perhaps the most important part, it nails the "vibe". Sofia Lamb is the pseudo-Communist counterpart to Andrew Ryan, but frankly, never quite reaches Ryan's heights as an antagonist. She's fine, but the performance is a little one-note. In the original, you could hear Andrew Ryan get angry, start to break, keep it cool, and most of all, stay condescending no matter the emotion. In this, Sofia Lamb keeps stays sophisticated and unmoved in every interaction. She's just a bit dull in comparison.

But where she lacks, the rest is just as good as the original, and in some ways better.

The motivation of the player, Subject Delta, is just better all around. You awake to a 1968 Rapture that has been re-opened by the same types of thinkers that populated it originally in the 1940s, and we're having the same problems. Your "daughter" has been taken, and you want her back; simple premise and one immediately more relatable than an assassination attempt at a baseline.

The actual story is pretty simple: The Thinkers Thought Too Much about Humanity and what They believe is best, which in turn lead to more civil wars and butchered (or, drugged and altered) citizens. Only this time we're not dealing with a libertarian capitalist whose sole driving force was to create a place free of government interference, and instead dealing with a slightly more classic villain wanting to unite all people and do what is best for the "good of humanity" no matter the cost. You could draw parallels to communism, but as far as we know her ideals have nothing to do with the economy and almost entirely to do with her collectivist beliefs. Antithetical to Ryan, but remember: she chose to come to Rapture.

Where Sofia Lamb is just fine, the other characters really sell the story. Sinclair is a great, sketchy conman-turned-ally and tragic friend; Eleanor begets a fantastic final act; the new minor villains (Grace, Stanley, Gilbert, etc.) steal the show and offer great questions of morality; and you yourself are an actual, original Big Daddy complete with the best melee weapon of all time: a drill.

While the plot is just fine and the story nails the feeling of what one would come to expect of a BioShock game, what it does to separate itself from the original is what truly lifts the game to its rightful place in the dormant franchise: the excellent gameplay.

Right off the bat, we're now a dual-wielding psychopath ready to shock and drill our way through the never before seen, fantastic sections of Rapture. The gameplay--while a little clunky on mouse and keyboard due to having no radial wheel--really sings when you're able to blast a rank 3 Incinerate while unloading an entire clip of rocket-propelled spears into a dozen splicers.

While the combat cadence can be a bit too frenetic and frequent at times--enemy placements and an excess of ammo and looting can infrequently kill the pace--it's never dull. Having to now escort a Little Sister as the proclaimed Daddy to "angels" and guard them as they gather ADAM was a true highlight, and preparing areas with an insane amount of traps and revving my drill to dash at any stragglers always felt incredible.

Other gameplay tweaks are much welcomes, too. Hacking is now in-universe instead of a separate screen and is quick and easy; security Bots can be randomly named, upgraded, and repaired while offering supporting fire; the range of plasmids are familiar but now have upgrades that enhance more than just the damage, while the newcomers are unique if niche; the weapons are miles better than the original game both in terms of gunplay and creative ammo choices; and so on. The original holds up extremely well gameplay wise, and this game even moreso.

Other tweaks and additions that I enjoy are the new enemies, both visual upgrades to regular splicers (who are most hideous than ever) and the new Big Daddies/Sisters. The new Big Daddies--especially the Alpha series in their aggression and speed--offer more fun encounters, and the Big Sisters are not only intense fights with excellent sound designs, but the implications in the lore are a bit chilling. They also look amazing and would make for an excellent desk figure--if we can play as one in a future BioShock 3 (maybe Eleanor herself?) I would be in heaven, but I'm not holding my breath.

I sure did a lot of glazing for giving this game an 8 (on Backloggd; 8.5 in my heart), but it's not all top tier. Enemy AI is still a bit basic yet highly accurate, with no way to avoid damage other than a drill upgrade much later and blasting through health packs. The controls are a tad dated, with the baffling decision to not include a pause menu to choose your weapons which the original had. And as I mentioned before, the plot itself is just fine; it fits well into the series, but there are no Frank Fontaine moments and "would you kindly" moments, save for maybe two: RIP Sinclair and Mark Meltzer.

There are also some minor but noticeable tweaks: instead of being a diegetic explanation of Plasmids ("light your cigarette! Charge a cable!") the little videos outright tell you to "damage enemies" and other game-y phrases. Minigun standard ammo is wayyyyy too plentiful and, in fact, ammo in general was a bit too easy to come by, even on the hardest difficulty.

But other than some of those issues, which are all comparatively minor, BioShock 2 is still an excellent game with a lowkey fun multiplayer mode that earns its title.

another great game from a great series its a shame that you can have so many problems trying to run older games on newer hardware but after everything i was able to get 1 and 2 running smoothly (if anyone needs help with that lemmi know) despite these issues i still highly rrecomend the whole bioshock series i have heard of some people playing through without any issues

Both Bioshock 2 and Bioshock 2 Remastered crash at some point during gameplay. It may take a few sessions but eventually they both start crashing, either during initial startup or when loading a save.

Not sure if the game is just too old for current systems and/or they stopped receiving proper support, but I'm tired of trying to make it work.

If you are considering getting the game because of nostalgia or it's on some really good sale, don't. You're likely throwing away your money on a game that quickly stops working.

Had 6 hours straight with 0 issues but then it started to crash constantly. Sad because the game was really fun until that point

don't buy this it's abandoned and not playable

this is a amazing game and the story is really cool and very well writen but the only bad thing i can say about this game is the crashing thats seems to happen at random apart from that i would highly recommended playing this game

Bioshock 2 had always been my favourite game of the series since I was a kid. It's still my favourite. Always one of the games I replay many many many times. I do often get bugs but easy to ignore it.

The game itself is great! I loved the story, the combat, and the gameplay. But my god, it crashes a lot! Out of the 10 hours I played, 2-3 of them were just me crashing and starting over. If you're willing to risk crashing frequently, I would still recommend BioShock 2! It's amazing, but poorly optimized.

6/10.

Pretty much nothing noticeable changes between this game and the first game. It's just an alright shooter. I had a couple nitpicks about it like have to do 6 little sister gathering defenses but that's about it.

ttv@kabuki_stripez

Great game that is unfortunately ruined by the horrible technical state of this port. The frequency of crashes was manageable up until I got to Dionysus Park, at which point the game consistently crashed during one of the gathers and effectively ended my playthrough (was done trying to troubleshoot at that point). I've tweaked various setting in the ini as recommended by the community, but they haven't made a difference in my experience. YMMV of course, but I'd steer clear of this if you have the game on another platform.

At first I thought there was no way this is the remastered version, but I wasn't going to try out the original. controls are different than the first game, but regardless the story and game play was excellent, I cant wait to start on Infinite!

Not as great as the first game but still pretty good. Has some better guns and really fun combat options, properly feeling like you're a Big Daddy, and the new enemies are very cool, but the writing is much weaker and atmosphere wasn't as strong, although the art direction remained great throughout. Would recommend playing on hard for a first playthrough

Love the game and story, but often crashed, no error report, lost so many progress.

Released in 2016 but it seems the issues never resolved.

City and the setting are the same in this game as it is in predecessor.
While gameplay mechanics are mostly the same, this game offers its own unique features, mainly because you play as a big daddy this time, which I think a pretty good idea for diversifying gameplay.
Story is pretty much the same, main antagonist is an egotistical dictator, who values own interests higher than anything else, even own daughter, nothing new about it. Actually first part had better and deeper story, because it had two antagonists.

Excellent gameplay, pretty good story, overall, 9/10, the one point missing is due to the story being perfect, as the first game got the perfect story... with almost perfect gameplay, so, this game has better gameplay, but the first has better story, but you dont need to play the first one to understand this one, and this one wont spoil the first, which I love.

Great game, but crashes too much

Maybe it's just me playing the first Bioshock for so long and/or I finally got around to playing the sequel, but I thought this game was way more difficult then the first (hard mode on both). That doesn't bring anything down at all, this game was incredible first time playing! Compelling as ever story that can leave you emotional. It's just enough to be different and unique on its own and that's a huge compliment. The first game holds very dear to me, but I can't compare one or the other. They're both Fantastic in their own right. Can't recommend it enough.

This game has been out over 14 years and it crashes every 20 minutes
I literally cant believe that a remastered version of such a popular series plays this buggy. Steams responds to refunds are ... uh you played it for 2 hours so your screwed. What the hell is that response?

Runs incredibly poorly, lots of crashes - try to play this on console instead :))

I only experienced two crashes during my playthrough. IMO, this game is a step up from the first Bioshock, especially Minerva's Den.

keep crashing everytime the game has many effects/explosion. need to manually save every 10 min because you never know when the game gonna crash. bad checkpoint design. gap between checkpoint too long. developer never fix this issue that has been in the game for years. fellow developer can go die

Definitely the weaker title in arguably one of the best trilogies in gaming but its still is very good.

great story and graphics the game is amaising

While the game itself is great; fun challenge, interesting characters... unlike the remastered first game I don't really see any difference between this and the original B2. Also unlike the remastered first game, it's frequently crashing! Part of that may be my computer, but I've ran larger/more complicated games that didn't have a problem like this. I purchased all the Bioshock games at once but if I had to do it over I'd just get the originals.

[D+] The game was for sure not finished before release. Lots of bugs and bad placements for "remastered". Least favorite of the 3. Worth trying or not #shortbus2subway #nonutrients

Propably same with the first game in gameplay side. But the history a litle more difference. I very liked first games story, mechanics, atmosphere etc. so this similarity didn''t bother me. I'm still enjoying while playing.

Good game must try. art style, gameplay, story is good. there is some crashing what worked for me was to close steam overlay. completed on 22/12/2024

Bioshock 2 is a wonderfully beautiful, yet haunting game, taking you further into the depths of the underwater city of Rapture. The game improves the combat system of its pedecessor and adds a handful of new additions to keep the gameplay feeling fresh. Though Bioshock 2 does not stray far from the same overarching path that Bioshock 1 had laid out, it is still an immersive, unique game that you won't want to put down. Bioshock 2 has easily won a place in my heart, and it is my favorite in the series. From fighting off Big Daddies and Big Sisters, gathering Adam, dicovering the world, and unraveling the new mysteries laid before you, Bioshock 2 delivers a gameplay experience that you'll be more than glad to have played.

The Remasters always hits a little harder. It's definitely worth picking up, if you want to relive the dystopic under the sea city of Rapture through the eyes of a Big Daddy.

Purely from minute to minute gameplay better then the original.But overall not as good.

The gameplay is a bit dated but the voice acting is top-notch and the city of Rapture is still a glory to behold. I wish it let you remap the controls more to make it a bit more modern though. And most of the plasmids are just directly taken from the first game. And it is half the length of the first game. BioShock 2 is by far the weakest link in the BioShock series, but it is still worth a replay anyway.

The remastered version goes through periods of crashing every 5 minutes. Quick saving is the only way to get through these parts of the game.

Game crashes every half hour 4/10

Bioshock 2 Review

Bioshock 2 is a shining example of how a sequel can refine and improve upon its predecessor while still honoring the original game’s legacy. As a huge fan of the Bioshock series, I found Bioshock 2 to be not only a great follow-up but, in many ways, superior to the first game—an opinion that might be controversial, but is well-earned.

Gunplay and Combat System

One of the most significant improvements in Bioshock 2 is the gunplay. The weapons feel more impactful, balanced, and satisfying to use. Whether you're wielding the powerful Rivet Gun or the drill, each weapon feels unique and caters to a variety of playstyles. The combat flows seamlessly, especially with the ability to dual-wield weapons and plasmids, which is a game-changer compared to the first game. The ability to incinerate foes with a plasmid in one hand while unloading with a shotgun in the other makes the gameplay feel awesome and more dynamic than before.

The combat system is further enhanced by the versatility of the plasmids. While most plasmids return from the first game, Bioshock 2 expands their functionality. Upgrading plasmids unlocks more creative uses—like setting traps with Electro Bolt or even with Insect Swarm—encourages experimentation and strategy that I never got bored of in all my years of playing it. The synergy between weapons and plasmids feels natural, making every encounter super fun and fast paced.

Visuals and Atmosphere

Graphically, Bioshock 2 is a step up from the original. The environments are more detailed and vibrant, showcasing a wider color palette that brings Rapture to life in ways the first game didn’t. The world feels more alive and lived in, from the intricate architecture to the glow of neon signs reflecting off the ocean depths. It’s a stunning setting that draws me in every time I boot it up, immersing you in the decay and beauty of Rapture’s world.

As with the first game, the world-building remains perfect. Exploring Rapture reveals layers of its tragic history and culture, with audio diaries providing chilling insights into its eventual downfall. Every corner of the city feels purposeful and hand crafted, from the remnants of luxury turned to ruin to the chilling remnants of inhabitants who once lived there.

Story and Emotional Impact

While the narrative of Bioshock 2 may not reach the philosophical heights or shocking twists of the original, it carves out its own unique identity in my opinion. Playing as a Big Daddy—a protector of the Little Sisters—offers a cool perspective on Rapture. The story delves into themes of parental love, sacrifice, and morality, all while exploring the consequences of ideological extremism.

The emotional weight of the game builds to a great finale, with two possible endings based on your choices throughout the game. Both endings pack a punch, but the game shines in how it uses your bond with Eleanor, the Little Sister you’re connected to, to evoke strong feelings of attachment and responsibility. The story may not be as revolutionary as Bioshock 1, but it is incredibly well-executed, with memorable moments that linger long after the credits roll.

Perfect Pacing and Exploration

One of the game’s strengths is its pacing. Each area of Rapture is thoughtfully designed, with just the right amount of time spent in each zone. The exploration is rewarding, offering hidden audio logs, loot, and plasmid upgrades that make every corner worth investigating. The new enemy types, like the fearsome Big Sisters, keep encounters fresh and challenging.

Music and Sound Design

The sound design is another highlight. The mix of original score and licensed music from the 1950's and 1960's adds authenticity and atmosphere to the world. The haunting melodies echoing through the halls of Rapture create an unsettling yet nostalgic vibe, perfectly complementing the game's tone.

Replayability and Achievements

The game strikes an ideal balance between being accessible and challenging, making it one of the few games that is genuinely fun to 100%. Achieving 100% completion was a rewarding experience, and it’s clear that the developers put thought into making every achievement feel attainable and meaningful. Having played through the game four times across different consoles, I can confidently say it holds up on every replay, offering new details and strategies to uncover.

Minerva’s Den and Additional Content

The DLC Minerva’s Den deserves special mention too. This brilliant expansion adds a few hours of gameplay with a concise story. Playing as a different Big Daddy model, you’re given new items and plasmids that expand your arsenal. The pacing and storytelling in Minerva’s Den are just as strong as the base game, and the narrative stands out as one of the best side stories in the Bioshock franchise.

Another surprise hit is the Protector Trials mode, which emphasizes the game’s excellent combat mechanics. Trying to achieve the best possible scores in these wave-defense challenges is addictive and highlights just how good and fun the core gameplay truly is.

Final Thoughts

As a massive fan of the Bioshock series, I firmly believe Bioshock 2 is a better game than the first in terms of gameplay, visuals, and pacing. While Bioshock will always be a masterpiece for its groundbreaking story and world-building, Bioshock 2 takes those foundations and builds on them in meaningful ways.

With incredible combat, beautiful visuals, a compelling story, and fun additional content like Minerva’s Den, Bioshock 2 stands as one of the best games I’ve ever played. I cannot recommend it enough, I revisit this game time and time again, and it never fails to impress.

I might have loved this game if I could have played it. After a lot of trial and error-mostly error-I eventually gave up trying to find a setting that allowed me to move my character in a straight line. The mechanics of playing ruined this one for me. I'm a fan of the other Bioshock games, and am not sure why this specific game is virtually unplayable.

Great game that holds up well in 2024. It improves on the combat of the 1st game by giving you access to both weapons and plasmids at the same time. You have a lot of flexibility to upgrade your gear, plasmids, and perks. The story is interesting too. My only warning is that this game crashes a lot. You should save every few minutes if you don't want to lose progress.

this game is half an improvement to bioshock 1 and the other half is a downgrade

this game's opening... wow i would tie this opening to god of war ragnarok, it is that great, though it's a bit short lived because the opening is like 2 minutes or something, but that doesn't mean the quality is over, this time you ARE the big daddy which is sick, you also get the cool drill, which will get a real cool move some time later, you can now use both weapons AND plasmids at the same time, and plasmids now have better upgrades, you get a good buddy (who is better than atlas) and get to fight cool side-villains (not better than bioshock 1 but still cool) and the tonic that disables your weapons but keeps the drill... ooh it's just perfect

but like is said, the other half is bad and underwhelming, and is will list my complaints since it are just a lot

1: the ending is just way too long, you think you did it but then you need to fight bullet sponges for another 2 hours, and the ending is just horrible, you don't get rewarderd for what you do, and the ending cutscene no matter which one you get is just horrible

2: the villain is just... WHAT what is this downgrade i hate this woman she is just a stupid karen who accuses you of how your daughter turned out because of her, i HATE her, she is just the worst villain EVER

3: the first few missions are way too hard because there is just so much getting thrown at you and you only get a limited supply of heals and ammo

4: the STUPID FUCKING SAVING SYSTEM, THE GAME ONLY AUTO SAVES WHEN YOU ENTER A LEVEL, AND SINCE THIS REMASTER IS JUST A PC PORT WITH HD CRASHING IS NOT RARE, SO YOU HAVE TO DO ALL YOUR PROGRESS OF 1 HOUR OVER AGAIN

with how i'm talking about the game you except me to give it a low scorem, but i won't, i actually liked the game in the beginning so much i don't care about the actual garbage that is called ''second half''

7.4/10

Loved the first game and had no issues with it whatsoever i even had fun while 100% it but this game oh man, I'm so annoyed with this one. I have to make a save file every 5-10 minutes cause of how randomly it just keeps crashing again and again.

What's worse is It's not just me who's facing this problem, I looked up a lot on how to fix the crashes but nothing worked and had to give up after wasting hours on it. Now i just make a save every time i make a little progress, It's certainly not a bad game at all but the game not running properly for less than an hour without crashing ruined the experience for me.

Great game that gave us all what we wanted after playing the first game, the ability to play as a Big Daddy. I did experience some crashing like others have stated. For me the crashing would tend to happen if I used the machine gun very heavily. Sometimes if I used the shotgun heavily, such as after upgrading it. It didn't seem to crash when using other weapons. Its a shame the crashing never got fixed.

The game itself is still good, but make sure you installed the mod that fixes the crashes before playing (I personally had them very often before installing the mod).

This game was overhated. Very beautiful game with fun gameplay. Definitely worth a playthrough.

While alternatively lacking in comparison to the original, BioShock 2 delivers on the core conceit I care about: more Rapture. The game-play--although aged in 2024--holds up as fun, and playing as a Big Daddy is a fun hook to get you involved. The plot is weaker than the first, but if you can glaze your eyes over for that bit, it's an enjoyable FPS in a truly unique setting that I personally can't get enough of.

This is literally my favorite game.
I'm perfectly accepting that this is in fact the worst of the franchise, but it has a special place with me.
I'm a huge fan of the franchise as a whole, but Bioshock 2 always held the top spot for me.
I like the idea that Bioshock 1 was Lightning in a bottle.
Infinite has the best mechanics and visuals.
Bioshock 2 is the middle child of the franchise.
This game ran, so that Infinite could fly.

Same as with both first bioshock games remastered and not remastered ones . Idk why it took me so long to write a review for both bioshock 2 games remastered and not remastered one . So yeah as said before i like bioshock 2 remastered better than bioshock 2 not remastered one , because this doesn't need multiplayer achievements of a dead gamemode in a dead game so easier to perfect game which is the reason i have this as 100 % and bioshock 2 not simply multiplayer achievements while hard it is possible to get bioshock 2 multiplayer achievements . And they removed launcher on 25 th november finally so that's not an issue for bioshock 2 remastered anymore , but it took them so long way longer than it needed to which shows they removed it only after the massive backlash no other reason . And i have played through bioshock 2 multiple times like idk 6 - 8 times even the hardest difficulty obviously and yeah bioshock 2 is underrated and very good maybe not as good as the first , but still good . And bioshock 2 in my opinion is more sadder especially the ending and game in general than first bioshock and i love it . And the ending is so sad i almoast cry every time . And it's a perfect bittersweet ending in my opinion i'm talking about the good ending not the evil / bad ending that is sad too , but in a different less way than good / wholesome ending . And for some reason bioshock 1 has 4 difficulties , but is easier on hardest difficulty than bioshock 2 on it's 3 difficulty system which is a bit weird . And i think bioshock 2 is a pretty good sequel to first game it shows you what happened after downfall of ryan's regime and ideology and the start of new ideology and new dictator tyrant leader in rapture . And it also introduces fun new mechanics and fun new weapons and fun minigame protector trials similar to bioshock 1 minigames . Oh and as said before Minerva's den is so underrated and good dlc ( but more on that on minerva's den seperate review ) . Oh and unlike bioshock and bioshock remastered for second game bioshock 2 and bioshock 2 remastered there's less differences than first bioshock . Bioshock and bioshock 2 for some reason has like 30 + min long end credits after the game ended . But yeah one of the best sequel to game i've ever played bioshock 2 is no less of a game than bioshock 1 and is good game , but i still like bioshock 1 better oh and only thing i don't like in movies and videogames when there's no final boss fight as in bioshock 1 for some reason bioshock 2 had no direct final boss fight as first bioshock . That about it for now 9 / 10 , because i like that bioshock 2 remastered doesn't require multiplayer achievements to perfect game 100 % it unlike bioshock 2 .