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The 10 Best Games Like BioShock

Published

10 months ago

June 29, 2023

What are the best games like Bioshock?

Bioshock is a series that every gamer has at least heard of, and it’s become pretty iconic since the first game was released in 2007.

However, once you’ve finished the trilogy, it can be hard to find something that can live up to Bioshock’s grand scale.

While nothing can ever replace this series, we’ve found some great games that can definitely deliver a similar gameplay experience!

The 10 Best Games Like BioShock

Finding games that can compete with Bioshock wasn’t easy, but we really think you’ll love these recommendations.

Each game has been chosen based on gameplay, popularity, and ratings from critics and players.

Knowing that, let’s not waste any more time! Here’s our list of the 10 best games like BioShock:

10. Dead Space Remake

Kicking off our list, we have the Dead Space Remake, which was released in 2023 as a complete remaster of the original game.

Everything in this sci-fi horror classic has been remade, including the graphics, gameplay, and audio, to make it more intense than ever.

In this game, players take control of engineer Isacc Clarke after he boards a mining ship for repairs, only to find that something has gone horribly wrong.

Left on his own with only his mining equipment and engineering skills, Isaac has to try and unravel what’s happened while being hunted by hostile creatures.

Dead Space is one of the best horror games of all time, and this remake manages to expand upon everything that made the original great.

With the new graphics and atmospheric effects, the USG Ishimura and necromorphs are more terrifying than ever.

We dare you to try and play this game with all the lights off. We know we’re way too chicken to do it!

9. Singularity

Singularity is a first-person shooter that follows Captain Nathaniel Renko after an electromagnetic surge disables his helicopter.

After crashing, Renko discovers that he is beginning to phase in between the present and 1955, the time when a disastrous accident took place where he landed.

This sends players on an epic adventure to unravel a conspiracy that blurs the lines between the past and the present.

As Renko, players can travel between the two eras and use the mysterious Time Manipulation Device to change the world around them.

The story in this game is constantly fluctuating, and you never know what to expect, especially given the multiple endings.

It’s a bit like Bioshock meets Call of Duty, which is a mashup that works incredibly well, especially given its unique mechanics.

Despite being released over ten years ago, Singularity remains one of the most engaging games that Bioshock fans will love.

8. We Happy Few

Although it’s no longer available on Game Pass, We Happy Few is an incredible game that really channels Bioshock’s dystopian theme.

Set in a retro-futuristic version of England in the 1960s, We Happy Few is all about a world where people take drugs to live a denial-filled life of happiness.

However, not everyone is keen on the status quo, most notably the player characters, who will have to do their best to fight or blend in with everyone else.

As players explore the world, they will find more dark secrets about this deceptively happy city as the three narratives wind together.

Throughout this game, players will take on the role of three different characters, each with their own unique storyline.

The world is also procedurally generated, so no two play-throughs will ever be exactly the same, giving fans a lot of replayability.

Similar to the best games like Fable, We Happy Few is filled with dark humor that will both make you laugh and question your life decisions.

7. S.T.A.L.K.E.R (Series)

S.T.A.L.K.E.R is an FPS game with survival horror elements that is set in an alternate version of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine.

In addition to the first disaster here, a second took place in 2006 that caused the physical, biological, and chemical processes in the area to be altered.

This has resulted in numerous anomalies and mutants that players must now contend with if they want to explore the zone.

Taking on the role of Stalker, the name given to anyone who comes to explore the zone, players will have to venture into the zone to accomplish various tasks.

There are currently three games in this series, and a fourth is slated to be released sometime in 2023, but each gives players control of a new protagonist.

However, as one of the best games like Escape From Tarkov, survival is one of the biggest mechanics in this game, and staying alive is easier said than done.

Each game poses a unique challenge to players, and they all have choices players can make that alter their endings.

For example, the first game, Shadow of Chernobyl, has seven endings which depend on how much money you earned, which factions you supported, and how much of your memory was restored.

There is a lot to love in this series for Bioshock fans, especially if you’re looking for another series to keep you occupied for a while!

6. Fallout: New Vegas

One of the best Fallout games, New Vegas is set in the post-apocalyptic world surrounding the Las Vegas Strip.

In this game, players take on the role of a courier who survives being shot in the head and then finds themselves in a war brewing between three powerful factions.

As with other games in the Fallout series, New Vegas has a retro flair, only instead of taking place in an underwater city, players are stuck in the harsh Mojave.

Fallout: New Vegas gives players a ton of freedom to do whatever they want, including choosing no side in the war and fighting for themselves.

Of course, no faction in this game is perfect, though Caeser’s Legion is objectively much more morally questionable than others.

There is a ton of stuff to do in this game and even more places to explore where numerous secret stories hide.

How the Mojave fares are completely up to you, and you can choose to be as kind or as deplorable as you like!

5. System Shock 2

Now, System Shock 2 was released in 1999, but it still manages to be an amazing game that holds its own against even the most modern titles.

When the game kicks off, players awaken from cryo to find that they’ve been enhanced with cybernetic implants.

Once you’re up and at ’em, you’ll discover that grotesquely infected individuals roam the halls of the starship Von Braun and that everyone has been slaughtered.

Players can choose between three specialized military branches that come with unique skills, weapons, and psionic powers.

All of your powerful abilities can be upgraded as you progress through the game, allowing you to deal with the infected much more easily.

Oh, and while you’re trying to stay alive, a rougeAU named SHODAN will be taunting you the entire time, mocking your pathetic attempts at solving the mystery.

Even after 20 years, this game is still amazing, and it utilizes a lot of mechanics that have gone on to be used in the Bioshock franchise!

4. Deus Ex

One of the best games like Detroit: Become Human, Deus Ex was released in 2000 and has remained a must-play ever since.

This game is set in 2052 in a world that has devolved into a hostile and chaotic place riddled with drugs, disease, and pollution.

What these don’t kill, the terrorists that operate openly do, and the enormous gap between the wealthy and poor only makes things worse.

With all of this going on, a conspiracy has emerged from the shadows, hell-bent on taking control of the world.

It is up to players to find order in all of this chaos, and there are multiple solutions to all of the problems in the game.

As you choose to either fight, talk, or use skills to get through problems, the game will adapt itself to your particular choices.

What makes this game equally fascinating is that its story is entirely built on real-world conspiracy theories, so if it’s in the game, someone, somewhere, has believed it!

Deus Ex is one of those games that, no matter how many times you play it, there is always something new to uncover, making it perfect for Bioshock fans.

3. Dishonored 2

Dishonored 2 gives players control of either Corvo Attano, the assassin of the first game, or his daughter, one of the best female video game characters, Emily Kaldwin.

Both characters are equally deadly and utilize supernatural abilities during combat that makes them all but unstoppable.

Set 15 years after the events of the first game, Dishonored 2 is all about taking back Emily’s throne, which an otherworldly interloper has usurped.

Each protagonist has their own perspectives and responses to events in the story, and you’ll want to play through the game with both to see their differences.

As either protagonist, players can choose to lean into being a stealthy assassin or brute force their way through combat.

All skills can be leveled up to suit every type of play style better, so the choice is yours when it comes to how you deal with foes.

If that wasn’t enough, the world is also incredibly gorgeous, from the grimy streets of Dunwall to the lavish coasts of Karnaca.

2. Prey

Prey is set in the not-so-distant future of 2032, and it takes place on the Talos I, a space station orbiting the moon.

In this game, the player character, Morgan Yu, was meant to be a key piece in an experiment to alter humanity; only things didn’t go according to plan.

Now, with the station overrun with hostile aliens, it’s up to players to survive and discover the dark secrets hidden inside the station.

However, the extraterrestrial threat is composed of many forms, and it can shapeshift into an exact replica of any inanimate object.

Known as the Typhon, players have to use whatever weapons they can find in order to make it through the station and find out the truth.

Prey utilizes elements of role-playing, stealth, and first-person shooter games, along with a touch of influence from Metroidvanias.

While it is one of the best games like Mass Effect in our book, it is also reminiscent of Dead Space and Bioshock in its theme and gameplay.

If you loved Bioshock and haven’t yet played this game, you’re really missing out on a gem that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end!

1. Atomic Heart

Taking our number one spot is Atomic Heart, a game that is hard not to compare to Bioshock with its utopian world that hides sinister darkness.

In the world of Atomic Heart, humans live in harmony with their loyal robotic servants; only things have gone very wrong.

This is very much a case of science asking if we can and not if we should, as advancements have caused mutant creatures and terrifying machines to rise up.

Now, with the robots rebelling against their creators and mutated humans roaming the streets, it is up to players to stop them all.

Using their combat abilities and an experimental power glove, players can use an arsenal of weapons to try and stay alive against onslaughts of terrifying enemies.

Atomic Heart is like a mashup of Bioshock, iRobot, and Dead Space, with robots, mutants, and a decimated utopia all rolled into one.

Best of all, the DLC Annihilation Instinct is slated to be released in August 2023, which revolves around what happens after the end of the game.

Now is the perfect time to dive into this game if you haven’t already. We guarantee you’ll love it if you’re a fan of the Bioshock series!