This review is based on 100% completion and 38.8 hours of gameplay.
[h1][b]Recommendation:[/b][/h1]
Would I recommend this game? No – and that’s purely because of the technical performance issues I experienced on PC. These problems had a major impact on my experience, which is really unfortunate because the game itself is one of my all-time favourites. I’ve 100% completed it multiple times on console and again on the remastered version, but this PC port of the original is rough. Unless you’re willing to troubleshoot, I can’t recommend buying it on its own.
When I first launched the campaign, I was hit with constant crashes. It was genuinely unplayable at first. I eventually managed to stabilise it by following a combination of community fixes – specifically [b][i][url= https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3319446016] Ghost’s [/url][/i][/b] guide and [b][i][url= https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=210917941] DENIS_Biomechanoid 🍑 [/url][/i][/b] guide. One required editing .ini values, and the other involved downloading additional files. It didn’t eliminate the crashes entirely, but it made the game stable enough for me to finish. I’ve left a detailed comment on Ghost’s guide explaining what worked for me, so if you run into the same problems, I’d suggest checking that first.
The frustrating part is that none of this should be necessary. No game you purchase should require this level of tweaking just to function properly. Interestingly, the multiplayer ran fine for me for around the 19 hours I was in it. The issues were strictly tied to the single-player campaign.
There were also smaller annoyances – full screen could behave oddly, tabbing out sometimes caused problems, and settings would occasionally reset themselves. It just isn’t a well-optimised PC port. If not for these issues, I would recommend this game without hesitation.
Putting the technical issues aside though, the game itself is fantastic.
Narratively, it’s dark, gritty and keeps you hooked from start to finish. Exploring Rapture as a Big Daddy is a brilliant twist, and while the structure is mostly linear, your choices do influence certain outcomes and endings. The writing fits the world perfectly and keeps you immersed throughout.
Visually, it has held up well for its age. Yes, it looks dated compared to modern titles, but the art direction and world design are still strong. The environmental storytelling, paired with the audio logs scattered throughout, adds real depth to Rapture and makes it feel alive.
The sound design is just as good. Hearing splicers in the distance, the heavy footsteps of Big Daddies, and the eerie voices of the Little Sisters all build tension constantly. Everything works together to create a compelling atmosphere.
Gameplay-wise, it’s simple and works exactly as intended – when the game itself behaves. There’s a good variety of weapons and plasmids to use and upgrade. It’s not just run-and-gun either; you have defence-style segments, boss encounters, search-and-retrieve objectives and more. The variety helps keep things fresh rather than relying on one single gameplay loop throughout.
Multiplayer exists in this original version but was removed from the remastered edition. There are still small pockets of players active, but from my experience the remaining community can be quite toxic and mostly look to steamroll new players. I wouldn’t recommend jumping into it casually. The single-player campaign is the real highlight here.
There is DLC, most notably Minerva’s Den, which I genuinely enjoyed. It adds a strong self-contained story, new weapons, new enemies and new areas, all of which are well designed and worth playing. The Protector Trials mode, however, didn’t do much for me. It’s essentially a series of challenge arenas where you protect a Little Sister using pre-determined loadouts. I found it tedious rather than fun. Personally, I think they could have just stuck with Minerva’s Den.
Overall, I love this game itself. But the technical issues I experienced on PC are simply too significant for me to recommend buying it standalone. I purchased it as part of the [i]BioShock: The Collection bundle[/i], which includes the other games, and that’s the route I’d suggest. The bundle goes on sale regularly, and that’s the best way to pick this up – not on its own.
[h1][b]Achievements:[/b][/h1]
[b][i]DLC is required for 100% completion, and there are also 15 multiplayer achievements. Because of that, a boosting group of at least four people is highly recommended.[/i][/b]
Overall, the achievements are fairly straightforward, and there are plenty of guides online since the game is quite old now. I’d strongly suggest using the roadmap on TrueAchievements, as it gives a good structure to follow.
The multiplayer achievements aren’t too bad in terms of requirements – the main issue is that the multiplayer is basically dead, and progress cannot be fully unlocked in private matches. You can make progress on some achievements in private games [i](for example, reaching level 40)[/i], but you will still need to play a public match afterwards for the achievements to actually pop. There’s a guide by [b][i][url= https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=481757730] Murphy’s Lawyer [/url][/i][/b] on Steam that goes over this in more detail.
One thing to be aware of: some people have had trouble getting the map-related achievements to unlock. A few players have reported that these need to be done within a single game session – meaning you can’t do all maps privately, close the game, and then come back the next day expecting it to unlock after one public match. Instead, you need to play the private matches and then immediately go into a public match while the game is still running. It doesn’t affect everyone, but worth noting just in case.
Also, the map-specific achievements each have their own condition, even if you did all the private matches correctly:
[list]
[*][b]Man About Town[/b] – Played at least one non-private match on each multiplayer map. → Should unlock without trouble as long as all maps have been played in private beforehand.
[*][b]Aqua Incognita[/b] – Played at least one non-private match on each downloadable content map. → Must be a DLC map – it won’t pop on a standard map. [i](I only needed one DLC public match for this.)[/i]
[*][b]Territorial[/b] – Won a non-private match in each of the 6 new maps. → You must win – either a team mode or free-for-all should count. Using the TIE method works as well, however some players may need to win one extra match on any of the needed maps afterwards for it to unlock properly. For more details, see the comments on TrueAchievements for this achievement.
[/list]
When boosting, you need a minimum of 4 players to start a public lobby. The main issue you’ll face is randoms joining and griefing your progress. There’s still a tiny number of players active who will try to ruin what you’re doing – even if you ask nicely – so be prepared. The best ways to deal with that are:[list]
[*]Get enough achievement hunters to fill the lobby [i](I believe that’s 10 players)[/i], or
[*]If a random joins, work together to eliminate them until they leave
[/list]
For example, when we were doing Adam Grab and attempting a tied match [i](nobody touches the Little Sister for 10 minutes)[/i], we’d all protect her – and if a random showed up, we made them the main target until they rage-quit. It’s not pretty, but sometimes you have to adapt when others are actively trying to ruin your session.
Aside from the multiplayer achievements, everything else is easily done solo and offline besides the technical issues with the game itself.
[hr][/hr]For more in-depth yet straight-to-the-point reviews, feel free to check out my curator page [u][b][url= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45595645/] here. [/url][/b][/u]
