Up close, the Skyhook can be used to smash in faces and pull-off some frankly ghastly execution maneuvers. Most combat areas have hooks and rails from which to fly around the battlefield, jumping off at opportune moments to land into the opposition with brutal force. In its exploration of controversial subjects such as slavery, financial divide, and exploitation, Irrational Games ran the risk of crafting an offensive grab for ideas, but wisely pulls its punches until just the right moment to deliver a classy tale, if one that maybe doesn’t go as deep into its own talking points as it perhaps could.Īiding Booker in his adventure is the Skyhook, a handy invention that can be used in melee combat and allows players to hang from freight hooks or glide along rails like high-speed human trams. Some of the game’s most memorable sequences are shocking both in terms of their visuals and the language used alongside them. BioShock Infinite‘s story dabbles in religious control, racism, and the dangers of extremist thought, even among those fighting for a worthy cause. Of course, it isn’t too long before the city bares its teeth and we see everything’s not all roses and laughter. Columbia’s a scary place - breathtaking in its magnificence, yet intimidating through just how intimidating it isn’t. And then there’s the people, smiling pleasantly with all the cold charm of a Stepford wife. A band on the beach performing a Cyndi Lauper song, an old gramophone blaring out jazz covers of music that shouldn’t exist for decades. The understated anachronism is one perfect example - Infinite boasts a gorgeous soundtrack, but like everything in Columbia, it’s not quite right.

Though beautiful, Columbia feels no less sinister than Andrew Ryan’s shattered kingdom - though its malevolence is more insidious in its subtlety.

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