If you have never played Bioshock before, you are in for something genuinely special. The Bioshock series sits in a category of its own when it comes to storytelling, world-building, and atmosphere. These are not just shooters. They are games that ask real questions, build worlds you actually want to explore, and deliver twists that stick with you long after the credits roll.
The good news is that getting into Bioshock is not complicated. There are three mainline games and one piece of story DLC worth your time, and the best way to experience them is more straightforward than you might think. This guide walks you through the best order to play the Bioshock games, what to expect from each one, and why the series holds up as well as it does today.
Play Bioshock First, Always
The original Bioshock is where everything starts, and it is still one of the best games ever made. Released in 2007, Bioshock drops you into Rapture, an underwater city built on the idea that humanity could thrive without government, religion, or moral restriction. What you find when you arrive is a society that has completely collapsed under the weight of that philosophy.
The atmosphere in the original Bioshock is unlike anything else in gaming. Art deco architecture, audio diaries scattered throughout abandoned corridors, and a cast of characters that feel genuinely unsettling all come together to create something that feels more like interactive fiction than a traditional shooter. The gameplay holds up well too. Combining weapons with plasmids, which are essentially abilities you inject directly into your body, gives combat a creativity that still feels fresh.
More than the gameplay though, Bioshock is worth playing first because it establishes the tone and thematic weight the entire series carries. The story has one of the most well-executed twists in gaming history, and going in without knowing what to expect makes it hit that much harder. Start here. Do not skip it.
Then Play Bioshock 2
Bioshock 2 is the most underrated game in the Bioshock series, and a lot of people who bounced off it initially came back years later and appreciated it far more. It takes place in Rapture roughly ten years after the events of the first game, and it puts you in control of a Big Daddy, one of the armored protectors you spent the entire first Bioshock trying to avoid.
The gameplay in Bioshock 2 is genuinely better than the original in several ways. Using plasmids and weapons simultaneously gives combat a more fluid feel, and the Big Daddy perspective adds a layer of emotional weight to the story that works better than most people give it credit for. The relationship between your character and the Little Sister you are protecting is one of the more quietly affecting things the Bioshock series has done.
The story in Bioshock 2 is not as surprising as the first game, but it does not need to be. It deepens the lore of Rapture, gives you a different lens to view the world through, and closes out the underwater chapter of the Bioshock series in a satisfying way. If you enjoyed the first game, playing Bioshock 2 right after keeps the momentum going and fills in parts of Rapture's history that make the world feel more complete.
Play Minerva's Den Before Moving On
Before you move on to Bioshock Infinite, it is worth playing Minerva's Den, the story DLC for Bioshock 2. A lot of people skip this one, which is a mistake. Minerva's Den is a self-contained story set in a different part of Rapture, and it is genuinely one of the best pieces of storytelling in the entire Bioshock series.
The DLC follows a new character and explores the computing systems that kept Rapture running. It sounds dry on paper, but the execution is excellent. The story builds slowly and ends with a moment that is quietly devastating in a way that the main Bioshock games do not always manage to pull off. It is only a few hours long, but those hours are well spent.
If you are playing through the Bioshock series properly, do not skip Minerva's Den. It is the kind of thing you will wish you had played if you find out about it after the fact.
Bioshock Infinite Comes Next
Bioshock Infinite is the most debated game in the Bioshock series, and the debate is understandable. It takes the series out of Rapture entirely and moves it to Columbia, a city built in the clouds with a very different visual identity and a very different set of themes to work through.
Where the original Bioshock was focused on objectivism and the failure of unchecked individualism, Bioshock Infinite grapples with American exceptionalism, racism, and religious extremism. It is ambitious territory, and the game handles it with more weight than a lot of people expected from a big-budget shooter.
The gameplay in Bioshock Infinite is faster and more action-focused than the earlier Bioshock games. The vigors, which serve the same role as plasmids, and the sky-line system give combat an energy that feels different from Rapture's tighter, more claustrophobic encounters. Some people prefer the slower pace of the original Bioshock, and that is completely fair. But Bioshock Infinite earns its place in the series and its story ends in a way that ties the entire Bioshock universe together in ways you will not see coming.
Playing it after the first two games makes certain story beats land harder. There are references and connections that are more meaningful when you already know Rapture and understand what the Bioshock series is doing thematically.
Finish With Burial at Sea
Burial at Sea is story DLC for Bioshock Infinite released in two parts, and it is the best possible way to finish the Bioshock series if you care about the story. It brings the worlds of Columbia and Rapture together and provides a kind of closing chapter for the series that makes the whole thing feel like one connected experience rather than three separate games.
Part one of Burial at Sea is set in Rapture before the fall, which lets you see the city in a completely different state than either Bioshock game. Part two shifts the perspective and changes the tone significantly. Together they form a send-off for the Bioshock series that rewards everyone who played through the whole thing in order.
Saving Burial at Sea for last is important. The DLC contains spoilers for all three Bioshock games and builds on plot threads from every entry in the series. Playing it early would strip it of most of its impact.
The Best Order at a Glance
Here is the full recommended order for playing through the Bioshock series:
- Bioshock
- Bioshock 2
- Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den
- Bioshock Infinite
- Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea
This order follows the release timeline and keeps the story connections intact. It also means you experience the Bioshock series the way it was built to be experienced, with each entry adding something new while connecting back to what came before.
Why the Bioshock Series Still Matters
The Bioshock series is almost two decades old at this point, and it still gets talked about as a benchmark for what games can do when the writing and world-building are taken seriously. Rapture and Columbia are two of the most fully realized settings in gaming history, and the questions each Bioshock game asks about power, identity, and freedom have not stopped being relevant.
If you are jumping in for the first time, you are getting into something that a lot of people consider essential. The Bioshock series is not perfect across every entry, but taken as a whole it represents some of the most thoughtful game design the medium has produced. Play it in order, take your time with it, and let it breathe.
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