There are many rumors going around about BioShock 4, and there are far more questions surrounding it than answers, but the current rumor seems to be that it'll be ditching its Earthly settings of games past in favor of heading to the cosmos for an adventure in space. With a setting like that, there are seemingly infinite possibilities as to where the game's studio Cloud Chamber could take the story. If all the rumors about the game are to be believed, then BioShock 4 is setting itself up to be a welcome return to the BioShock franchise.

One thing that the game should lean into if its space setting is true is cosmic horror. The most recent entry in the series, BioShock Infinite, ditched most of the franchise's horror roots in favor of creating a new identity for itself as a swash-buckling adventure game, but it might be worth Cloud Chamber's time to revisit horror especially if it's paired with a cosmic setting. While some details surrounding the project might be antithetical to a horror framework, such as BioShock 4's rumored open world, the setting alone does more than enough to set the groundwork for BioShock 4's horror possibilities.

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Bringing BioShock Back to Horror

Little Sister BioShock

While BioShock Infinite certainly wasn't without its horror moments, so much of the series' DNA is built around spooky atmospheres and horrific monsters, elements that took a backseat in Infinite. Space, conversely, is a perfect setting to create and highlight those elements, which could make BioShock 4 a true return to the series' roots. After all, BioShock was originally a spiritual successor to the cyberpunk space-horror franchise System Shock, so returning to space would be the perfect place for BioShock to truly return to horror.

So little is actually known about the infinite void of space that its setting for a horror game is almost too good to be true, especially in a series such as BioShock that likes asking philosophical questions about the nature of existence and schools of thought. Space could introduce terrifying aliens to the franchise, or it could play with an equally terrifying concept: that humanity is truly alone in the universe. Either direction could prove to be a gripping narrative full of cosmic horror built around the idea that humanity knows hauntingly little about what lies beyond the stars.

Given the amount of technology required to live in space, BioShock 4 could also borrow some of the cyberpunk horror present in the original two System Shock titles. Obviously, with BioShock being the spiritual successor to such an iconic series, the game would need to bring more to the table than simply retreading the same ideas that System Shock has already brought to gaming. Fortunately, there are still plenty of different places for the sequel to go that would see System Shock used as a jumping-off point for even deeper ideas.

The thing that ties all aspects of cosmic horror together, whether that's the fear of technology, aliens, or the inherent inhospitable environment, is the simple fear of the unknown: a fear that the BioShock series has capitalized on in every entry in the franchise. Whenever a player starts up a BioShock game for the first time, they're walking into a completely unknown world full of narrative twists and scares that play with the gamer's expectations. It seems likely that if BioShock 4 is set in space, it's going to capitalize on the anxiety that comes hand in hand with the setting.

BioShock 4 is in development.

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