Chapter 677: Players Can't Hold It Anymore (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Like Song Ren, a considerable number of players had anticipated BioShock: Rapture. The dark and complex story had many players mentally prepared halfway through the game that the ending of BioShock: Rapture might not leave them feeling good. Moreover, in most games developed by Chen Xu, the protagonist usually meets a tragic end.

But seeing Elizabeth lying in a pool of blood truly wrenched the hearts of all players, especially after they had witnessed everything about this girl in the Sky City Columbia. They had adventured together, and the emotional connection forged through that experience was simply incredible.

Thinking back carefully, Chen Xu had indeed never said that Elizabeth would survive. He only stated that she would no longer be the protagonist but would still appear. But such an appearance was simply too cruel!

Previously, players could still imagine that Elizabeth hadn't disappeared, with an open-ended ending. Much like the story of The Last of Us, if it had continued, many players would have to admit that in such a perilous post-apocalyptic world, sooner or later, either Ellie or Joel would die. But the game's story abruptly ended after leaving the Fireflies, and this open-ended conclusion was, in fact, perfect.

But BioShock: Rapture was too complete. It was so complete that the entire story formed a perfect closed loop. As Elizabeth's eyes slowly closed, the game screen returned to Jack.

The game needed an ending, and players needed an explanation. Thus, under the pursuit of Rapture's security forces manipulated by Fontaine, Jack escaped to Dr. Tennen's secret hiding place. With the help of the female doctor, Jack raced against time to Dr. Yi's former laboratory site, drank a potion, and lifted his mental control. Now, Jack could finally confront Fontaine, the old fraudster who had manipulated his entire life.

The battle with Fontaine, however, put considerable pressure on Song Ren.

But as the game's protagonist, possessing a four-dimensional pocket was perfectly normal. A legendary mobile arsenal, plus a Plasmid Archmage. Formidable as Fontaine was, he eventually fell at Jack's hands. After a series of intense battles, both Fontaine and Jack were exhausted. And just at that final moment, a group of Little Sisters rushed out from the dark corners.

They frantically stabbed Fontaine with needles, draining all the ADAM and life from his body. Finally, a Little Sister pulled Rapture's core control key from Fontaine and handed it to Jack.

“They offered this city to you.”

“You refused this city.”

It was Elizabeth's voice! Watching the Little Sister hand the key to Jack, and hearing the background narration, Song Ren was filled with deep emotion.

Elizabeth's death, Andrew Ryan's death, and Jack's arrival. It was like the variables and constants of a parallel world. Elizabeth saw the future in this timeline, and she understood that only by following the path she witnessed would it not deviate, and only with Jack's arrival would Rapture truly reach its end.

She saw this beautiful future, so she chose to comply with the future she had seen. In the game, Jack took the Little Sisters' hands and led them into the submersible, returning to the world outside the ocean.

“Then what?”

“You saved them.”

“You found the treasure that was stolen from their hearts, and you returned it to them.”

“That was hope!”

“You watched them learn.”

“You watched them marry.”

“You watched them find hope in life.”

“And in the end, what did you gain?”

Lying frail with age on a hospital bed, Jack's outstretched hand trembled. From different directions, five hands reached out and placed themselves in Jack's palm.

“You never mentioned it, but I think we all knew…”

“It was a family.”

As the screen faded to black, the camera moved to Paris, and Elizabeth's singing filled the air, though there was no sign of Elizabeth herself.

With this ending, the BioShock duology officially drew to a close.

………………

Watching the game's scrolling credits list.

Elizabeth's singing still echoed in his ears.

Song Ren was filled with so many emotions. Perhaps it was because of Elizabeth's sacrifice. Perhaps it was because of BioShock's grand and complex setting and stunning storyline. Perhaps it was because of the bond between Jack and the Little Sisters, and the adventures of Booker and Elizabeth.

But one thing Song Ren could confirm: BioShock was definitely a masterpiece. Especially with this second part, Rapture.

It completely completed the entire BioShock story, forming a perfect closed loop. Even now, he hadn't fully recovered his senses; the game's content was simply too shocking.

Aside from the final big twist in Infinite, where the BOSS was me all along, which he found shocking, the entire game's content primarily focused on Booker and Elizabeth's tacit adventure. The enjoyment of the game's early and mid-stages largely revolved around this.

The reason, of course, was that there were simply too many hidden mysteries embedded throughout the game. It wasn't until he met Lady Comstock at the end that the puzzling mysteries in players' minds were gradually revealed.

Song Ren originally thought that the second part of BioShock, Rapture, would simply be a change of map, with no significant connection to the Sky City Columbia. But he was completely wrong. The Sky City Columbia and the Deep Sea City Rapture, these two so-called utopian cities, were intimately connected. In fact, if either one were missing, the other city would not have continued to develop.

Similarly, Elizabeth's journey to Rapture and finding Booker was merely a catalyst. More importantly, it linked Elizabeth's story with Jack's. Song Ren had to admit that BioShock was absolutely the game that mixed the most elements in history without ever feeling abrupt.

In terms of the ending, it was indeed a good one. As long as players chose not to harm the Little Sisters, Jack would successfully rescue the five Little Sisters and bring them back to the surface, adopting them and sending them to school until they started their own families. He then peacefully lived out his life.

Much like Ezio in Assassin's Creed.

But the key point wasn't Jack; it was Elizabeth. Compared to Jack in Rapture, and Booker in Sky City, the most memorable aspect of the entire BioShock series was Elizabeth.

That's right, this time the protagonist did get a good ending. But this was built upon the sacrifice of a character even more charismatic than the protagonist.

This immediately made countless players unable to hold it anymore.

(End of Chapter) <>