Bioshock Infinite is a visionary piece of entertainment where the gameplay, characters, art style and story all come together to make what undoubtedly will be considered one of the best games of this generation.

Undoubtedly the finest game crafted by Irrational Games, BioShock Infinite is one of the best told stories of this generation. It simply cannot be missed.

Any gripes with the action are washed away when the narrative flexes it considerable muscle. It’s a fabulous piece of storytelling, thick with foreshadowing to a gut-punch of a finale. Most importantly, like BioShock before it, Infinite could only work as a video game, finessing the art of player agency and interaction. Proof positive that with the right talent and drive, games can plough their own narrative furrow. And excel at it.

Everything from the pacing, to the artificial intelligence, to the graphics and the music are perfect. This is truly a masterpiece only deserving of the highest grade we can possibly give.

Bioshock Infinite is the best shooter I have played in a long time. It is an incredible achievement artistically, narratively, and technically. I can’t think of a better game to close out and define this decade-long console generation.

Bioshock Infinite is both a breathtaking achievement in videogame storytelling and a marquee example of a game that will stick with you long after you see everything it has to offer. Calling it simply a first-person shooter is practically an insult. If you can make it through the game without being emotionally affected - or even experiencing a bit of an existential crisis - you need to check your pulse immediately.

BioShock: Infinite isn’t just one of the best games of 2013, but also of the twenty-first century. The themes and storytelling are unparalleled and are approached from multiple points of view, without being at the expense of the first-person shooter-action. Besides, BioShock: Infinite is a title that gamers really needed after all these years.

To reinvent one's masterpiece without betraying its spirit nor fall into redundancy is one thing. Going as far as to pull the rug out from underneath all narrative FPS's and emotion merchants who planned to come in the coming months is another. But anyway, that wouldn't be the first impudence of BioShock Infinite. Not to fly up to Columbia and explore such a beautifully written journey would be a crime; not to meet the most alive NPC ever that is Elizabeth would be a shame.

You'll see a lot of BioShock in Infinite, but even if you try to make direct comparisons between the two, it's clear that Infinite is a far better game than its predecessor. It moves at a better pace, with more meaningful and more playable big encounters than BioShock. But it still carries that sense of exploration and the feeling of dread that comes with knowing that everything is just continuing to unravel before your very eyes.

For everything it has to say, for all the questions it asks —many of which have no easy answers — BioShock Infinite's big thoughts and complicated narrative don't obscure the brilliant action game that carries those messages through.

On PC, BioShock Infinite absolutely shines. The use of the venerable Unreal Engine might surprise you, considering just how stunning this game looks, especially with the high-res textures exclusive to the PC version that balloon the game to about 15GB in size.

It was not easy to achieve the quality of the first game, but BioShock Infinite survives this "ghost" and evolves in every way. It’s a journey not to be missed.

Placing bets for best game of the year? We have a solid tip for you.

I don't know how else to tell you that this is the game videogames were made for. It’s the game every other designer wishes they could make. It’s a watershed moment for our industry, and I’d be hard pressed to tell you that anything that came before is better. More so, however, I can’t imagine that anything else, in my lifetime, will top this. All bold statements, I know, but this is it and I’m reviewing it. BioShock Infinite is the sort of game we dream of reviewing. It’s the Ocarina of Time of this generation (only infinitely better), and will be talked about and analysed for years to come.

Infinite is as lavish as it is cerebral, as difficult as it is accessible. It’ll be many different things to many different people, and it will be discussed, dissected and deified for many years to come...So, when will gaming have its Citizen Kane moment? Forget that. When will anything else have its BioShock Infinite moment?

Sky-lines, the suspended tracks you can use to ride through levels like a rollercoaster, turn the first-person shooting into a first-person thrillride. It delivers a new FPS experience entirely, where you hold your breath at the apex of a sky-line before screaming down the rail so fast that no bullet can touch you. You won’t have access to sky-line mobility in the lion’s share of the fights--but when you do, it’s an absolute rush.

BioShock is the most important new intellectual property of this hardware generation. Like its predecessor, it is an experience that could only ever be achieved in a videogame, one that demonstrates the true power of this medium to engage and inspire us, and in doing so it soars far above so many other games, clipped and blinkered as they are by their lowly, merely filmic aspirations. Irrational's achievements in BioShock Infinite dignify the medium.

BioShock Infinite doesn't blur the lines between your reality and the game's to quite the same extent as its predecessor, but it's a more complete and polished story, and that's the thing you'll remember.

BioShock Infinite is a hell of a lot of fun to play. That really should be the only quality it needs to exhibit. The fact that it holds much more feels like an advancement of an art form. Just remember that nothing in BioShock Infinite is an attempt to be cute. Just let it tell you its story.

Dealing with themes like religion, racism, and xenophobia, Columbia is a richer and more nuanced setting than even Rapture, and the unveiling of the city’s culture is masterfully executed.

Bioshock Infinite is a magical experience on every level. Despite a few glitches and a couple of issues with pacing in the later parts, this game is already a clear candidate for game of the year.

It is a triumph of artistry, technology and design. It isn’t perfect, but nothing this ambitious ever is. [Issue#235]

It’s the kind of game you’ll immediately want to replay again from the beginning, not just to experiment with new vigors and weapons and tactics, or to find the backstory-expanding Voxophones and Kinetoscopes you missed on the first run-through, but to see the little bits of foreshadowing, the subtle design choices, the dropped hints that build up to the game’s brain-bending denouement.

As a game, BioShock Infinite has its successes and its falterings consistent with any suitably complex piece of interactive entertainment. As a story, as an exercise in drawing the player into a believable and relevant world, as proof of exactly what a videogame can mean to a person ... Well, I already said it. BioShock Infinite is damn near perfect.

With the release of BioShock Infinite, developer Irrational has delivered a bigger story, more polished experience, and created two similar-yet-separate games that can co-exist and remain equal in quality. When the history of videogames is written, not one, but two BioShocks will be remembered for pushing gameplay, story, and subject matter to new levels.

BioShock Infinite is no doubt the most profound game I’ve played in a very long time. Take from it what you will, whether it’s an adrenaline pumping shooter experience or a deeper, intellectual experience or both, the almost perfect and flawless game is worth taking the time to play. This game will be rivaled by few for Game of The Year 2013.

The PC version, as run on mid-range hardware, makes no such visual compromises, with gorgeous high-resolution textures, detailed faces, and smooth performance...A brilliant shooter that nudges the entire genre forward with innovations in both storytelling and gameplay.

Like it's ancestor, Bioshock Infinite should be in the hall of fame of videogames. Not for technical reasons, as the game is not quite top notch on that front, but it is magnificent for artistic reasons. Columbia is absolutely spectacular, as the universe does not limit itself to scripted areas, and the storyline has a real point beyond entertainment. In sharp contrast to the mass of videogames that are forgotten ten minutes after the gamers are done playing with them, Bioshock Infinite will forever impact the memories of those who have the chance to experience it. FPS fans will like the different elements of the game such as fails, airtrains and Elizabeth that allow an increase in the fight's rhythm, a vast improvement over the first Bioshock. Whether you're an intellectual or a trigger happy maniac, you will definitely find a reason to enjoy this fabulous game. Long live Bioshock Infinite.

A mind blowing experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat for most of the ten-plus hours of your adventure in the beautiful sky city of Columbia.

The moment you step through the doorway and into Columbia, something magical happens. You’re introduced to what is easily the most "alive" city found in a game so far.

BioShock Infinite is such a fun game with an incredible atmosphere. The long wait has been worth it and Irrational Games has done an incredible job at bringing Booker, Elizabeth, and Columbia to life.

The combat wore thin, the collection aspect is archaic, yet the narrative payoff is worth every hindrance. That speaks volumes to the construction of the story Ken Levine and his team at Irrational Games have achieved here.

A masterpiece in audiovisual design, a fantastic action game and another testimony to the craft, the imagination and the ambition of Irrational. However, the campaign is a bit shorter than what was expected and it´s obvious the studio has not reached the full range of their objectives.

From character clothing, to the architecture of buildings and the molding’s and bits of machinery and piping that seem to have something to do with how the city is staying in the air. It fires the imagination and puts that spark into adventure once again.

For me BioShock: Infinite is one of the most important games in recent history. It is the first game that bravely takes on social and religious problems and doesn't avoid the opportunity to criticize extreme views. It's a great shooter, with a glorious world, fantastic co-star (Elizabeth!), unique opponents and lots of memorable characters and events. Another masterpiece from Ken Levine.

A must-have, one of the games of the year, that gives meaning to this world of entertainment. We would have loved to see the same audiovisual ambition applied to the gameplay, or at least, some kind of attempt of bringing something new to it. Still, this is one of the masterpieces of the genre that you cannot miss.

BioShock Infinite is both art-house and grindhouse, managing to offer something for everyone. There’s drama, philosophy, and shocking violence, then there’s combat, abilities, and gear -- there’s even numerically quantified damage for the stat-obsessed. It’s enhanced by thoughtful plotting and great characters and wrapped up in a beautiful world and calamitous physics. Heady and bloody, it’s a tesseract worth tackling, and even if you can see its seams from time to time, its ambition cannot be denied.

Ken Levine's last is a truly masterpiece. Bioshock Infinite is a great action videogame with an incredible story.

BioShock Infinite is simply gorgeous. When we made our first steps into the world of Columbia we were completely overwhelmed. It's a game which is only slightly let down by its very low difficulty level. The absorbing and twisting story puts BioShock Infinite on the throne of shooter gaming.

Ken Levine manages to combine difficult topics like guilt, atonement and racism while creating truly remarkable characters, best of all the equally charming and dangerous Elizabeth. Add to this the breathtaking visuals and tactical action (at least on the more difficult levels) and you get an extraordinary action experience.

Play BSI slowly, relish the moments and don’t rush to the end. It’s certain that you will have lived one of the richest gaming experiences that, as far as narration, lyricism and story are concerned, will take a lot of time to forget! [May 2013]

The story has stirred me speechless and compelled me to think.

Slightly muddled, but it’s a muddle of beautiful scenes and spectacular combat set in a breathtaking place.

Infinite is incredible from a plot and artistic point of view but has several problems in terms of gameplay features. It is an excellent shooter but sadly not the best title in the franchise.

Columbia is one of the most inventive and intriguing game settings of this generation, and it houses a shooter that compares with the very best. It's gaming heaven. Or the closest we'll get to it, anyway. [May 2013, p.59]

That Infinite can handle the collision between its philosophical concerns and its dead-end thrills without seeming hopelessly crass or overly portentous testifies to its often touching script, excellent pacing and the kind of unparalleled world building that shows you all of this coexisting cohesively in a golden city in the sky. But it also demonstrates something else: BioShock’s mechanical evolution as a firstperson shooter.

This is the sort experience you don't get every day: an easy-to-like spectacle for the masses with enormous production values, but a story right out of the art-house cinema. Granted, the gameplay side doesn't do as much for this experiment as the story and world design do. But this is a balancing act the fewest of teams could pull off. And even if you have the chops, in this risk-averse day and age you still have to have a healthy dose of irrationality to go through with a game as clever as this one. No wonder Levine's team had exactly what it takes.

I don’t dislike BioShock Infinite (as my score attests) but Rapture was a more thoughtful, engrossing, and better assembled experience.

A gigantic game with a layered plot full of surprises and a breathtaking setting: the city of Columbia.

Bioshock is an experience that every gamer in the World should have. Irrational Games did a great job, making not the "perfect game" but one that could leave a mark on video games history.

Elizabeth is not the revolutionary AI partner you might have hoped for, but the animation work, art design, world, and narrative create a genuine connection between the player and the girl, whether or not you wipe away the debt.

BioShock Infinite isn't afraid to magnify the way religious and racial extremism inform our culture and change lives. It isn't afraid to depict a less-than-holy trinity diseased by power, deception, and manipulation. As the story circles back on itself, you're left wondering whether redemption cleanses us of our atrocities, or simply invites us to commit greater ones. Once the finale comes, you will want to play again, watching each event and image through the lens of information you can never un-know. BioShock Infinite is more than just a quality game: it's an important one.

My conclusion after eleven hours: Bioshock Infinite is one of the best games I've ever been able to experience. My conclusion after twelve hours: What the hell? Whoever calls the finale "unusual" could denote the Atlantic Ocean as a "wet". Infinite makes me simultaneously gobsmacked, amazed and very pleased - and even after two weeks, I cannot tell you exactly which emotion prevails.

But the wonderful storyline and the memorable characters help to make the unbelievable believable. Despite the change in scenery, Columbia still exhibits the BioShock feel that was evident in Rapture.

It feels smashing to play it, but it’s almost even more fun to watch someone else play it.

BioShock Infinite not only reclaims the importance of the story in videogames, but also the medium's huge possibilities to create fictional worlds.

For a while it's a frantic shooter game, then it's a touching confession, afterwards it is a parable about the ideological turmoil in America. The others would break it into pieces, but quantum physics and its creators that are hell-bent on going far than other big productions hold it firmly together.

Infinite’s biggest issue is that the stiff nonplayer characters really dampen the impact of the social themes. Irrational worked so hard building this world filled with terrible racial imagery, but it’s difficult to feel the effects of that when I can’t relate to the mechanical mannequins that populate Columbia...It’s actually a minor complaint, but it’s very noticeable in a product that is otherwise so exquisitely put together.

It’s a cool setting filled with all sorts of small touches that show due care and attention paid to the fiction Irritional created and the closing 20-minutes are powerful, even if the player does little except get an extended “explanation” but I'd dispute the notion that this is somehow the pinnacle of video games because there's enough that's simply average, like the actual layout of the levels (aside from sky-lines), that those making this claim are simply seeing something that isn't present in this dimension.

A very solid, but not revolutionary shooter in an amazing setting, with a story that struggles to convey its authors’ ambitions and is only seemingly complex. The vision is less focused than in previous Bioshocks and it does a worse job on binding the plot with gameplay. [CD-Action 05/2013, p.46]

However predictable the ending of BioShock Infinite is, it is the journey that counts, and you will not go away disappointed.

The game is entertaining from start to finish, but it's also tragically marred by the unshakeable sense that it could have been so much more and simply got lost along the way.

It’s hard to deny that the original Bioshock was praised so highly because it was so unique. Bioshock Infinite retreads a lot of the same ground, at least mechanically, but with parts that aren’t nearly as diverse or varied as its predecessor...Its enemies are uninspired and its world not nearly as rich, but that still doesn’t stop Bioshock Infinite having the tools to give you a great time all the same.

Like Columbia itself, BioShock Infinite straddles more than one world: sometimes transcendent, often tedious. It’s a game about characters choosing to lie to themselves and create the narrative they wish their lives followed, rather than succumb to reality. That’s the story of the game itself, too, as Infinite often acts as though it’s deeper, more groundbreaking, more willing to be relevant to the world of the player and strong enough to comment on that world, than it is.

Though it sometimes struggles to reconcile its genre-constrained combat with its lofty storytelling goals, BioShock Infinite exhibits ambition and a boldness of theme rarely seen in FPS titles.

It’s the incredible world-building details that draw you into the experience of Infinite, not the shooting, which makes its predominance a shame. Irrational have made a Bioshock that is smoother to play, but less fun to play around with; built on grander ideas, but less coherent ones. It isn’t a flawless second coming, but its almost peerless storytelling, imagination and attention to detail make it well worth playing.

It is fascinating, and also boring. It is important, yet forgettable. Its world is enticing and unappealing. It attempts to move things forward, yet is in places stuck in the past. For a game that has the potential to open up the franchise up to a multitude of different ideas and interpretations, BioShock Infinite can feel curiously limited.

Problematic plotting and excessive amounts of poorly balanced combat apply friction to what is otherwise one hell of a rollercoaster. [May 2013, p.80]