There were plenty of leaks and today it was officially confirmed that the BioShock trilogy would be getting a remaster for Xbox One, PC and PS4 later this year.
That is, with one exception.
BioShock: The Collection might be coming to all major platforms, but on PC there’s one thing you won’t be getting: a remastered BioShock Infinite. And according to developers, it’s because you don’t need it.
“BioShock Infinite is not being remastered on PC because it already meets current-gen console standards and runs smoothly on high visual settings,” the developers wrote.
Pretty much the same thing as what diehards would tell you. You can already run the game pretty nicely in 4K (downsampling or natively) with most medium to high-end graphics cards. Add a classy SweetFX profile and there’s your remaster.
Not bad for something currently going for just over $13 right now.
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25 responses to “BioShock Infinite Doesn’t Need A PC Remaster, Devs Say”
I can’t quite remember, was it this game or Aliens Colonial Marines which basically resulted in Totilo/Kotaku in general shifting away from publisher/PR heavy previews?
Bioshock Infinite was not a game I enjoyed, all told. But, gee, the story behind the marketing of this game is downright weird.
On its own merits, yeah the game is a looker. Bioshock’s general gameplay loop works, especially for the sky-line stuff the devs stole from Metroid Prime 3!
Colonial Marines, from memory.
And you can add any ubisoft title…
All these remasters need to die a horrible death.
I like them if they’re executed well!
I like them as I often miss games the first time around, and they give me a chance to play them in current gen goodness.
Me too, picked up Resident Evil 6 remaster for $17 this evening on my PS Vita media streamer.
I’m kind of liking the fact the PC versions are free and they’re often in my library or on sale, great for older ges I never finished.
Especially with a new PC build just completed.
It’s gotta be warranted. For example, I like the Uncharted PS4 collection – there was much more of an xbox/ps3 divide than with the ps4, so not only does it wrap the three games up in a neat bundle but it also gives those who may have missed it a chance. That and they patched / updated a few things that were annoying, especially about the first game.
I also enjoyed the Ratchet and Clank remasters, because they took an old but well-enjoyed PS2 title that wouldn’t run on the PS3 and released it in a neat HD pack with trophy and save support (sans memory cards).
On the opposite side of the coin, we have say, the God of War 3 remaster. I love God of War to death. Glued to it from the first. But the game looked spectacular on PS3, and didn’t necessarily require a PS4 remaster. It’s the sort of game that ages well enough to just exist as is, visually it still sits on-par with a number of current-gen games.
Yeah, there’s a fair few remasters these days, often lousy cash-grabs too. But I don’t wish them all away, because there’s still some good ones in the mix. I would love a Red Dead Redemption remaster, especially if they could update the lighting / other visual tweaks, but even if it were just to play the game conveniently on my PS4 in glorious 1080p.
Sorry for the slab of text… Regarding the Bioshock collection, the remasters are -free- for existing owners of 1 & 2. So I see absolutely no problem with this. If anyone has missed the game, they can snag it and I am sure they will enjoy it. For the rest of us there’s nothing to complain about a free upgrade.
@alexwalker you posted an article earlier in the week regarding the game’s 30fps cap on ragdoll physics – can you confirm if the remasters would patch this out? I was running a pretty rag-tag PC back in the day so I never noticed, but it would probably stick out like a sore thumb if this wasn’t the case. 😛
No need to apologise for the “slab of text”!
I enjoy reading well written and informative answers with some depth to them. I wish there were more quality comments on web sites in general rather than one word answers.
You make some good points, but with a game like God of War (and also The Last of Us), a lot of people jumped ship from Xbox to Playstation this generation who never had a chance to play any Playstation exclusives before, and weren’t going to get the chance any other way due to a lack of backwards compatibility.
Fair enough. I suppose that goes in line with what I said regarding the massive shift towards Playstation this generation. I guess I was mostly miffed that they didn’t do a bigger collection including the first two titles and perhaps even Ascension.
The Last of Us was definitely worth a remaster despite how late it was in the PS3’s lifespan, just to give more people an opportunity to play it.
That was Logan, I’m pretty sure. You can find the physics fix for the original BioShock on Github, details here: http://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/06/this-physics-fix-makes-the-original-bioshock-playable-again/
Because you cant polish a turd?
No but you CAN roll it in glitter. And that’s what a remaster is…
Is it cool to shit on Bioshock Infinite now?
I enjoyed it, and from what I recall the reception from both community and review sites were positive.
For me personally, it was a game that utterly bored me to the point of not wanting to finish it.
I enjoyed even Bioshock 2 more than I did Infinite.
Wow it was one of the few games I played from start to finish without swapping the disc! Just the combination of frantic action and intriguing story kept me hooked!
It’s honest to call the game underwhelming.
I enjoyed Infinite. I liked the story, the combat wasn’t the most complex but it didn’t need to be. It was fun. And come on, it had a freaking “Bee Sharps” egg with a barbershop version of Girls just wanna have fun.
I don’t play many shooters but I enjoyed it…
$US 12.21 for Bioshock 1, 2 & infinite in the steam sale ATM. There’s my weekend sorted.
It’s easier to say that it “doesn’t need” a remaster than it is to say that it isn’t worth the investment. For every 10 people that enjoyed Bioshock, there’s 1 that enjoyed Bioshock Infinite.
What’s been remastered in BS1? A new engine, 60fps, additional assets, higher res textures???
Hopefully they remapped jump to A