BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode One Reviews

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode One is ranked in the 40th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8.5 / 10.0
Nov 22, 2013

Overall the story expansion was a welcome addition to Infinite's story line, but the changes made to it are just not enough to characterise it into the wholly different game that some of us were expecting it to be. Seeing a refreshed image of Rapture was undoubtedly awesome, but there just aren't enough opportunities to explore it fully. The stage for the game in the first 30 minutes or so is set like a show that is played in front of you and although you will be mesmerised by it, it is out of your immediate control. The changes made to combat are good but, again, there are just too many things that are the same. The plot of the DLC is to be concluded in Episode Two having been left on a cliffhanger that will have you wishing for more. The expansion will surely be an enjoyable experience for the series' fans, but it also has the potential to become stale for those who have started to tire of the Bioshock formula.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2013

The mystery of how these characters fit into this setting is the big draw, but don't expect a complete answer until the second (and final) episode hits

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8 / 10.0
Nov 14, 2013

Ultimately, the recreation of Rapture is work worth doing, and Irrational Games deserve the credit for the sweat of their brow. Anyone thinking of playing this already has a sunk cost in BioShock Infinite – if three hours of the upper quartile of that game's level of world-building and combat justifies the expense, you should not be disappointed.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 29, 2013

Burial at Sea might be a challenger for the best-ever narrative-based DLC yet presented to the gaming community at large.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 12, 2013

It's definitely a worthwhile purchase and I'm already itching to play Episode 2 which promises to turn the formula (and series) on its head, but it's entirely up to you what price you pay for it. Xmas Sale starts a month from now, just to let you know.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 12, 2013

Will this smaller story set in Rapture incite discussions over things like ludonarrative dissonance or how out of place the overly violent protagonist has gotten as video game storytelling evolves? I doubt it. It will, however, return you to Rapture and reference the events of Infinite, reminding you for a couple hours how damn awesome both of those things are. And for me, that's worth the price of admission.

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GameGrin
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Nov 15, 2013

A satisfying return to the city that started it all. It's a strong piece of DLC with some niggling issues that will hopefully be ironed out when the second part rolls around.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 14, 2013

It's been a long wait for the Burial at Sea DLC, but will our patience payoff and will it be worthy of another venture into the submerged city of Rapture?

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7.5 / 10.0
Nov 19, 2013

In the end, Burial at Sea - Episode One is only a passable experience due to its length and the amount of content found within. With that said, it still has me wanting to play the next few episodes of DLC immediately. And, at the very least, it reunited me with some old friends, like Booker and Liz, as well as some even older enemies.

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PC Gamer
Top Critic
74 / 100
Nov 11, 2013

Burial at Sea, Episode One is good but not essential - the only piece of BioShock story content you could say that about.

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7.4 / 10.0
Nov 26, 2013

As much as I wanted to go back to Rapture, Burial at Sea is short on story and simplistic in the missions available. It is still good to see some familiar sights being powered by the Unreal Engine 3. Hopefully, the second part of Burial at Sea can help tie up a few things and improve upon the first.

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7.3 / 10.0
Nov 10, 2013

Burial at Sea is a worthy return to Rapture, but by the end you'll wish you could've spent more time absorbing the sights and sounds of the city's unspoiled areas. The grand tourism of the game's opening versus the constant combat in the rest of the DLC creates a disconnect that makes both halves feel underdeveloped. Hopefully episode two will mend the tear of Burial at Sea's two disparate parts.

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GamesBeat
Top Critic
71 / 100
Nov 10, 2013

With Burial at Sea, Irrational's greatest accomplishment is resuscitating Rapture. The city is a visual feast, and the developer once again proves that it has some of the most talented environment artists in the industry.

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7 / 10
Nov 10, 2013

And, of course, it takes us back to Rapture, one of gaming's most compelling spaces, where we can draw expansive parallels between its present and its past and feel clever for connecting the dots. How heavily invested you are in Irrational's artistry will ultimately determine how much you get out of this slender expansion.

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Ryan McCaffrey
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Nov 10, 2013

Part 1 of BioShock Infinite's story-centric DLC returns to Rapture but doesn't give you long to enjoy it.

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7 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2013

The return trip to Rapture is welcome, but Burial At Sea's first episode is confusing

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Nov 10, 2013

Practically oozing fan service from every pore, Burial at Sea is both as glorious and as imperfect as Rapture itself. The visuals are sensational, the combat a reasonably healthy marriage between Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite. Booker and Elizabeth both take well to their detective noir roles. Yet, like the promise of Rapture itself, Burial at Sea's splendor doesn't last forever. Things go unexplained, shrugged off as the too-short DLC rushes towards its conclusion.

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7 / 10.0
Nov 16, 2013

Still, despite the short length of the DLC, and the pretty hefty price tag, you're getting an amazing single-player experience with characters we've come to adore, and there's no doubt that the ending of Episode One will leave you frothing at the mouth for the second outing.

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Nov 27, 2013

Although it's quite short, "BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 1" succeeds from both a storytelling and a gameplay perspective.

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Nov 14, 2013

As a continuation of BioShock Infinite, both mechanically and narratively, Burial at Sea: Episode 1 is a worth playing, even if it doesn't capitalize on its potential as much as fans might hope. The combat is still as enjoyable as ever, if a bit same-y, and the game's stunning detail will leave fans searching every nook and cranny. However, the story beats packaged around that gameplay are surprisingly straightforward, which is a bit odd for an Irrational-developed game. But, by the time the credits roll BioShock fans will likely look at the overall experience as an entertaining one. And most importantly they will be desperate for Episode 2.

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