BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode Two Reviews

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode Two is ranked in the 89th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8 / 10
Mar 24, 2014

While its narrative achievements are significant and Burial at Sea: Episode Two is enjoyable to watch and listen to, it's also fun to play. As with Episode One, its mission objectives boil down to basic fetch-quests, but the stealth mechanics suit the mood, feel well integrated and are enjoyable. It's also a poignant release, for it's not only the concluding part of Irrational's BioShock story but the final chapter of the studio itself. Impressively crafted and polished, it's a fitting end to Irrational's body of work. The story of BioShock might belong to Ken Levine and Irrational Games rather than to its players - but it's a story that's been well worth telling.

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9 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2014

Part Two of Burial at Sea delivers on the promise set out in Part One, and is a fitting close to BioShock Infinite in general. It's become cool to hate on Infinite in recent times, but bandwagons be damned, this is a fantastic piece of content, if a little pricey. You already know you're going to play this if you grabbed Part One, but I'm here to tell you that you won't be disappointed with Part Two.

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Ryan McCaffrey
Top Critic
8.8 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2014

BioShock Infinite's final DLC brings brilliant closure to both Rapture and Columbia.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2014

Elizabeth has a stealthier and more tactical playstyle, which is an interesting change of pace

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PC Gamer
Top Critic
80 / 100
Mar 25, 2014

Rambling plot aside, Burial at Sea, Episode 2 is an entertaining stealth-lite shooter with a likeable lead.

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8 / 10
Mar 25, 2014

The excellent Burial at Sea - Episode 2 marks a welcome return to form for BioShock Infinite.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2014

Irrational also went above and beyond with the implementation of 1998 Mode -- a new difficulty level that challenges you to complete the entire DLC without killing a soul. I never thought the core game's 1999 setting really added anything significant as it was basically the exact same experience, but with even more emphasis on stealth, playing 1998 felt like a whole new game. It was so fun in fact that I was compelled to go back for a second playthrough of Episode Two immediately -- a feeling I didn't experience with the first DLC.BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode Two blows Episode One out of the water. It improves upon nearly every shortcoming of the first outing, and with all of the lore additions it's a must-play for fans of the series. It's worth picking up the Season Pass just to see this story through to the end.

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Unscored
Mar 25, 2014

Sky-high ambition. Incredible visual design and attention to detail. Promise it couldn't possibly live up to. Shortcuts. Pride. A fall.

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9.5 / 10.0
Mar 25, 2014

If you're a fan of Bioshock you'll be crying by the end, simply because it's over. You'll be shocked at how great it all was.

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GameSkinny
Brian S
Top Critic
Mar 25, 2014

Burial at Sea: Episode 2 delivers a masterful stealth game that ties the BioShock Infinite story together with a big bow.

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8 / 10
Mar 25, 2014

BioShock Infinite adapts to stealth with surprising ease, and the art design is as spectacular as ever. Irrational's final release may somewhat lose the plot, but if you've been on board this long you can likely tolerate the incredible leaps of faith it demands.

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9.5 / 10.0
Mar 26, 2014

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 2 definitely feels worthy of the BioShock name, and delivers a fitting conclusion to the franchise. If Episode 1 was a bit lacking in both depth and length, Episode 2 is filled with the same brilliant direction Infinite had, making it easy to overlook its few lacking areas while being engrossed in the convoluted story, enjoying the flavorful dialogue and the gorgeous visuals.

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Cheat Code Central
Angelo M. D’Argenio
Top Critic
4.7 / 5.0
Mar 26, 2014

BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 2 puts me in kind of an odd position. Originally we said that Episode 1 wasn't particularly worth it because of its samey combat, short length, and unsatisfying story. But now that Episode 2 is out, we would like to go back and change our opinion. Episode 1 is entirely worth owning, if only for the sake of playing Episode 2. As for Episode 2 itself, it's a phenomenal entry in the BioShock saga, and should be downloaded by anyone who has the original game. It might be a little frustrating to anyone who was used to running and gunning their way through Columbia, but once you get used to the stealth gameplay you'll find that this may be the most well designed chapter of BioShock yet.

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Kotaku
Top Critic
Yes
Mar 27, 2014

Turns out, a good main character and a focus on careful stealth over noisy violence can go a long way toward making a game more interesting.

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7 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2014

Burial at Sea too often feels like well-made fan fiction

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games(TM)
games™ Team
Top Critic
Unscored
Mar 27, 2014

If this is to be Irrational's last hurrah then it's a mixed but compelling swansong for a company that often took bold, divisive design and narrative avenues. It might not hit the highs of some of its best work, but it's a fitting testament to the studio's unbridled creativity and theatrical magnificence.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2014

While not everyone will be satisfied with the ending, most of our questions end up being answered in one way or another. Of course, this leads to some other questions, but the BioShock saga, at least the one that involves the cities of Rapture and Columbia, is laid to rest at the bottom of the sea. But who knows? With all of this talk about constants and variables, we may yet see another lighthouse, another man and another city.

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Mar 28, 2014

In the end, Burial at Sea finishes on a much stronger, series-apt note than the one it began on, and it's impressive how Irrational Games drops curtains on its universe with something truly unexpected but wholly fitting. With so many extravagant worlds existing behind an infinite number of doors, you might feel sad that you only experienced two of them. It's credit to Irrational Games, then, that by the end the two is all we needed.

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7.2 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2014

The lengths to which Burial at Sea: Episode 2 goes to distance its gameplay from BioShock Infinite's blueprint is outmatched by the indulgent spectacle of its writhing narrative - a risk not fully conscious of its consequences. Through success, failure, and to simply admire the sunset of a generation, the conclusion of Burial at Sea remains a worthwhile experience.

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Mar 28, 2014

Burial at Sea: Episode 2 is a perfect send-off for a franchise that defined a generation of console shooters. It isn't without its faults, but the new stealth gameplay is a welcome re-purposing of the tried and true BioShock mechanics. More importantly, Episode 2 is a marvel of storytelling: a careful navigation of the existing BioShock universe that provides new insights into a narrative that was already rich with detail. Finally, against all odds, Irrational stuck the landing, bringing everything full circle as only they could. Needless to say, this is a must-play for fans of BioShock.

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