critiques of why binfinite is so bad and hamfisted is so........ satisfying................

as someone who once thought it was good, i feel extra satisfaction from this

i was making my way through the whole series and i noped outta binfinite real fast. like......... booker talking, narrating shit so the player understands it? don't gotta do that. gameplay elements existing in the story without any impact/explanation in the story??? why??

setting it BEFORE bio1 and 2 as if to make the plot/thematic precursor to the others, despite having a different setting, different theme, different narrative, no morality system (even if it's a flawed one), and a story that has nothing to do with the others--

using quantum mechanics to open, jump thru, and never close plot holes; racist caricatures that exist simply to point out "see! these people are racist!" with no exploration of that as a part of us culture/history, or why it exists in a so-called sanctuary from the "sodom" below

ppl in columbia exist in a haze of idiotic naivete, instead of all taking part in the violence that plagues the city, unlike the splicers in bio1 and 2; elizabeth is in no way as compelling a figure of protection the way the little sisters are, despite having actual dialog--

elizabeth's character is inexplicably uwu sunshine princess despite (1) her isolated and damaging upbringing, (2) having no experience with the outside or other people apart from a dream of paris; she has no arc or growth. she exists to make you want to protecc, and yet

there is no NEED to protecc her. she cannot be harmed by you or enemies. she is neither targeted by nor grabbed by enemies. none of that makes sense because the whole shtick is columbia sees her as so vital as to be protected at all costs, and kept from *you*.

you're merely meant to want to protect this brownhaired girl with an "e" letter name that is your daughter (but not) because that's what bioshock 2 did.

you play as a man with a unique mark near his hand/wrist that acts as an identifier and a damning brand.

you are given a "command" phrase with no actual compulsion behind it ("would you kindly" VS "bring us the girl, wipe away the debt"), one that expects the player to see it as special without telling them why. they both want you to notice it yet not notice it enough to be curious.

"would you kindly" was so ubiquitous as to be completely ignorable because of how easily it slips into an conversation, without any explanation needed to justify it. the fact it has an explanation is then a huge--pardon me--shock to your system.

"bring us the girl and wipe away the debt" needs an explanation as to why it exists in a conversation, but you don't get it. you hear it repeatedly in booker's vision-memory-dreams, and can easily assume its meaning, but not why *this* booker is so compelled to obey it.

the fix for that? don't let booker talk.

keeping booker silent lets the player go along with that command because we don't have an in-game avatar to question it (despite him questioning nearly everything). a silent booker means it's a quest directive w/ a later surprise meaning

while i'm at it, booker and elizabeth shouldn't have been the main characters. it should've been the luteces--and they also should have been their own antagonists.

this doesn't fix the "it's not attached to rapture in any natural way" problem, but i don't have a fix for that.

if they wanted to carry over the quantum physics-infinite universe hopping thing (which i'd advise against because... well), the two luteces could come from two alternate raptures, but i don't really have any thoughts beyond that.

anyway binfinite bad.