Booker drowns Comstock in the baptismal font. Daisy Fitzroy baptizes herself in Fink’s blood, and subsequently proves willing to murder a child. Booker’s passage into Columbia is marked by baptism, after which he murders scores of men and women in his path. Booker’s transformation into the murderous Comstock is only the first in a long chain. Throughout the game, baptism represents a surrender of free will, always leading to violence or death, and usually an absence of responsibility and hope. But who is that man who lies submerged? Perhaps the swimmer is both sinner and saint, until he is revealed unto the eyes of man.” Later, another Comstock voxophone states: “When a soul is born again, what happens to the one left behind in the baptismal water? Is he simply.gone? Or does he exist in some other world, alive, with sin intact?” In an early voxophone, Comstock declares: “One man goes into the waters of baptism. Recordings throughout the game indicate the importance of the baptism, and the weight of the choice made in that moment – messages that carry increased meaning when viewed through the understanding provided by the end of the game. Even the simplest of choices can have dramatic consequences, and every choice carries within it the seeds for a better (and worse) future. This foundational choice not only shapes the creation of Columbia and the entire story arc that follows, but it also presents the clearest example of the game’s message. In an alternate timeline, DeWitt’s decision to forego baptism plunges him into depression and gambling addiction, but also assures a future in which he has faced up to his own morality and changed for the better. He transforms into a man unbound by moral weight or consequence, as he has chosen to perceive God’s forgiveness as carte blanche to commit kidnapping, murder, and genocide. Through baptism, DeWitt finds forgiveness for deeds that might otherwise haunt him, and leaves him free to become Comstock. Beyond the twisting story, enigmatic ending, and paradoxical timelines, some fundamental and optimistic themes are apparent: free will is a constant in life, and its certainty gives us hope to persist through suffering, loss, and death.īioShock Infinite hinges on a choice made by Booker DeWitt following the Battle of Wounded Knee. Irrational Games’ BioShock Infinite delivers a standout gameplay experience, but its biggest contribution to the interactive medium is its complex story and willingness to challenge gamers to think in new ways.
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