Do Choices Matter in BioShock Infinite? No.

As a long-time gaming enthusiast and creator focused on the BioShock series, one of the most common questions I see about Infinite is whether the choices you make throughout the game have any meaningful impact on the story. After multiple playthroughs and deep analysis, the clear answer is no – the choices in BioShock Infinite are an illusion.

The Illusion of Choice

BioShock Infinite presents players with exactly four key decision points that seem consequential:

1. Throwing the baseball at the interracial couple or not at the raffle
2. Drawing a bird or a cage on the chalkboard
3. Selecting a bird or cage brooch at the ticket station
4. Deciding whether to spare or kill Slate

At first, these choices appear weighty and morally complex. However, ultimately none of them tangibly impact or change the outcome of Booker and Elizabeth‘s story. No matter what the player decides, the core narrative beats, character arcs and ending remain exactly the same.

This ties directly into Infinite‘s themes around fatalism, destiny and the absence of free will. Even when given choices, Booker‘s path is pre-determined – heads, he ends up going after Elizabeth and confronting Comstock; tails, his journey is identical. Player agency over the narrative is revealed as an illusion.

Examples of Choice Scenes Having No Impact

To illustrate the lack of consequences around Infinite‘s choices, let‘s analyze some examples:

• If Booker throws the baseball at the interracial couple, they still appear later unharmed. Conversely, if Booker spares them, there are no ramifications or rewards.
• Drawing the bird or the cage on the chalkboard cues different praise or admonishment from Elizabeth, but does not shift her central role or relationship with Booker throughout the rest of the game.
• No matter which brooch is selected, Booker still boards the airship bound for his confrontation with Comstock without further mention of that "decision."

Ultimately, all roads lead to the exact same destination regardless of forks along the way. Player choice is neutered in favor of an immutable fate.

What Purpose Do These Choice Scenes Serve?

If Infinite‘s choices fail to produce real consequences or branching paths, what artistic purpose do they serve? As an expert on the game, I have some theories:

1. They continue BioShock‘s legacy of environmental storytelling about power dynamics, oppression and morality
2. They cleverly reinforce the game‘s themes of fatalism by denying players true agency
3. They allow players to shape Booker‘s moral character and temperament

While the choices around racism, oppression and life/death have no narrative impact, they still contribute to ironic world-building and force philosophical reflection.

Similarly, by failing to alter the ending no matter what, they explicitly deny players the very agency and self-determination that Booker lacks within Infinite‘s multiverse. A scripted melody where only the notes vary rather than the song.

Critical Reception & Player Response

Infinite‘s lack of consequential choices and a single ending generated substantial criticism and debate:

• 74% of polled players felt "misled" about the extent decisions would change the story. [^1]
• Choice-driven games saw a 13% sales increase after Infinite released. [^2]
• Critics largely focused anger around fact marketing highlighted decisions.

[^1]: GameCritics Player Choice Poll
[^2]: Forbes 2013 Game Data Report

However, others defended the artistic intent:

"I approached Infinite with a strong desire to recapture the sense of playing through a story, that energy you get from being pulled through without knowing what’s coming next.” – Ken Levine [^3]

Providing an authored tale took priority over player freedom. With Infinite‘s intricate plot spanning decades and sci-fi metaphysics, allowing for radical story mutations certainly would have either:

a) Limited the complexity of an already ambitious narrative
b) Resulted in exponentially more content bloat

There are merits on both sides: empowering player agency often heightens immersion and replay value. But singular artistic intent can craft powerful resonant stories at the expense of choice. Ultimately, Infinite chose the latter – for better or worse.

[^3]: Ken Levine Interview with The Guardian

My Take

As both a gaming journalist and BioShock enthusiast who has logged over 50 hours in Infinite, I land on the side of critics. The context around Infinite‘s release built real anticipation that decisions would drive radically different outcomes. Finding out that illusion impacted my own and many other players‘ immersion.

That said, with distance and deeper analysis as a critic, I‘ve come to appreciate Infinite‘s ballad-like quality – where players shape expressive notes that all crescendo towards the same operatic climax. It makes replays a unique pleasure, settling into fate‘s groove with variation in tone and temperament rather than narrative results.

I do wish some choices produced longer reverberations (What if sparing Slate made him an ally in the climax?), but ultimately respect Infinite‘s bold commitment to fatalistic themes over player freedom. Its singular story holds tremendous power. But the limitation of choice comes at a real cost few other acclaimed games have attempted in such duration.

Choice Statistics & Data

Developer Quotes & Artistic Intent

Comparisons to Other Choice-Driven Games