Re-loaded, Re-spliced, and Re-harvested

Technologically, BioShock Remastered holds up pretty good -- the textures are a little fuzzy, and the geometry is a little sharp, but it's a solid update to a ... yikes, really? nine year old game. (Setting aside the depressing return of the game's original launch bugs, like crazy FOV and mouse acceleration, and random crashes in the middle of Hephaestus.)

In terms of design, though, it shows that the original BioShock hasn't aged all that well. The water-pipe hacking puzzles I remember so fondly from 2008 seemed like more of a chore, this time -- granted, one that I still took up at every opportunity. The plasmid powers, once awe-inspiring and shocking (rimshot), felt more familiar and rote. The narrative's full-bodied characters and compelling twists were lackluster, not so much because I saw them coming, but because, well...

The industry has learned from BioShock, now. Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mankind Divided are great examples: Combinations of interesting characters, engrossing action, and diverse mechanics are not all that rare, and they've continued to evolve in the near-decade since Andrew Ryan invited us to Rapture.

These days, BioShock Remastered is less a genre highlight, and more a reminder of what the genre once was. Though modern games still owe a debt to it, it probably isn't much longer until BioShock becomes just as burdensome to revisit as System Shock is today.

Better than: BioShock 2 (if I recall correctly)
Not as good as: if it was 2008 again.
I don't know what it is about "hacking" minigames: I am compelled to do them, even when they become boring and stupid.