Fontaine – BioShock

While the BioShock series has undergone a bit of reexamination for the worse in recent years, one thing that was pretty universally derided even back in 2007 was the first game’s final boss fight against Fontaine. It is a decidedly video gamey moment in a game that, up to that point, had tried to subvert conventional design philosophies of the time. Now, you’re facing this big, superpowered man who chases you around a combat arena and throws fireballs at you. It’s all very silly and for a game that was, at one time, believed to be this very methodical experience and a centerpiece in early (very tiresome) conversations about whether or not games are art to fall into such an obvious pitfall is still bewildering to this day.

The encounter is also frustrating from a combat design perspective because it funnels the player into a run-and-gun playstyle regardless of how they’ve been playing to this point. Thematically, it makes sense that Fontaine losing his humanity would be the player’s final challenge, but the execution is ridiculous and ends the game on a sour note. — Kenneth Shepard

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