BioShock's biggest quote shook gaming history to its core

Spoiler alert: This article contains major spoilers for BioShock

BioShock 18 years ago he made gaming history with his most memorable quote: “A man chooses, a slave obeys.” It's a line that has since become one of the most iconic lines in all of video games, and not just because of its memorable tone. He is the centerpiece BioShockan infamous plot twist, a condensing moment that changed the course of video game storytelling forever and still shakes players to their core nearly two decades later.

Over 18 years and at least two console generations later, BioShockThe plot twist remains one of the most shocking moments in gaming history. A lot has changed in gaming since 2007, and many games since then have come out with massive twists and memorable one-liners, but there's a reason why BioShockThe last act is still so hard. Nostalgia may play a heavy role for those who played the game in its formative years, but the “will you please” twist is more than just a clever piece of writing. It turns the very way a video game works into a statement about fate and free will.

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Andrew Ryan's final monologue in BioShock turned video game history upside down

Towards the end BioShockplayers will finally meet villain Andrew Ryan, who will deliver a spine-tingling chill:

“After all, what separates a man from a slave? Money? Power? No!” The man chooses, the slave obeys! Do you think you have memories? A farm, a family, an airplane, and then this place. Was there really a family there? Did the plane crash or was it hijacked? Forced down, forced down by something less than human, something bred to sleepwalk until activated by a simple phrase spoken by their kind master. Was the man sent to kill, or a slave? The man chooses, the slave listens. Come on. Stop, please? 'Would you please': a strong phrase. Familiar phrase? Sit down, please? Wait, would you be kind? Run! BUS STOP! Turn around! The man chooses, the slave listens. Kill! A man chooses! The slave obeys! Listen!”

As Ryan reframes the opening moments of the game and Jack, the protagonist, automatically follows his orders with every “would you be so kind”, it becomes clear that Jack is not a hero who happened to come to save Rapture, but a pawn of Atlas, who turns out to be Frank Fontaine. Even though Jack gruesomely kills Ryan, it's not the victory over the enemy the players expect. It's a stark revelation that Jack, and even the player himself, is just a slave to someone else's will. That's what he does BioShock's twist one of the best in any FPS because it flips the entire game. The second playthrough feels completely different; Jack becomes a tragic figure and the players question every choice they made because they no longer seem like choices at all.

The BioShock the series presents players with many moral dilemmas, but the lingering memory of the words “man chooses, slave obeys” throws a spanner in every debate. Do players really have a choice when they still have to choose from what the game gives them? Every time players complete an objective v BioShockthey follow Atlas's orders, unconsciously fueled by the phrase “would you please.” Andrew Ryan's monologue turns the mechanics into part of the story, as players can only progress by doing what the game tells them to do. Many games allow players to decide how to drive the story, but BioShock it makes players an active participant in the narrative by highlighting the lack of real choice.

Like any true postmodern work of art, BioShock he avoids a definitive statement, but rather leaves the question open. Ryan's haunting “man chooses, slave obeys” speech accuses the player of having no agency and even challenges the idea of free will more broadly. However, BioShock is also a game of self-discovery, and Jack eventually breaks free from his chains to kill Atlas and, depending on how the players approach the game, may also free the Little Sisters. But one could still argue that even this ending is fateful and that the choices are still an illusion because the game only offers so many paths. That's the endless debate BioShock stand out so much, even 18 years later.

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While Ryan's monologue is still one of the game's deepest twists, there's more BioShocka lasting legacy to look forward to. Multiple BioShock 4 property has been leaked, seemingly adding credence to rumors that it will be set in Antarctica and will feature gold sculptures that evoke memories of the giant golden bust of Andrew Ryan in the first BioShockopening sequence. It is reported that another BioShock the game is stuck in developer hell, so it's not clear when it'll be released yet, but until then, there's plenty to unpack in the conclusion of the first game.