Bioshock Infinite Retrospect (SPOILERS)

It's not crafted by gods tho, so course it had problems.

Like dodgy facial animations on the lady who gives you the first Vigor. Or non-interactable NPCs that, to be fair, did have plenty of dialogue, you just had to run past them a couple times to auto-play it since they usually aren't written to be talking to you. Still: new territory for 2k after Bioshock 1+2 barely had any friendly NPCs up close.
Vigors initially seemed to lack some upgrade diversity from Bioshock 2, but they've actually melted down almost all effects from plasmids, weapons and tonics and re-assigned them to the new mechanics. Security bots wouldn't do so well in really open and vertical arenas; the tear-turrets were a much better replacement for example.
The weapons, competent but not that interesting (could've used some hold-down-ironsights, too), lacked the previous games' visual customization... but then again picking up new weapons to find them uniquely customized would've been awkward as well. And I changed weapons a lot in 1999 mode where the two-weapons restriction (which I disliked at first) makes ammo pretty scarce and forces you to stay mobile and looting, rethinking how to maneuver and exploit the level constantly. Enemies weren't so diverse you needed another playstyle for each of them, but the AI mostly knows how to flank and flush even in open areas. The real diversity comes in your equipment and how you use the levels: core gameplay, which is exactly the kind of freedom I'm looking for in an otherwise linear, story-driven game.
I think they also expanded your item interactivity radius, so sometimes you didn't see where the game's interaction prompts were coming from. The Boys of Silence I expected to operate on sound rather than sight. Aaand Elizabeth sometimes did weird teleportation to stay in front of you. That's pretty much all I can think of.

For every little thing the game did badly, it did two little things right tho.

Tons of lovely detail and lore elegantly told. Wanna know how the Handymen actually feel like? Right in the beginning we see one on stage dressed like some show animal in some ridiculous "fancy" clothing, scared of all the camera flash lights going off. I wonder if he regrets the decision he made. Unlike the Big Daddies, he's not brainwashed after all.
The game's filled to the top with this stuff, it's amazing what devs unrestrained by publisher demands can do. The Bioshocks have gotten exponentially better with each installment in my opinion, number two's failed multiplayer experiment aside.
I could do a whole other comic on how much I friggin loved Elizabeth, but my highlights were the organic gameplay moments where all hope seemed lost and then she tossed you just the right thing. She's not a walking turret and door opener dispensing mission objectives like Alyx. Neither an escort-mission-hindrance. She genuinely felt like someone with you there, trying to support you best she can. Pretty much everything in the game was great, but to me she was the best and most polished part. Wise focus decision on the devs' part, because if a player doesn't like her, he'll have a hard time ignoring her during gameplay or story.

Contrary to what the comic may convey, I even loved the ending.

Right until the veeery last scene where reality-warping, time travelling and baptism metaphors clash together into something weird and, as I understand it, basically rocks fall and everyone dies. I only turn into the raging little stickman when I'm thinking through the details. I sat through the credits in sad disbelief like a hollow doll.
Oh well. I got a stupid spark of hope. My Booker didn't have his bandage on in that last scene and I don't think Elizabeth wore the jewelry he bought her. Imposters! Where's the real Booker and Elizabeth? :V C'mon 2k, we all just want to see her stupid wide grin when reaching Paris after all she's been through. I know you won't edit the ending or continue it in DLC or Infinite 2, I know you won't give us that little light, but... ):

All shortcomings utterly fail distract from the fact that this game has soul.

Soul like I've never seen it before in a game. I know you don't really have to chase after Songbird without a timer ticking. You can see the tropes and how they construct scenes with them. I knew all that, but the game was so good it made me forget about all of this. I went through some real emotions while playing, I was actually muttering stuff out loud (which I've never done before), I actually forgot reality around me when Elizabeth got in some serious trouble.
It's easier for old games to create that immersive effect. Back then I couldn't see through them, wasn't used to mechanics X and tropes Y. It all felt novel and magical to me. I thought I had gotten so used to fiction in general and games especially that by now that I couldn't ever get immersed like I used to. I certainly never imagined Bioshock Infinite could surpass that magic by a landslide for me.

So very glad to see I was wrong.