BioShock 2 Remastered

BioShock
BioShock	2007
BioShock 2	2010
BioShock Infinite	2013
BioShock Remastered	2016
BioShock 2 Remastered	2016

BioShock 2 Remastered is a remastered release of the 2010 immersive sim BioShock 2 and its Minerva's Den add-on. However, it does not the original game's multiplayer mode.^[2]

The game is available for free to prior owners of BioShock 2 on Steam.^[2] Purchasing this version likewise gives a free copy of the original on Steam and GOG.com.

Some players may have issues with crashes to desktop on Windows 10; a possible fix here.^[3]^[4]^[5]

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Epic Games Store		Requires 2K Launcher.
GOG.com		Includes the original BioShock 2.
Green Man Gaming
Mac App Store
Steam		Includes the original BioShock 2. As of 31 August 2022, 2K Launcher is required.

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Minerva's Den Remastered	Also unlocks a copy of the original Minerva's Den.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Use `-nointro` command line argument^[6]

Skip 2K Launcher

Windows: Use the `"<path-to-game>\BioShock2HD.exe" -run %command%` command line argument.^[7]

Epic Games Store^[8]^[9]

Before editing, make a backup of the AC9070384D88C76936CC1DAA350F386C.item file in case the modifications go wrong. note that it seems like this file can have a completely different name for instance mine was 0C05646B4B3E92D6B354678F2275A7C4.item

Go to %PROGRAMDATA%\Epic\EpicGamesLauncher\Data\Manifests.
Open AC9070384D88C76936CC1DAA350F386C.item with Notepad or another text editor.
Using the Find function (Ctrl+F), search for 2KLauncher/LauncherPatcher.exe. There will be exactly one entry.
Replace the text with Build/FinalEpic/Bioshock2HD.exe.
Restart Epic Games Store.

Linux: Use `"bash -c 'exec "${@/2KLauncher\/LauncherPatcher.exe/Build\/Final\/Bioshock2HD.exe}"' -- %command% -nointro" -run %command%` command line argument (including intro skip using `-nointro`).^[10]

Fix audio balance issues

The game does not use the original audio mix, causing some audio balance issues; most notably, gun fire is much quieter as well as other sound effects. The sound effects can be restored by downloading a modified .ini file:

Restore correct audio settings^{[citation needed]}
Download `SoundMixStates.ini` from Fix Quiet Guns and Unbalanced Audio - Restoring the Retail Audio Mix. Go to `<path-to-game>\ContentBaked\pc\System` and place `SoundMixStates.ini` inside.

Restore uncompressed FMV audio

Download and install this mod.

BioShock Tweaker

Allows you to change settings that are not normally adjustable from the options menu (i.e. custom resolution). Point the program at the game's configuration file location.

Do not enable ForceGlobalLighting, a setting left over from the original 2010 release that will cause the game to freeze in specific places if enabled.^[11]

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock2\*.ini
Epic Games Launcher	%APPDATA%\Bioshock Epic HD\Bioshock2\*.ini
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/409720/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\BioshockHD\Bioshock2\SaveGames\
Epic Games Launcher	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Bioshock Epic HD\Bioshock2\<user-id>\SaveGames\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/409720/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents* folder in OneDrive on all computers.*
Steam Cloud		Up to 128 save files (and no more than 512 MB) can be synced.

Video

Graphics settings.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Limited to a maximum of 1440p when using DSR.
Multi-monitor		Navigation arrow is out of view and the weapon model is cropped. See the related WSGF thread for a workaround.
Ultra-widescreen		Added in via patch. Navigation arrow is out of view and the weapon model is cropped. See the related WSGF thread for a workaround.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)	Added in via patch. 75° to 130°. Default is 100°.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)	FXAA, toggle only.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS	No frame rate caps. First person animations are locked at 60 fps.^{[citation needed]}
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode	The original was updated with color blind friendly hacking UI, but the remaster goes back to the original unfriendly UI.^{[citation needed]}

Advanced graphics settings

Settings^{[citation needed]} are located in the configuration file location folder, named Bioshock2SP.ini. Set the file to 'read-only' to avoid overwriting during gameplay.

Option	Values	Description
Shadows	True/False	Shadow Maps
UseHighDetailPostProcEffects	True/False	High Detail Post Processing
HighDetailShaders	True/False	High Details Shaders
UseHighDetailShadowMaps UseHighDetailSoftParticles	True/False	Use Detail Surfaces Enabling soft particles has no effect
HighDetailActors SuperHighDetailActors	True/False	Actor Detail Set both to false for low, only first option to true for medium, both to true for high
TextureDetail	Low/Medium/High/UltraHigh	Texture Detail
FluidSurfaceDetail	Low/Medium/High/UltraHigh	Fluid Surface Detail. Default is High.
DynamicShadowDetail	Low/Medium/High/UltraHigh	Dynamic Shadows Detail. Default is High.
UseMultithreadedRendering	0/1	Multithreaded rendering. Default is 0.

Input

Controllers need to be unplugged or disabled in game settings for mouse to work.

Input settings.

Keyboard rebinding.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Two keys per action. `Tab ↹` is hard-coded to console and cannot be rebound.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		XInput only.
Full controller support		If controller is disabled in settings, requires keyboard or mouse to enable.
Controller remapping		Four presets available.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Generic/other controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Controller settings.
Controller buttons.

Audio

General settings.

Audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Confirmed up to 7.1 output.^[12] Audio mode is set to Stereo by default.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese				Added in PC Patch 3.^[13]
French
German
Hungarian				Fan translation, download.
Italian
Japanese
Polish				Ported from BioShock 2. Available here. [1]
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation, download.
Russian				Ported from BioShock 2. Available here.
Spanish

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D, Z3D, DirectVR Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues fixed

Game overwrites desktop color profile

Use the `-nogamma` command line argument.

Frequent crashes

A new fix attempt for frequent crashes on modern PCs has been proposed on Steam limiting the game to run on 4 CPU cores max, which seems to work fine for many users.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	11
Metal support

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Cutscenes	Bink Video

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66 GHz AMD Athlon X2 2.7 GHz	3.0 GHz Quad Core
System memory (RAM)	4 GB	8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	25 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 AMD Radeon HD 7770 2 GB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible	Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 AMD Radeon HD 7970
Sound (audio device)	DirectX compatible

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Mobile chipsets and integrated/AGP graphics cards may be incompatible.

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.14.6
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3 1.1 GHz
System memory (RAM)	8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	22 GB
Video card (GPU)	AMD Radeon R9 M290 Intel Iris Pro 5200 1.5 GB of VRAM

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Steam version requires 10.15.4.

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/409720/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (409720) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Welcome back to Rapture… BioShock 2 Remastered is out now for macOS - Feral News - last accessed on 2020-10-23
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Remastered BioShock: The Collection Coming to PC on September 13, 2016 - last accessed on June 30, 2016
↑ bioshock 2 crashing - last accessed on August 25, 2017
↑ Bioshock 2 Remastered - random crashes - last accessed on August 25, 2017
↑ Bioshock 2 Remastered crash anytime - last accessed on August 25, 2017
↑ Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2019-11-02
↑ Steam Guide - Bypass 2K Launcher - last accessed on May 2023
↑ Reddit - Bioshock Epic Store 2K Launcher bypass - last accessed on 2023-06-09
↑ Verified by User:Harmiess on 2023-06-09
↑ Reddit - How to bypass the 2K Launcher on Bioshock Remasters on Linux - last accessed on May 2023
↑ This is verifiable by examining the logs that can be found in the %APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock2\ShaderErrors folder after at least one such crash occurs.
↑ PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up - last accessed on May 2023
↑ PC PATCH NOTES: 12/5/2017 - last accessed on May 2023

[Proton_path_note-12] 1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/409720/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (409720) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[Feral-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Welcome back to Rapture… BioShock 2 Remastered is out now for macOS - Feral News - last accessed on 2020-10-23

[announcement-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Remastered BioShock: The Collection Coming to PC on September 13, 2016 - last accessed on June 30, 2016

[crashing-1-3] shock 2 crashing - last accessed on August 25, 2017

[crashing-2-4] Bioshock 2 Remastered - random crashes - last accessed on August 25, 2017

[crashing-3-5] Bioshock 2 Remastered crash anytime - last accessed on August 25, 2017

[6] Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2019-11-02

[7] Steam Guide - Bypass 2K Launcher - last accessed on May 2023

[8] Reddit - Bioshock Epic Store 2K Launcher bypass - last accessed on 2023-06-09

[9] Verified by User:Harmiess on 2023-06-09

[10] Reddit - How to bypass the 2K Launcher on Bioshock Remasters on Linux - last accessed on May 2023

[11] This is verifiable by examining the logs that can be found in the %APPDATA%\BioshockHD\Bioshock2\ShaderErrors folder after at least one such crash occurs.

[13] PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up - last accessed on May 2023

[14] PC PATCH NOTES: 12/5/2017 - last accessed on May 2023

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[Note 1]

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Developers

Original game	2K Marin
Remastered	Blind Squirrel Games
macOS (OS X)	Feral Interactive^[1]
Publishers
	2K Games
Engines
	Unreal Engine 2.5
Release dates
Windows	September 15, 2016
macOS (OS X)	October 22, 2020^[1]
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, DLC
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Immersive sim, RPG, Shooter
Art styles	Realistic, Stylized
Themes	Sci-fi, Steampunk
Series	BioShock