How BioShock Infinite's Time-Traveling Soundtrack Steals the Show
BioShock Infinite’s soundtrack isn’t just nostalgic—it’s a time-traveling narrative trick you probably missed. The game drops 1968’s God Only Knows into a 1912 setting, bending history to foreshadow its dimensional rifts.
This isn’t accidental worldbuilding—it’s a calculated move by composer Albert Fink, who uses anachronistic music to signal the game’s multiverse mechanics.
The Bee Sharps’ cover of God Only Knows becomes a literal clue. When Columbia’s sky rips open, the song’s presence hints at the game’s core twist: that Elizabeth and Booker are stealing future music through interdimensional travel.
The same logic applies to the missable acoustic guitar scene where Booker and Elizabeth play Will the Circle Be Unbroken. The hymn’s lyrics—about death and reunion—subtly mirror their fractured identities across timelines.
One critic called it “one of my favourite ways a game has made use of licensed music”, but the choice isn’t just clever—it’s necessary.
Modern-sounding tracks would break the 1912 illusion, so the developers sidestepped anachronisms by making them part of the plot.
Every song becomes a breadcrumb, guiding players toward the revelation that Columbia exists in a loop of stolen time.
