Sat aboard a rowboat, listening to a man and woman bicker at each other as a harsh, dark storm masks the approach to a solitary lighthouse. This is how BioShock Infinite begins.

The man is Booker DeWitt, a hired gun sent to take a young woman named Elizabeth from her home. He knows nothing of the place his target resides, but he blindly executes his orders under the assurance that the whole of his debts will be forgiven if he is successful in his goal.

"Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt," the game hammers into players throughout its first two hours. As DeWitt has faith these promises will be kept, the player blindly follows, unclear of the mess the former solider has stepped in to. Though we, as the player, have no idea what this debt is or how it was accrued, it soon comes into focus how substantial it must be.