How to Get All the Endings in Bioshock 1

Last Updated: September 22, 2022

The very first game in the Bioshock series has three different endings, all of which depend on how you treat the Little Sisters that you come across throughout the game. These little sisters were once normal human girls, but were used to contain an energy source called ADAM. Although harvesting the Little Sisters will give you more power, it results in their deaths, causing you to get one of the two bad endings. However, rescuing every Little Sister you come across results in a heartwarming ending.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Doing the Prerequisites

1
Find the Little Sisters. For the happiest ending, you will have to rescue each Little Sister you come across. In total, there are 21 Little Sisters that you will need to rescue. Little Sisters move around the map as you progress in the game, and rarely stay in one spot for too long. They can be identified by their Little Sister icon on the map.
- For a total headcount of little sisters, there is 1 in the Medical Pavilion, 3 in Neptune's Bounty, 2 in Arcadia, 1 in the Farmer's Market, 4 in Fort Frolic, 3 in Hephaestus, 2 in Olympus Heights, 2 in Apollo Square, and 3 in Point Prometheus.
2
Defeat the Big Daddies. There are some Little Sisters that cannot be harvested or saved; however, those that you can harvest or save are accompanied by a Big Daddy, which act as guardians. To rescue the Little Sister, you will have to defeat the Big Daddy regardless of which ending you want.
- Big Daddies are arguably the toughest enemies in the game, so use caution when engaging them in combat. They will only become hostile if you attack first, so feel free to explore the level and collect any power-ups you need before attacking.
- Big Daddies fall into two categories: Rosies and Bouncers. Rosies are encountered in the Neptune's Bounty level. Their main attacks are shooting with the rivet gun and throwing proximity mines. You'll encounter Bouncers in the Medical Pavilion level. They charge at you with their drills, or use melee attacks.
- The electric Buck bullets with the rapid-fire shotgun are effective on both types of Big Daddies, as they do a lot of damage and pierce through the armor. Overall, it is best to keep your distance when fighting Bouncers, as they excel at close combat. Rosies can be beaten if you can avoid their fire and attack with armor-piercing bullets.
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3
Decide what kind of ending you want. After you have defeated a Little Sister's guardian and before you go on, think on what ending you would want for your game. You can have the best, sad, or worst ending; and all these depend on how you treat the Little Sister whose guardian you just killed.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Getting the Different Endings

1
Get the best ending by rescuing ALL the Little Sisters. To achieve the Best Ending, every single one of the 21 Little Sisters must be rescued. To rescue a Little Sister, approach her after you have defeated her Big Daddy guardian. She will most likely be crying over his body and will not run away.
- Two options will appear: “Harvest” and “Rescue.” Hit the “Rescue” option by pressing the Triangle button (PS3), Y button (Xbox 360), or the L key (PC).
- The best ending is markedly different from the two variations of bad endings. Rather than the splicers taking over Rapture, Jack escapes to the surface and adopts all the rescued Little Sisters.
2
Get the sad ending by harvesting only SOME of the Little Sisters. For the second ending, you will have to harvest a few of the Little Sisters, but not all of them. When you approach a Little Sister after defeating her guardian, select the “Harvest” option for some of the girls while choosing “Rescue” for the others.
3
Get the worst Ending by harvesting them all. This is simple; instead of rescuing the Little Sisters, you harvest them ALL. Sparing even just one of them will give you the second ending.
- Note that the second and third endings are nearly identical; however, choosing to harvest all the Little Sisters will result in the narrator sounding angry, rather than sad at you. The cinematic sequence remains the same.