Worship of Levine is not justified imho. Like, he is the source of the good, AND the bad in bioshock, and the reason his studio failed.
He wasted truckloads of money, and made an incoherent mess.
I completely disagree. His world building is second to none, and that is what made the experience in my opinion. In infinite, the Beach Boys BB SHop God Only Knows, the easter eggs for Tears for fears and "revenge of the jedi" (Before lucas changed the name to return of the jedi) and countless other fantastic and creative POI's and production values. The game was a success financially. (All 3 were) and they are at the top of the list for most anyone who plays games.
All those little things may have driven his publisher and some developers in his team nuts, but his perfection when it comes to demanding the best is what is needed more so now than at any other point in this tit for tat industry which is usually lead with low cost development, cuts, GAAS garbage and cut and paste / re-use asset driven mediocrity.
I still remember the Barbershop Quartet in Bioshock infinite and how cool I thought that was with the old couple dancing to it without having any game play value what so ever, just making a living, breathing world. I still remember Elizabeth and the first tear in the 80's, in Bioshock 1 I still remember how terrified I was in the funeral parlor or the awe in how insane Sander Cohen was as he walked down the stairs like he was accepting an Academy Award after doing his dirty work. There are a handful, at best, of games that resonate with memories of what the game was about.
This was all because Levine pushed back on publishers, timelines, schedules, and mediocre "Hit the milestone" design.
Without Levine, it's Bioshock 2. Run of the mill cookie cutter crap with multiplayer no one asked for nor cares about in this series.