inFamous: Second Son Review

Seattle is a dangerous place, teeming with fear caused by the people who are charged to protect and serve. The Department of Unified Protection is a fascist government organization led by the power-mad Brooke Augustine, who locks Seattle down after a prison break.

Their goal is to locate anyone exhibiting mutant abilities, known as Conduits, by using checkpoints, unmanned drones, and sophisticated surveillance technology to monitor everyone within the city to ensure complete control.

People are scared and are willing to turn on anyone who may jeopardize their safety, regardless of who they are. As Delsin Rowe, do you take on the mantle as hero and save the people who fear you, or succumb to your selfish demons? 

From the start, you’ll notice that Second Son looks amazing. With remarkable lightning and graphical detail, Second Son showcases the true power of the PlayStation 4. The streets of Seattle are scattered with beautifully crafted streets that can quickly become fiery disaster zones without a single hiccup in the frame rate. Long draw distances and massive amounts of particle effects litter the screen Second Son reminds us why so many of us purchased a PS4.

High production values are often used to overcompensate for weak characters, and Second Son isn’t an exception. Delsin is a mischief graffiti artist who attempts to distance himself from any real responsibility through lighthearted reasoning and rebellious quotes.

His brother Reggie is a by-the-books cop who is at odds with Delin’s lifestyle and never manifests into someone who cares about. Second Son does benefit from lifelike facial animations that express details of annoyance, relief, frustration, and anger through non-verbal response. However, this doesn’t assist in making the characters more engaging, especially when compared to the cast in the last 2 Infamous games. 

Delsin is filled with idealism and anger, combined with the power to destroy entire city blocks, and things become interesting. Sadly, supporting characters are quickly introduced and discarded after a few missions. Instead, the story loosely bridges them all together and does little to connect them on the core conflict. 

It becomes apparent that the story isn’t where Second Son excels; it’s in the gameplay. Those who’ve played inFamous games in the past will be right at home here, but Delsin’s new moves aren’t simply a cosmetic change from Cole’s powers. Unlike Cole, Delsin doesn’t take cover around barricades and must rely on mobility as his primary defense.

This shift forces you to travel through the environment much quicker. Abilities that allow you to launch Delsin into the air with ease or run up buildings to eliminate enemies on rooftops ensure that mobility is fun and easy. 

Delsin isn’t limited to one power and uses multiple abilities. He can use smoke to float into air vents that propel him into the air and look down into the soaked streets with glee, or he can transform into a translucent wisp using neon for quick dashes.

You can gain more powers that build your arsenal over the course of the story, and by hunting down quadcopters that possess blast shards within. 

Fights have been tailored to using these amazing abilities to your advantage. Some troops have been imbued with the power to cement in addition to their standard arsenal. Whether it’s snipers on the roofs, helicopters in the sky, or an armor vehicle ready to disperse soldiers, you’ll have to use Delsin’s quick feet to dash into and out of fights.

While your health regenerates quicker than in past inFamous games, Delsin is weaker than Cole MacGrath, forcing the player to rely on guerrilla tactics rather than brute force. 

Like Cole’s last two adventures, Delsin will have to make choices that will mold whether he follows the hero’s path or becomes Infamous. If you want to be the city’s white knight than you’ll have to take precautions and ensure the safety of civilians while incapacitating enemies.

However, if you would rather demolish everything and kill anyone who stands in your way, things become a lot easier. It’s shocking that despite the radical choices you’ll have to make, these extreme decisions have no effect on the world. Instead, the story follows a strict path regardless of your choices.

While the world remains the same, Delsin doesn’t. His powers alter based on the status of his morality. Both are linked to a single-use, screen-clearing, ultra-attack that requires specific parameters before it can be used. As a hero, you must subdue enemies, use smoke handcuffs, avoid civilian casualties, harm any innocent, and the chain breaks. Choose to be inFamous, and Delsin must destroy and kill as quickly as possible. 

The drastic differences in both play styles showcase what type of person my Delsin was. Avoiding civilians and fighting more methodically was essential during my hero playthrough, while during my evil session, I destroyed everything and realized how powerful Delsin was. 

Delsin’s powers go beyond smoke as the story progresses. Each ability transformer enables both action and travel in new ways, introducing varied gameplay elements. It was a shame that the powers didn’t evolve in interesting ways, similar to inFamous 2, based on your moral choices. Instead, most of the abilities remain almost identical regardless.

Missions require you to fight in inventive ways that flex your combat prowess. The map is separated into districts, and it’s up to you to clear out the D.U.P. from Seattle by attacking bases, finding audio logs, locating undercover agents, and repeating the process. Bosses also copy this same euphoria flow of standard battles, compelling you to move with speed and precision while delivering offensive blows.

Fights tend to drag on, and most of them don’t compare to creative enemies found in inFamous 1 or 2. This doesn’t mean that overpowering each foe using a perfect assortment of offensive and defensive abilities isn’t well-earned; instead, each victory requires a level of patience and dedication.

The style of inFamous Second Son is sadly disappointing. Whereas past games had a unique take on the environment, the city of Seattle in Second Son is more like a generic open world filled with NPCs.

It’s not meant to be a living world like Empire City or New Marais, but a playground for Delsin. The musical score and incredible calamity mostly overshadow the lifeless nature of the city, especially when engaged in a huge fight against the DUP. 

InFamous: Second Son doesn’t rely heavily on the story and morality system that the other inFamous games are best known for. Instead, its focus is on pure entertainment by providing you with a lush array of powers to use and a city to test them out on.

Its incredible visuals truly show the might of the PS4 and remind us why we purchased Sony’s new box. It’s a shame that, for all Second Son excels at the narrative, it’s its poorest attribute. Combined with a lackluster morality system, the story loses the same appeal that Cole’s adventures had.

Second Son doesn't attempt to mimic the compelling morality system from the other inFamous games; instead, it forges a new identity centered on entertaining us by giving the player incredible powers to play within a wonderful recreation of Seattle.