inFAMOUS: Second Son is simultaneously a departure for the franchise while keeping true to what made the first two games so successful. Gone are the fictional comic book cities of New Marais and Empire City and in their place is a gorgeously realised Seattle. Gone too are Cole McGrath and his friends, now replaced by the cocky Deslin Rowe and conflicted cop brother Reggie.
The setting, story and characters imbue this version of inFAMOUS with somewhat more gravitas. This is superheroics played straight. Perhaps as a hangover from The Dark Knight trilogy’s influence on comic-book stories, inFAMOUS: Second Son demands to be taken seriously. And in general, it works. I’m still not sold on Deslin and his motivations (granted, I am still largely in the dark at this point), but I do want to know more. So far, so good Sucker Punch.
While Second Son differs in tone from previous games, gameplay remains almost entirely consistent. Deslin has multiple powers this time around rather than being limited to one like Cole was. Sucker Punch has revealed that Deslin’s power is actually absorbing the powers of other Conduits, a la Peter Petrelli in Heroes. Deslin can still enter third-person shooter mode and fire off “shots” at enemies in addition to the standard third person action adventure melee combat.
What the team at Sucker Punch have succeeded in doing though is to make the gameplay experience smoother, cleaner and faster than ever before. inFAMOUS was never a slouch when it came to the playing, but Second Son feels like a next-gen (or is that current-gen) game despite having its heritage firmly planted on the PS3.
It feels like the developer realised what I felt during much of my playthroughs of the first two games — that it was a real slog to travel around the cities on occasion — and have implemented several changes to streamline the game and improve the flow. Deslin can still parkour with the best of them and make his way up buildings, lamp posts, railings etc, but now his new powers have given him multiple means of quickly and easily scaling building and travelling from point A to point B.
With the default Smoke power, Deslin is able to enter air ducts at the bottom of a building and instantly appear at the top. With his Neon power, Deslin can dash and run up the side of any surface getting to the top of any building in only a few seconds. Players need not use either method of climbing if they wish, but both really add to the experience rather than detract.
Speaking of powers, it’s such a simple change, but the implementation of multiple powers is a real game changer for the franchise. While Smoke and Neon feel similar (Sucker Punch has promised four powers in the final game) they’re different enough mechanically and visually to feel distinct from one another.
Smoke gives Deslin a chain to use as a melee weapon and allows him to dart around quickly from place to place. The smoke shots take enemies out brutally, especially with headshots, and it feels grungier and more anarchic. Neon on the other hand gives Deslin a sword made of light. A lightsabre essentially. His attacks are more surgical and clean with Neon and his dash ability makes him look like a lightcycle from Tron.
Morality still plays a large role, but is far less binary and thankfully a lot less heavy handed. Rather than “murder 10 puppies” or “save 10 babies” the choices are more naturalistic and organic. It also seems as though choosing “good” or “evil” will significantly change the experience of the game. There may be an actual reason to replay with both alignments other than simply collecting trophies this time around.
Visually, Second Son is close to, if not the best looking game we’ve yet seen of the new generation of consoles. The smoke and neon effects alone are enough to make you stop and stare, but the city of Seattle itself is a true thing of beauty. Everywhere you look there is a level of detail that was simply not possible in the last generation. The road, slick with rain reflects the lights of the city around it. Buildings look almost real and the city feels lived in. It’s not a dead sandbox. Second Son’s Seattle is as much a character as Deslin is and may be even more important.
As a fan of the franchise, it’s easy for me to like and recommend inFAMOUS: Second Son, but the simple truth is that your enjoyment of this new game will hinge solely on your feelings about the previous ones. If you’re a fan you’ll get a kick out of the new powers, the new city and the updated gameplay. If the previous inFAMOUS games weren’t for you then Second Son won’t win you over. It looks and feels next-gen, but it’s also more of the same. Whether it truly changes the dynamic and shakes up the established formula remains to be seen. Look for our review for a full rundown.
inFAMOUS: Second Son will be available 21 March exclusively for PS4.
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