inFamous First Light is set before the events of Second Son, where you’re placed in the role of Fetch. The story alternates between two points in the timeline, one where Fetch is being trained by Augustine, and another during the most important and emotionally draining events of her life. You have the luxury of seeing exactly what made Fetch the way she is.
Playing as Fetch is similar to controlling Delsin, Second Son‘s protagonist. Her Neon powers have the same mechanics of Delsin’s where agility and precision are the key to victory, but she has some abilities of her own. These new abilities are earned by completing side content to earn skill points, which are the currency for the game’s powers. If you’re an inFamous fan, you might be glad to hear that the most important travel powers are unlocked from the get-go, making locomotion quick and fun.
Unfortunately, Fetch is limited to the Neon power due to character design. This is particularly problematic because Delsin’s four powers were repetitive enough as it was by the end of the original campaign. Every fight boils down to running around, shooting at enemies, throwing some extra options down, and then hiding behind walls for a few seconds to recharge health. For most of the experience, combat devolves into a shooting gallery with little variation. It’s unlikely to hold your attention.
Sony’s Official inFamous: First Light Facts
Instead of addressing the weaknesses of Second Son, First Light adds a layer of new content, which is a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. This new content includes some moderately well put together story sequences, and a bunch of arena levels. However, the world is just as inorganic as it was before. You won’t see crowds moving about in a believable way, and vehicles appear robotic. Seattle has never been so dead.
inFamous First Light plays to the one strength of Second Son: its presentation. This is a remarkably beautiful game, and you’ll be compelled to take screenshots along your journey—there’s a Photo Mode included. Facial animations are surprisingly stunning, with new and returning characters brought to life. Menu elements and the overall fit and finish are similarly well put together.
So the question is: who is this game for? Well, if you enjoyed inFamous Second Son, then what’s included in inFamous First Light is enough to justify $14.99, as it gives you a few more hours of what you already enjoyed. Otherwise, skip it. There are more enjoyable games to play at the same price point.
Jonathan Leack is the Gaming Editor for CraveOnline. You can follow him on Twitter @jleack.
Copy provided by publisher. inFamous First Light is exclusive to PS4 as a standalone expansion to inFamous: Second Son.
inFamous First Light Official Facts
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Fact #4
Both Fetch's ringtone and some of the music in the Curdun Cay Battle Arenas are from the original inFAMOUS game as homage to the franchise.
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Fact #5
The record for highest score in a Battle Arena by a member of the Sucker Punch team is 20 million. Can you beat it?
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Fact #6
In order to raise the bar with our cinematic storytelling, Sucker Punch's Rendering, Tech Art, Character, and Animation departments worked together for one month to develop "Crying Technology." It combines many different rendering and modeling techniques, along with hand animated tear drops.
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Fact #1
There are 97 different challenges to complete in the game.
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Fact #2
Fetch's snow footsteps were recorded in early March 2014 during a huge snowstorm east of Seattle near Snoqualmie Pass.
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Fact #3
First Light features 30 songs from 6 independent local bands! You can hear them coming from Sonic Boom Records, from inside cars, and playing a live show inside the Irish Pub at night.
