nFamous: Second Son Review
Disclaimer
I'll start by saying I wasn't thrilled with inFamous 2. The stretching of the single power set and the lackluster melee combat made the overall experience a bit bland and repetitive. The addition of user generated content was welcomed but personally I wish the time spent on its implementation was instead used to strengthen core mechanics. Nearly 3 years later with much of its content under wraps, we have inFamous: Second Son.
Back Issue
Without going into too much detail, the events of inFamous 1 and 2 have changed the world. Individuals with powers (conduits) are among us but as expected not everyone is willing to co-exist with such a large potential threat to mankind. Immediately after inFamous 2 as an attempt to control and prevent conduits (called "bio terrorists" by those seeking to demonize them) from using their powers against the populace, the D.U.P. (Department of Unified Protection) was created to seek them out and imprison them. In the years leading to Second Son the D.U.P. have gained traction and funding. They've left conduit affected cities in hostile police-states while maintaining extreme efficiency in their mission, regardless of the means.
An Origin Story
Second Son at its heart, is a super-hero origin story. The hero discovers or gains his powers from an external event, a conflict arises and he finally overcomes it for better or worse. The story hasn't changed much but beanie and button-clad Delsin Rowe has replaced Cole McGrath as our leading man. Second Son greatly benefits from the roster change. Delsin, (voiced and mo-capped by Troy Baker) offers far more personality and emotion than the series has previously seen. While Second Son has a better script on the table, it hasn't compromised that familiar comic book feel. Baker and Sucker Punch convey a fantastic sense of joy and discovery as Delsin gains and builds upon his powers. That sense of discovery translates exceptionally well to the player during Delsin's journey thanks to tight pacing and absolutely incredible visuals. Unfortunately depending on how slowly you progress the story upon reaching the city, (first few missions fill out your core abilities) the momentum can fade into a brief albeit worrying echo of the past. Delsin, accompanied by his older brother Reggie form the major pillar of the character relationships in Second Son with conduits and other characters weaving in and out. The two actors play off each other well with light character development while sadly other characters introduced don't receive much attention past their introduction. The lack of development makes the final act fall a bit flat while the brothers' relationship has just enough gas to make it to the end of their arc, although perhaps not quite deserved.
Welcome to Seattle
The sun reflects off the rain-soaked streets, the populace moves about their day under the watchful eyes of the D.U.P. from a nearby checkpoint. A monorail car approaches overhead, nearby buildings, trees and track are lit by the front lights as it passes. The rear set leaves a faint glow as it disappears in the distance. Second Son is gorgeous. The attention to detail and atmosphere achieved by SP here is matched by few other developers. While some form of a live day/night cycle is expected of open-world games at this point, SP made it a point to control the lighting and weather for each set "chapter" (there aren't official chapters, just time of day/weather changes locked to mission progression). The visuals speak volumes as to whether that choice was for the best. The effects for the powers are arguably the best in the business at the moment. It appears a careful balance was attempted for the available power sets to keep everything looking great while not overshadowing or outdoing each other and it's mostly successful. Although I'm not sure anything in the game beats smoke's orbital drop. While each looks unique a bit of visual influence from the other is applied to certain moves to add a connected feel. It's a nice touch.
Sucker Punch has only slightly improved on the open-world in Second Son. Sure, there's more to do in Seattle but the side activities aren't very compelling. Mostly of the go find this, defeat them variety, Second Son isn't paving the way for bold and new side activities. The scope doesn't seem that much greater from inFamous 2 but the city is much more dense and detailed. While not as unique as other high profile franchises, the separate sections of the city have their own feel with a realistic approach that seems appropriate for Second Son's art direction. Pedestrian and traffic amount isn't heavy but enough to make SP's Seattle seem lived in. The addition of specific people living in set districts helps add to the illusion.
Sounds of the City
Sound design is on par with the art direction in Second Son from the patter of rain on a rooftop solar panel to the thump of a smoke projectile hitting a D.U.P. soldier. The powers have a unique sound design that accompany and support the visuals extremely well. The music in particular was a very pleasant surprise for me. It has a very "Seattle" feel ranging from identifiable grunge hits played low in a cutscene to instrumental alt-rock pieces placed here and there.
Enjoy Your Power
Coming from a place of semi-negativity with inFamous 2 I was surprised to enjoy the combat system in Second Son. I still feel the melee system is lacking but the feedback from hit detection and animation feels much improved. However one area Second Son falls on its face is the non-lethal hero approach. It's not satisfying to throw a smoke grenade and tap triangle for every coughing soldier in the area or to target shins in neon. The powers included have an innate gravitation towards violence and death that it just feels better to let lose and enjoy the carnage. It seems like many of the non-lethal options were included to be an added skill test but you just end up frustrated with how careful you need to be with people that are trying to kill you. While the same basic concept has been here since inFamous 1, it feels wrong here or in need of change. Trust me, be evil.
The power sets have certain roles built into them in here, which both helps and hurts the system. Smoke is a more close quarters power set with a charged shotgun-type ability mapped with a held R2 trigger pull, semi-auto standard attack with R2 tapped, rockets with R1 and grenades with L1. L2 is shared across sets as zoom. I felt more encouraged to dash (O input) in and out of groups switching between melee and ranged powers in smoke while neon with its heavier long range sniper-type abilities kept me at range and on the move with its super speed and wall running. While this is great on paper, the nature of Second Son's brief combat doesn't exactly lend itself to switching between sets (only achievable by physically finding the resource in the world [ex: smoke pipe, neon sign]) mid-fight for 90% of the enemy list or heavy attacks from tougher enemies would be enough to interrupt my switch or even kill me before the switch was complete if I wasn't careful. So while a power might have the role I want to play, what ends up happening is whichever power I was using for traversal ended up being the power I'd use and stick with until completely out of recharge options in combat. And it's a hell of a lot easier to get around with neon than smoke. The issue is exacerbated by certain fights that lock you into one power or another. It seems so strange that a game filled with positive feedback communicated to the player about getting a new power or trying something new would end up forcing you into using just one for a considerable chunk of time.
Core abilities for each power are introduced and gained through core relays guarded by the D.U.P. that Delsin must break open and absorb. From that point all future upgrades for the power are done through the skill tree with certain abilities or effects being tied to karma and all costing various amounts of collectible blast shards. Districts in Seattle all have a semi heavy D.U.P. presence ranging from vehicle patrols to rooftop sentries. Each district has a D.U.P. mobile command unit (the trailers...from the trailers) which when destroyed allows the detection of blast shards and controls mission unlocks, jamming stations/towers block radar. It's pretty standard open-world design we've seen from other games. Despite some of the grudges with being in a power set longer than I'd like, the combat is simple yet satisfying regardless of which power you're using. But the system really shines in large encounters where you can dig in and go through your entire toolkit.
Heart-Shaped Box
Overall Second Son is a step up from inFamous 2 in most of the ways that matter. It stumbles a bit with its supporting characters, has a serviceable plot and the overall cohesiveness of the power sets/switching doesn't quite gel perfectly. But what it does well, it excels at. Something I kept coming back to during my playthrough was how well the different departments at SP knew what atmosphere they were trying to achieve. It's so well realized and reflects just how much passion and talent these folks have for what they do. While not perfect, inFamous: Second Son is another crucial step forward towards the full realization of what Sucker Punch are trying to do with this series. Excited to see what's next.