inFAMOUS Second Son

inFAMOUS Second Son was one of the first games to show what the PlayStation 4 could really do. You play as Delsin Rowe, a young graffiti artist from an Indian reservation near Seattle, who discovers that by touch he can absorb the powers of other gifted people. He gradually gains control over smoke, neon, video, and concrete, each power having its own way of moving and fighting. Neon turns the city into a racetrack across illuminated billboards, smoke lets you slip through vents, video allows short bursts of flight. The open-world Seattle mainly serves as a playground for this movement, and the missions are rounded out by a fight against an occupying unit that hunts the gifted.

Technically, this was a genuine showpiece of the early generation. Wet asphalt reflecting neon lights, particle effects as the character dissolves into smoke, and detailed faces during dialogue made a strong impression on audiences at the time, and the game still looks decent today. Rain hammering against windows, gray skies, and music blending electronics with guitars create the atmosphere of a cold, watched northwestern city. The series also kept its system of moral choices, where the player decides between a heroic and a ruthless path, which changes both abilities and the ending of the story.

The contemporary reception was good, though reviews often mentioned that the missions themselves repeat fairly quickly and that the moral system is too black and white. What players remember, though, is the freedom of movement: few games managed to make simply traveling across a city this much fun. Its influence can be seen in later superhero titles that tried for the same fluid movement through a vertical city. Today it's a shorter, pleasantly straightforward adventure without filler, well suited as a breather between larger games, and it's rounded out by a standalone expansion, First Light. Also interesting is how the game handles the theme of surveillance and security measures that present themselves in the streets as protection for residents; at the time the setting felt like exaggeration, and today it sounds noticeably less distant.