If this wasn't an inFamous game at all - more of an "inFamous-esque" kind of game - I'd call Second Son a pretty great action-adventure game. So keep that in mind, because I'm about to say some very mean things about Second Son. Why? Because with comparison to the duology that came before Second Son, this game's got some serious problems, and it feels like the least 'inFamous'-feeling title in the whole franchise as a result. (Ironic, given that this game was clearly meant to revitalize the series.)
The powers, and a result, combat, have probably taken the greatest hit. On the surface, Delsin has a vast array of fun powers to play around with. Smoke, Neon, Video, Concrete, these are all very unique and very visually pleasing to look at. But in execution, these powers feel almost identical, being little more than differently-colored rays of magic to repetitively snipe or strike the enemy with. I decently like how you can swap between the powers (absorb the nearest energy source that correlates to that power, like chimney cinders for your Smoke or satellites & TVs for your Video), but in spite of the superficial variety on display, the powers themselves are so underdeveloped and underexplored that they never feel anywhere near as interesting as Cole's thoroughly-explored Lightning powers. Even taken as a whole instead of in isolation, Delsin's party platter of magic spells just isn't quite as pleasing to fuck around with as Cole's singular, fleshed-out superpower.
Another big problem is that Delsin is nowhere near as tanky as Cole, and yet the enemies can be just as beefy and hard-hitting as inFamous 1 and 2's tougher foes. Delsin is a glass-cannon, and this turns the flashy-looking combat into a long round of playing the long-game and gradually chipping away at health bars. This is yet another place where the lack of power variety hurts the overall gameplay loop, and it honestly would have been better if they just focused an entire game around honing Delsin's Smoke / Fire powers instead of taking a "quantity-over-quality" stance.
The story is also pretty mid this time around. Admittedly, there's a lot of strong, interesting ideas at play here. Conduits are being persecuted and subjugated against, X-Men style? And Delsin is both a Native American and a Conduit, which gives the underlying narrative of rebellion and discrimination a whole new layer of meaning and tension? That's cool! Also, the villain, Augustine, is a Conduit herself, a more-or-less blackmailed puppet of a racist government that's using her to capture other Conduits. She's only playing along with their wishes as part of a twisted gambit to keep Conduits safe, albeit in prison, and this adds a lot of subtlety and ambiguity to Augustine's character that works really well. She's clearly wrong, but you can kind of see where this woman's coming from, and it makes her a compelling rival to Delsin.
In execution, though, the characters are likable, distinctive, and memorable... but not all that deep or interesting. Delsin himself doesn't have a lot of nuance or depth compared to the more complicated and withdrawn Cole, and Delsin acting like either a Saint or a Sinner depending on your playthrough feels at odds with the character's rebellious, devil-may-care attitude. The fact that Delsin barely changes all that much in either playthrough is also pretty damning. He probably gets the most depth in the Good Playthrough, but Evil Delsin pretty much randomly decides to act like a psychotic jackass whenever the plot demands it. The story is also rushed as hell, with rapid-fire developments that happen offscreen (Fetch & Eugene randomly get captured by Augustine in the final act of the game) and the occasional glaring plothole (how did the aforementioned Fetch and Eugene escape from the ocean, given that they were still caught in Augustine's concrete tomb?) that drags the coherency of the honestly-simple plot down. There's some great story moments, but at the end of it all, the spiky plot winds up feeling kind of rushed and the promising characters feel kind of shallow when all's said and done.
As much as I dislike a lot of the core issues with Second Son, I still think it's a solid action-adventure game at heart. Second Son looks gorgeous, with a lovingly-recreated depiction of the rainy neon metropolis that is Seattle (and as a Seattleite, I can tell that they did a damn fine job). Orbital Drops are flashy and grandiose, the black-and-yellow of the enemy designs make them pop against Seattle's grays, pinks, and greens, and the facial animation is the best it's ever been. The combat may have taken a hit, but the mobility and traversal options you have at your disposal are possibly the best in the series - and funnily enough, I think this is where the differences between the powers actually shine the best, because Smoke, Neon, Video, and Concrete will get you across Seattle in different and discrete ways. It's a smooth and easygoing game, and honestly, in spite of the plot's notable problems, it's easy to get lost in the lively banter between characters or the genuinely interesting worldbuilding contained in audio logs and news broadcasts.
You can also climb up the Space Needle. That makes Second Son an inherently badass game.
It's a shame that Second Son's got so many major problems, because I genuinely think it's a fun and engaging experience in the moment, especially without reference to the other inFamous titles. Unfortunately, I've stayed loyal to the series ever since my childhood, and Second Son is easily the weakest in the series for a number of reasons. Taken on its own, it's quite good. But as an inFamous game...
The powers, and a result, combat, have probably taken the greatest hit. On the surface, Delsin has a vast array of fun powers to play around with. Smoke, Neon, Video, Concrete, these are all very unique and very visually pleasing to look at. But in execution, these powers feel almost identical, being little more than differently-colored rays of magic to repetitively snipe or strike the enemy with. I decently like how you can swap between the powers (absorb the nearest energy source that correlates to that power, like chimney cinders for your Smoke or satellites & TVs for your Video), but in spite of the superficial variety on display, the powers themselves are so underdeveloped and underexplored that they never feel anywhere near as interesting as Cole's thoroughly-explored Lightning powers. Even taken as a whole instead of in isolation, Delsin's party platter of magic spells just isn't quite as pleasing to fuck around with as Cole's singular, fleshed-out superpower.
Another big problem is that Delsin is nowhere near as tanky as Cole, and yet the enemies can be just as beefy and hard-hitting as inFamous 1 and 2's tougher foes. Delsin is a glass-cannon, and this turns the flashy-looking combat into a long round of playing the long-game and gradually chipping away at health bars. This is yet another place where the lack of power variety hurts the overall gameplay loop, and it honestly would have been better if they just focused an entire game around honing Delsin's Smoke / Fire powers instead of taking a "quantity-over-quality" stance.
The story is also pretty mid this time around. Admittedly, there's a lot of strong, interesting ideas at play here. Conduits are being persecuted and subjugated against, X-Men style? And Delsin is both a Native American and a Conduit, which gives the underlying narrative of rebellion and discrimination a whole new layer of meaning and tension? That's cool! Also, the villain, Augustine, is a Conduit herself, a more-or-less blackmailed puppet of a racist government that's using her to capture other Conduits. She's only playing along with their wishes as part of a twisted gambit to keep Conduits safe, albeit in prison, and this adds a lot of subtlety and ambiguity to Augustine's character that works really well. She's clearly wrong, but you can kind of see where this woman's coming from, and it makes her a compelling rival to Delsin.
In execution, though, the characters are likable, distinctive, and memorable... but not all that deep or interesting. Delsin himself doesn't have a lot of nuance or depth compared to the more complicated and withdrawn Cole, and Delsin acting like either a Saint or a Sinner depending on your playthrough feels at odds with the character's rebellious, devil-may-care attitude. The fact that Delsin barely changes all that much in either playthrough is also pretty damning. He probably gets the most depth in the Good Playthrough, but Evil Delsin pretty much randomly decides to act like a psychotic jackass whenever the plot demands it. The story is also rushed as hell, with rapid-fire developments that happen offscreen (Fetch & Eugene randomly get captured by Augustine in the final act of the game) and the occasional glaring plothole (how did the aforementioned Fetch and Eugene escape from the ocean, given that they were still caught in Augustine's concrete tomb?) that drags the coherency of the honestly-simple plot down. There's some great story moments, but at the end of it all, the spiky plot winds up feeling kind of rushed and the promising characters feel kind of shallow when all's said and done.
As much as I dislike a lot of the core issues with Second Son, I still think it's a solid action-adventure game at heart. Second Son looks gorgeous, with a lovingly-recreated depiction of the rainy neon metropolis that is Seattle (and as a Seattleite, I can tell that they did a damn fine job). Orbital Drops are flashy and grandiose, the black-and-yellow of the enemy designs make them pop against Seattle's grays, pinks, and greens, and the facial animation is the best it's ever been. The combat may have taken a hit, but the mobility and traversal options you have at your disposal are possibly the best in the series - and funnily enough, I think this is where the differences between the powers actually shine the best, because Smoke, Neon, Video, and Concrete will get you across Seattle in different and discrete ways. It's a smooth and easygoing game, and honestly, in spite of the plot's notable problems, it's easy to get lost in the lively banter between characters or the genuinely interesting worldbuilding contained in audio logs and news broadcasts.
You can also climb up the Space Needle. That makes Second Son an inherently badass game.
It's a shame that Second Son's got so many major problems, because I genuinely think it's a fun and engaging experience in the moment, especially without reference to the other inFamous titles. Unfortunately, I've stayed loyal to the series ever since my childhood, and Second Son is easily the weakest in the series for a number of reasons. Taken on its own, it's quite good. But as an inFamous game...