inFamous: Second Son (2014): The Review
Overview
inFamous: Second Son brought the PlayStation 4 into a new era with a flashy superhero sandbox, a charismatic lead, and a city crackling with neon-powered potential. Set in a dystopian Seattle, you play as Delsin Rowe, a rebellious conduit who absorbs powers and challenges the oppressive Department of Unified Protection. With slick visuals and satisfying powers, it’s a stylish open-world blast, even if its moral system and story don’t fully break new ground.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
The Positives✅
Infamous: Second Son basically ditches the comic-book cheese from the old games and goes, “nah, let’s try acting grown-up now.” And weirdly, it works. It’s still absolutely an open-world superhero playground where you blast people with neon lasers and smoke bombs, but the shift toward a more grounded tone actually gives the characters some real weight. I wasn’t expecting that, and honestly, it kinda caught me off-guard in a good way.
Visually? The game is a straight-up flex. The lighting alone had me staring at my screen like some sort of tech-deprived caveman discovering reflections for the first time. Every puddle, every spark, every puff of smoke looks stupidly good. Seattle’s already a cool backdrop, but once you start blowing up half the city, it becomes a whole new level of pretty chaos. Sure, it hitches occasionally when the effects get too dramatic, but I’ll forgive it, I mean, it’s working overtime.
The characters actually hold their own too, which is rare in games that look this fancy. Troy Baker brings Delsin to life in a way that feels natural, whether he’s being a snarky menace or a wannabe hero. He’s not the most universally lovable guy, but he feels real, especially when he’s bouncing off his older brother. Their dynamic gives the story a solid backbone.
And the powers? Pure joy. Every new ability feels like Sucker Punch dumping a new toy box on your lap. Smoke, neon, video, and the rest, each one feels like it could’ve been the whole game on its own. Switching powers mid-fight by draining stuff around the city makes you feel like a walking natural disaster in the best way.
The Negatives⚠️
Now… the writing doesn’t get everything right. A few characters, like Fetch, show up, make a great first impression, then get shoved offstage like the devs suddenly remembered they had a deadline. It’s a shame, because these side characters could’ve added so much more punch to the story if the plot actually gave them room to breathe.
And speaking of the plot, it’s fine, but it’s not exactly ambitious. It moves in a straight line, doesn’t surprise much, and basically uses the supporting cast as decorative accessories. Everything connects… but just barely.
Traversal, at the start, is also a bit of a drag. Before you unlock the fun stuff, you’re stuck with the leftover parkour from the older games, and it’s definitely lost some of its grip. The amount of times I tried to grab a ledge that Delsin pretended not to see… let’s just say I considered throwing him off a building on purpose a few times.
But the biggest offender? The moral system. It feels ancient. The game wants to pretend your choices matter, but they barely make sense for Delsin as a character. The dude cares about saving his tribe, and suddenly you’re supposed to believe he might go on a murder spree just because the game wants a “red path”? Meanwhile, his cop brother watches like, “wow, cool explosions.” It’s laughably out of sync with the story.
The Experience 🎮
Playing Second Son for me was like stepping into a superhero fever dream where half the time you're doing jaw-dropping cinematic nonsense… and the other half you're wondering why the morality meter hates logic so much. Still, the moment the powers kick in, it’s impossible not to feel hooked. Clearing out D.U.P. checkpoints became my personal cardio, and I happily spent way too long roasting armored troops because the abilities just feel that good.
Seattle slowly turning into my own playground was incredibly satisfying. Every district I reclaimed made me feel like I was leveling up in real life. Even when the story wasn’t hitting all the right notes, the world itself kept pulling me back in.
Once the full mobility kit clicked into place, moving across the city went from “ugh this ledge hates me” to “look at me I'm basically a flying demigod.” That shift alone made all the slow early sections fade into the background.
And yeah, the moral system annoyed me, but it didn’t stop me from sinking hours into experimenting with each power set, blowing stuff up in increasingly ridiculous ways, and just enjoying the raw, chaotic fun the game throws at you. Because when Second Son hits, it hits hard, messy flaws and all.
Playing Second Son for me was like stepping into a superhero fever dream where half the time you're doing jaw-dropping cinematic nonsense… and the other half you're wondering why the morality meter hates logic so much. Still, the moment the powers kick in, it’s impossible not to feel hooked. Clearing out D.U.P. checkpoints became my personal cardio, and I happily spent way too long roasting armored troops because the abilities just feel that good.
Seattle slowly turning into my own playground was incredibly satisfying. Every district I reclaimed made me feel like I was leveling up in real life. Even when the story wasn’t hitting all the right notes, the world itself kept pulling me back in.
Once the full mobility kit clicked into place, moving across the city went from “ugh this ledge hates me” to “look at me I'm basically a flying demigod.” That shift alone made all the slow early sections fade into the background.
And yeah, the moral system annoyed me, but it didn’t stop me from sinking hours into experimenting with each power set, blowing stuff up in increasingly ridiculous ways, and just enjoying the raw, chaotic fun the game throws at you. Because when Second Son hits, it hits hard, messy flaws and all.
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