When inFamous: Second Son hit the PS4 just short of six months ago it was one of the best experiences available on the console. I played it incessantly, unlocking everything, and loved every super powered second as evident in our original review. Rock solid gameplay accompanied by the same level of story, acting and visuals it was a winner all around. One of Second Son’s most endearing side characters, Fetch Walker, was my personal favourite and to see her get the spotlight in First Light was something I very much looked forward to when it was announced. A standalone piece of DLC that doesn’t require you to own the original game, First Light can be an introduction or continuation (depending on where you’re approaching it from) to the world of inFamous: Second Son.
It’s really hard to say which way is better to approach this content from. As someone who played the heck out of Second Son I had a more invested interest in Fetch as a character and I wanted to find out more about her. If someone is coming in fresh they won’t have that same affection for the character so to me it seems the story might be a bit lost on them. It can serve as an introduction to the gameplay style of Second Son but the entire context is lost without knowing who Fetch is in the first place. The choice to make this DLC a standalone piece of content was an interesting one because in all honesty I can’t picture many people picking it up without already having experienced Delsin Rowe’s story. Regardless, the choice doesn’t affect the game negatively in any way because if a newcomer loves First Light it is entirely likely that Sony will sell another copy of Second Son.
First Light takes us in depth to the background story of Fetch Walker and back to the streets of Seattle. When we first met Fetch in Second Son she was a crazed stalker conduit who was obsessed with some guy named Brent and raising hell on the city streets. Of course after some investigation it’s found out that Brent was her brother and he was ruthlessly brought down by a drug dealing gang. First Light expands on the relationship with Fetch’s brother and fills in the holes that they didn’t have time to explain in the first go around. Accompanied by new characters, like the slime bucket Shane (he’s funny though, I’ll give him that), and with the help of existing ones such as Brooke Augustine it helps wrap up Fetch’s world appropriately. I’ve got to hand it to Sucker Punch here because their character development is top notch and you can’t help but be pulled into their stories. I’m not sure if Eugene’s origin story would be as interesting as Fetch’s is but I’d be willing to bet that Sucker Punch would be up to the task and tell it well.
The only power available in this content is Fetch’s neon but in an effort to keep things interesting it’s a bit more expanded than what was available to Delsin in Second Son. Fetch has some great melee attacks, electrical homing missiles, precision neon bolts and the uber-powerful singularity power that pulls anything and everything into its centre and the blows it all sky high. On the streets Fetch is able to catch lumen (blast shards for you SS faithful) in order to gain points to upgrade her abilities. Trying to make the experience a bit different there are races where Fetch can turbo through neon gas clouds to catch lumen on the run. Graffiti is back as well but in bright light as opposed to spray paint. Throw in some ‘kill this’ and ‘save that’ missions that are very similar to what we’ve already seen and there you have it. All in all the already familiar streets of Seattle feel, well… familiar. Almost too much so as I had a hard time re-investing myself back in the world no matter how much I loved Second Son. The added battle arenas are fun and give players that ‘chase the leaderboard’ experience as well as allowing Second Son owners to use Delsin and all of his accompanying abilities.
Most likely due to the familiarity of the Second Son world I felt comfortable slipping back into it but the pull that kept me playing the first time around just wasn’t there the second time. Despite that, however, the story and character of Abigail ‘Fetch’ Walker still kept me well invested in the game and made it an enjoyable re-visitation. The amazing foundation that Second Son laid down is still strong here and makes for an amazing piece of DLC. For newcomers the experience may be a bit muddled and I’d truly advise diving into Delsin’s story first. Should one decide against that, First Light is serviceable as an introduction to the series but overall the punch of the storyline will be muted in comparison.
