inFAMOUS: First Light Review (PS4)

Story


Listen to Fetch's story about herself and her brother.


The story takes place before the events of inFAMOUS: Second Son. Fetch is a Conduit that uses Neon powers. However, she was captured by the D.U.P., an agency that specialises in capturing and killing Conduits. During her imprisonment, Fetch recalls her story of herself and her brother, Brent, and the events led to her capture.

The game's story is short, yet interesting as it shows a bit of Fetch's vulnerable side, such as her fondness with her brother, and her issues with drugs. Taking these two factors in hand, I personally think Fetch is much more relatable and compelling character than Delsin. Not to mention, her Neon powers are extremely stylish to use during combat and exploration. Not many new characters introduced in this game, but the new and old characters in this game did play their role well in this game to establish a continuity between this game and inFAMOUS: Second Son's story.

Gameplay


Use Fetch's cool Neon powers for both combat and exploration.


Like inFAMOUS: Second Son, this game is an open-world adventure game. Be aware that this game is very short, but can be a fun ride to inFAMOUS fans who like Fetch's character. The game's exploration is the same as inFAMOUS: Second Son, but Fetch can only explore one half of Seattle. However, she has her own unique Side Missions such as Lumen Races and collecting Neon Lumens as collectibles. The game's progression plays similarly like inFAMOUS: Second Son, where you can go to the Story Mission marker to proceed the game's story. Otherwise, you are free to explore the first island of Seattle.

Unlike Delsin, Fetch can only use one type of power, which is Neon. However, her Neon powers are much more developed, and you can have access to some of Neon powers that only Fetch can use, such as her own unique Karmic Streak. You can jump, climb buildings, and use her Neon powers such as Lightspeed to travel places quickly. Fetch can also drain Neon energy from Neon sources in case she runs of energy of using her offensive powers.

You can also learn new skills as you progress in the game, as well as upgrade your existing skills. To do so, you need to spend Skill Points, Skill Points can be obtained by completing the game's Challenges, as well as completing the game's Side Missions like Neon Graffiti or Lumen Races. This game also has some mini-events, which can contribute to the game's Challenges completion, such as defeating a number of Akuran gang members drive-by, saving hostages, and etc.

The most notable additions to this game are the Challenges and Battle Arenas. Challenges are sets of challenges that include combat challenges and Battle Arena challenges, Some of the challenges however, can only be done during Free Roam mode which can be unlocked upon finishing the game. Some of the challenges may include you defeating a certain number of enemies of specific types, overload turrets, and many others. Completing these Challenges will reward you Skill Points to upgrade your existing Skills such as your melee attacks.

Battle Arenas are arenas where you fight against endless waves of enemies until Fetch's health is depleted. There are two main two types of Battle Arenas. Survival Battle Arenas challenge you to complete them as many levels as possible while maintaining your highest score as possible. Hostage Battle Arenas challenge you to fight endless waves of enemies while saving hostages. As you progress more and more levels, each enemy wave will increase in number and difficulty. Score is obtained by defeating enemies, and can be multiplied if you keep the chain Multiplier consistently as well as attacking enemies. Not attacking enemies for a certain period of time will decrease the Multiplier value.

Overall gameplay is good, but there is not many substantial additions compared to the first game, other than utilisation of Fetch's Neon powers to the maximum, her own unique Side Missions, as well as the additions of Challenges and Battle Arenas. Repetition is still a major problem in this game, in both Main Missions progression and Side Missions variety. There are no boss fights, as you will be fighting regular gang members and the D.U.P. enemies. Short playing time may or may not be taken into account if you are considering the game's value is worth for the short playing time. However, for what it's worth, this game is still a good one with some fun additions like Challenges and Battle Arenas.

Graphics


Amazing graphics.


Like inFAMOUS: Second Son, this game boasts amazing graphics, with great looking environment design and character designs, However, if you are looking for more new areas to play and look with, don't get your hopes up as there are very few new areas to explore in this game.

Sound


Great voice acting and good soundtrack.


The soundtrack is good, fitting with the game's scenes a lot. Like inFAMOUS: Second Son, I prefer this game's soundtrack as well compared to the first two inFAMOUS games' soundtracks. The voice acting is great as well, with some of the voice actors from inFAMOUS: Second Son reprise their roles in this game.

Replay Value


Moderate replay value.


This game has moderate replay value. You can opt to collect all Neon Lumens, complete all Lumen Races, destroy all Police Drones, complete all Neon Graffiti side-missions, compete in either Survival or Hostage Arenas, and complete all Challenges. The challenge Arenas are fun, as you battle against waves of enemies and get the highest score as much as possible. You may also play the game again in Expert mode. Collecting all Trophies is also a viable reason to play this game again.

Conclusion


A solid standalone episode featuring another Conduit's story and power.


In conclusion, this game is a worthy purchase of a short yet solid standalone inFAMOUS game, where it features another Conduit's story and power. Even after playing this game, I still feel that Fetch may be much more suitable to be the main protagonist and playable character in inFAMOUS: Second Son, particularly because of her background story and her character. Despite this game's short playing time and repetitive issues, this game is worth playing for every inFAMOUS fans who can't get enough of using Neon powers.

Score

Story: 8/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Graphics; 9/10
Sound: 8/10

Final Score: 8.0/10.0 or 32/40

Pros and Cons

Pros

- Interesting story.
- Fetch is a likable character.
- Awesome new Neon powers to be used.
- Some new Side Mission to try out.
- Fun to challenge Battle Arenas.
- Amazing graphics.
- Great voice acting.
- Good music.

Cons

- Repetitive issues of both Main and Side Missions.
- Short playing time may be an issue.
- Battle Arenas lack of variety.
- No boss fights.

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