Most people want to live normal lives and attain some level of happiness in the brief time that they have on this Earth. This is even more true for those who have been stripped of any sense of normalcy due to events outside of their control. How does one go about living a peaceful existence when they are so different from those around them and have abilities which others will want to exploit? This question has been one of the key plot points of the inFAMOUS franchise.
This latest expansion to inFAMOUS: Second Son stars Fetch, a girl who (unwillingly) gave that game’s protagonist, Delsin Rowe, neon abilities. We briefly got to hear her tragic origin story during the course of that game, but First Light lets us play out those events and see how they unfolded. While this is a tale whose outcome we already know going in, it doesn’t manage to lose any of its gravitas and shows the futility of Fetch’s quest to be normal.
The story structure isn’t exactly linear. Most of it is actually a flashback as Fetch is recounting the details of her struggle to escape Seattle with her brother to the head of the GUP, Brooke Augustine. As the story switches between the past and the game’s present, Fetch gains new and more destructive abilities. Since the story is relatively short compared to that of the original game, the pace is tighter and events seem to move at a faster clip. It’s all constructed very well and everything has a good flow to it, story wise.
You can choose to move the main story along as fast or as slow as you want thanks to the healthy dose of side missions and other diversions that this DLC has to offer. While the main open world contains nearly as many things to collect and do as Second Son, there are also arena type battles which can be engaged at any time. Here, players can face off against hordes of enemies in order to get a high score that they can compare to their friends’. This may seem like fluff, but considering that completing challenges means extra skill points which can be used to upgrade Fetch’s abilities, they’re not so superfluous.
Obviously the big draw here is revisiting this virtual Seattle and wrecking havoc with your powers. The controls are as tight as ever, so it was a joy to zip around as Fetch and bring destruction upon my foes. Fetch’s neon powers aren’t that dissimilar from Delsin’s so playing as her took next to no time to get used to. It’s also nice that the game gives you a quickie tutorial at the beginning in case you forgot how to play. Aside from some scattered neon gas that helps you move around faster, this is the core inFAMOUS experience we all know and love, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Like Festival of Blood before it, First Light is yet another great DLC for this franchise. The game is as fun to play as ever and getting to take on the role of Fetch was a great even if her story was a sad one. The game sports an impressive amount of content considering that it’s a DLC, and those who are obsessed with high scores will find themselves spending much time with the arena battles.
This is a solid experience for fans of the franchise and newcomers (you don’t need a copy of Second Son to play it). Considering it’s low price of $14.99, you can’t go wrong with this game.
inFAMOUS: First Light is available now for $14.99, exclusively on the PlayStation 4.
