Welcome to the spoiler free review of Infamous First Light.
The game was originally released in 2014 for PS4 and PS4 Pro but is also available for backwards compatibility on PS5.
It’s a prequal for one of the side characters from Infamous Second Son (Second Son being the 3rd game in the Infamous series but also a soft reboot so you don’t need to play the first two). First Light was large enough to be considered a standalone game to purchase separately and run independently from Infamous Second Son (Second Son review here).
Plot
The game starts with an intro into events and takes place 7 years after the event of Infamous 2 in a different setting and with completely different characters. Following the events of Infamous 2, the government feared more people emerging with powers (people with powers are referred to as conduits) would cause mass destruction and chaos so they created a new military division called the Department of Unified Protection (DUP).
The DUP’s main responsibility is to capture conduits since they’re branded as “Bio-terrorists”, even if the conduit hasn’t done anything wrong.
Things focus on Abigail Walker (aka Fetch). She’s caught by the DUP and interrogated on how she got started with her powers and how much of her powers can she control.
She explains that after her parents discovered she had powers, they called the DUP to have her locked up. Her brother (Brent) took her and ran away with her to prevent her from being locked up.
They both ended up with drug addictions until Brent kicked the bad habit and helped Fetch with her addiction. He also had Fetch not rely on her powers as it could draw DUP attention.
Their plan was to save enough money by doing jobs for gangs and flee the country so the DUP couldn’t chase after them.
The game switches between Fetch being locked up by the DUP in the present and flashbacks of her and Brent on the run and being homeless.
Eventually, she reveals to the DUP how their last job was supposed to have a major payout, but things fell apart. Fetch was forced to use her powers to allow her, and her brother escape the police, this drew the attention of the DUP. To make things worse, the final job was botched by a Russian gang and Brent was kidnapped while Fetch was working the job.
It’s a simple story but helps to show Fetch’s struggles of running from the DUP, trying to save her brother, finding a way for both to flee the country and fighting her inner personal demons.
Characters
The characters are quite well written. Fetch is far more interesting than the main character of Second Son (Delsin).
Throughout the game it’s shown how she struggles with her drug addiction and her inability to keep her powers in check. Brent is her anchor and keeps her stable, but without him, she allows her emotions loose which can trigger unstable deadly use of her powers.
There’s a deep history to Fetch as she escapes her traumatic past of her parent’s betrayal, ending up on the run with everything getting ruined and eventually somehow getting caught by the DUP. There’s a sympathetic feeling for her, as a gamer you’re shown her physical and emotional struggles. She’s a well written character.
Brent is also a decent side character. It’s nice to see him as being levelheaded and keeping Fetch grounded. He’s the guy who puts up with any life struggles that comes his and Fetch’s way but always looks for a positive outcome.
Without revealing too much, the villains have mediocre characters. The villain from Fetch’s flashbacks has great lines and voice acting but is rather cliché. The villain from the present time DUP prison is also mediocre.
Powers
Just like other Infamous games, there’s a power upgrade tree. You can earn upgrade points throughout the game and upgrade almost any of Fetch’s powers.
The one thing that’s different from other Infamous games is the lack of a karma system. In the other Infamous games, if you do good deeds then you can spend points on more passive abilities. Do bad deeds and you unlock more destructive powers. It’s not a big deal the karma system is missing from First Light but something worth pointing out, especially to Infamous fans.
One of the great things about Fetch is how fast she is. You can beat this entire game without having to unlock much of her powers. It’s great because you feel powerful, but it also makes some parts of the game a little too easy.
Game Play & Graphics
This is a standalone game, but it can be completed in about 3 Hours. Even here in 2022 it’s still $20 CAD which is rather pricey. The game should have been priced at $15 at release and $10 today. I’m not saying it’s a bad game you shouldn’t pay for, it’s just that its length doesn’t justify the cost. While some AAA titles can last only 10 hours, the problem with this game is that by the time things pickup, the game ends.
Controller settings and combat mechanics are top notch and smooth. In fact, thanks to Fetch being a fast-moving character, combat feels quite fluid.
The prison environment is basic and there isn’t much to see. The main chunk of the game takes place in Seattle flashbacks and looks great. There’s plenty of areas to go around and even with Fetch’s speed, it takes time to get around the map.
The graphics are just as stunning as Infamous Second Son. It’s surprising how good this game looks on a PS4 or PS5.
Word of caution, on certain HDR supported TVs like my LG OLED, the game will be too dark to play. I spent a couple of hours researching a fix for while playing Infamous Second Son, as that game suffers from the same issue. It turns out you need to change brightness and contrast in the game settings menu to make it playable.
Character animation is quite detailed, even on certain closeups.
Just like other Infamous games, cutscenes take place while using in game graphics or like a graphic novel.
Side quests are a little boring. They mainly comprise of Fetch doing laser graffiti and timed obstacle courses. This isn’t a huge deal as the game is rather short, but a little variety would have been nice.
Enemies are rather varied. In the present prison scenes, you’ll face off enemies in training simulations. In the flashbacks you’ll face enemies with guns and some with powers.
Sound
Like previous Infamous games, the soundtrack is spot on. While it seems, a bit toned down compared to other Infamous games (probably due to the game being shorter in length), it works well.
The voice acting is spot on. From Fetch’s character being sarcastic and fearful of events, her brother sounding like her calming anchor and even to the villain’s voices.
Sound effects work well to the situation that Fetch is in. Fetch’s powers don’t sound as powerful as previous Infamous protagonists, but that’s okay because her powers aren’t focused on burst strength, but instead on speed.
Score:
7.5/10
Pros:
-Main character design
-Skills upgrade
-Amazing graphics
-Control layout
-Combat mechanics
-Sound effects
-Open world size
-Tough enemies
-Fun powers
-Side characters
-Okay story
-Smooth gameplay
Cons:
-Campaign length
-Too easy
-Side quests are repetitive
-Poor HDR TV optimization
