inFamous: Second Son Review Roundup

My, how things have changed. When I was growing up the closest thing we had to a good superhero game was Batman Returns on the Master System. Fast forward 20 years and it's a golden age for powers, and now Sucker Punch has delivered the first taste on PS4 with inFamous: Second Son.

As I'm sure you can tell from comments threads surrounding the title, Delsin Rowe's jaunt through a futuristic Seattle is also Sony's first big game for the PlayStation 4 since the console launched last November. It's an important title for Sony. But does it sparkle in the eyes of the critics, or has it left them fuming? Here's what they have to say:

GameSpot -- 8/10

"Don't become mired in the negativity as Delsin so often does. Instead, just laugh at the cheesy dialogue and chortle at how extreme the morality system is. Second Son is a great game that knows exactly what it is, and sucks you in with its unfiltered fun." [Full Review]

IGN -- 8.7/10

"Seattle is a big, beautiful playground for you to stomp around in with a set of devilishly fun and powerful toys at your disposal. It plays great, and it looks even better, but its advancements also beg it to be held to a higher standard, one that its overall story and morality systems struggle to reach." [Full Review]

Destructoid -- 9.5/10

"Second Son is by far the best inFamous yet. If you're a fan of the series, then checking this one out is a no-brainer, and if you're not, consider jumping in with Delsin. You don't need any prior knowledge of the franchise to do so, and if you have any appreciation of open-world superhero games, you'll enjoy it." [Full Review]

Game Informer -- 8.5/10

"I like the way that Infamous Second Son splinters off from the first two entries in the series. Delsin’s conduit ability creates uncertainty in the gameplay mechanics, and the choices he makes apply similar levels of ambiguity to the narrative arc. I never really grasped what was coming next from this tale, outside of knowing that the open world activities and encounters would be repeated ad nauseam." [Full Review]

Kotaku -- "Yes"

"Second Son doesn't just do shinier versions of the things previous Infamous games did. It multiplies and extrapolates on those things, letting them intertwine in really satisfying ways. So you get some skills that have choice built in, like sniping that lets you automatically go for headshots (evil) or hobbling (good.) You're a hero—or anti-hero, if you so choose—who can change the nature of his super-ness on the fly." [Full Review]

CVG -- 7/10

"As one of the first major first-party releases for PlayStation 4, Second Son leaves a lot to be desired. Disappointingly, it's a game that clearly has one foot still planted firmly in the last-gen. This isn't the InFamous the PS4 deserves, but the one fans need right now." [Full Review]

Edge -- 7/10

"As an open-world game, Second Son feels emaciated. There’s little to do in the way of side missions, and what is here becomes repetitive, unlikely to sustain interest beyond a single playthrough. Approach it as an action game that just happens to be set in a nonlinear environment and it makes more sense, but its not-inconsiderable achievements take effort to uncover. By the time you’ve gained the full suite of powers, though, it’s easy to forget its shaky first steps and impossible not to share Rowe’s vocal enthusiasm each time he does something spectacular. And Sucker Punch provides plenty of opportunities to do so." [Full Review]

Right now, inFamous: Second Son has a Metascore of 81 on GameSpot sister site Metacritic, with 57 critic reviews tracked at time of writing.