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Overview
Infamous: Second Son is a PS4 exclusive action-adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and released in March 2014. Set in a near-future version of Seattle under martial law, the game follows Delsin Rowe, a 24-year-old Akomish graffiti artist voiced by Troy Baker, who discovers he can absorb the powers of other conduits simply by touching them. That single mechanic shapes everything about how the game plays.
The story takes place seven years after the events of Infamous 2. Cole MacGrath used the Ray Field Inhibitor to destroy The Beast and cure a global plague, killing himself and most other conduits in the process. The Department of Unified Protection rose from that aftermath, hunting down surviving conduits and branding them bioterrorists. When DUP director Brooke Augustine (Christine Dunford) tortures Delsin's entire tribe looking for information, he heads to Seattle to absorb her concrete powers and undo the damage. His brother Reggie, the local sheriff voiced by Travis Willingham, reluctantly tags along.
Gameplay and mechanics
Delsin's power mimicry ability is the core of Second Son's combat and traversal system. Over the course of the game, he absorbs abilities from three conduits:
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- Smoke: fast movement, explosive ranged attacks
- Neon: precision shooting, high-speed sprint
- Video: digital projection, aerial combat
- Concrete: Augustine's power, unlocked late in the story
Each power set changes how you move through Seattle and how you approach fights with DUP forces. Smoke lets Delsin dash through vents and explode through enemies. Neon turns him into a glowing streak that can pin targets with precise shots. The variety keeps combat from going stale across the 10-to-12-hour main story.
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Morality system and replayability
Like its predecessors, Second Son uses a karma system that tracks whether Delsin acts as a protector or a predator. Choosing to redeem or corrupt the conduits he encounters, absorbing or sparing civilian energy sources, and how he handles DUP prisoners all push the meter in one direction. The good and evil paths unlock different power upgrades and lead to different story outcomes, giving the game a meaningful second playthrough.
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The moral choices also affect Seattle visually. A heroic Delsin sees the city brighten with color and street art. A villainous one watches it darken under fear. It's a subtle but effective way to make the karma system feel like more than a binary switch.
World and setting
Sucker Punch's recreation of Seattle is one of the game's strongest assets. Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill and Rainier District all appear in recognizable form. The city is dense enough to reward exploration without feeling overwhelming, and the DUP checkpoints and security drones scattered throughout make the martial law premise feel grounded rather than decorative.
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The supporting cast adds texture to the story. Abigail "Fetch" Walker (Laura Bailey) uses neon powers to hunt drug dealers. Eugene Sims (Alex Walsh) manipulates digital projections to protect other conduits. Both characters have backstories that complicate the DUP's bioterrorist narrative, and how Delsin treats them shapes the story's direction.
Visual and audio design
Second Son was a genuine PS4 showcase title at launch, and the particle effects from Delsin's smoke and neon powers still hold up visually. The game runs at 1080p on PS4 and the lighting work, particularly in night scenes where neon streaks paint the rain-slicked streets, remains a high point for the generation. Troy Baker's motion-capture performance brings real weight to Delsin's cockiness, and the score shifts effectively between tense DUP confrontations and quieter character moments. The graffiti sequences, where Delsin tags walls using the DualShock 4's motion controls, are a small but memorable detail that ties his street-artist identity directly to the controller.