Here’s a mind meld question for you. How can you give people the taste of a game without them paying the full price or giving them a game so small it’s a demo. By making it a DLC which is also a standalone game of course. That’s the case for First Light, in which you play as Abigail “Fetch” Walker, a character you met in ‘inFamous: Second Son’ on the PS4. Being an extension of a standalone title means that you don’t have to own the full game to enjoy this and what’s more, Sony Computer Entertainment have priced this right (around a tenner on PSN and soon to be £15 on physical retail mid-September) and packed in just enough of a game to prolong the interest of players of ‘Second Son’ as well as draw in new attention from those who perhaps weren’t too impressed by inFamous’ and were holding out for other titles that would really push their consoles.To be honest it’s a win-win for players. The PS4 lacks original titles and the summer break is traditionally a hiatus for games releases, therefore, games players are under-nourished right now and can expect to be until the likes of Destiny, Alien and other big titles hit the shelves towards the Christmas holiday season. Equally, Sony owes it to the players who forked out on their console and are also gambling that this will draw players to back to their title inFamous: Second Son. It’s a gamble that pays off.

Set two years prior to the events of Second Son, First Light follows Abigail “Fetch” Walker a homeless, ex-heroin addict and her brother Brent through a story of deceit, revenge and all out destruction. When we first meet them Brent wants to do one last robbery so they can afford a better new life. The pair has been sleeping rough; Fetch keeping her powers hidden so as not to attract attention from the authorities. From there it doesn’t take long for things to go pear-shaped in a big way and it takes no time at all before you are unleashing your neon abilities all over the shop, running at super speed, collecting power-ups and taking down enemies with bolts of electricity.

First Light may seem limiting to some because Fetch only has a single power, whereas in infamous: Second Son Delsin ended up with a handful. However, where using Delsin you didn’t always get a chance to appreciate and embrace his powers because the game forced you to switch between them, Fetch identifies by her neon abilities, so you have to learn the different skills and learn them well. This plays into both the story and the combat.

As is accustomed to ‘sandbox’ games there are a small handful of optional activities. Fetch can blast graffiti onto marked walls, though she does so in glowing neon lines. There are races against glowing balls of light called Lumens. There are also drive-by shootings and civilian hostage situations to manage. All which help you to earn Skill Points, which are then traded to evolve Fetch’s neon powers further.

The writing and voice acting are, for the most part well executed. Abigail is a highly likable heroine so whilst you don’t have those critical moral choices as in Infamous: Second Son and there are no light and dark abilities to gain you still want to gain more powers and see her story through. There are also some harrowing elements of the storyline such as monitoring CCTV in order to take down a sex trafficking ring (you see the women followed and then kidnapped) and moments where Abigail talks about her addiction (Abigail is at best in her teens).

It’s hard to make any real criticisms of this game because this is, after all, just DLC presented as a standalone game. In comparison to Second Son it’s inherited all of its strengths for example the beautiful city, the amazing lighting, the fun combat, the feeling of being a superhero. However these are contrasted against it weaknesses, the fact that it is never really populated and you never feel a part of this world.

That said, the price tag and the content make this a worthy purchase; it easily ranks above most other standalone games on PSN within its price range and there is enough there in terms of online leader-boards and side missions to keep coming back if even for a short while.

8 / 10

Infamous: First Light is out now on PSN and available on Retail Edition from mid-september