Games Like Infamous

What Made Infamous Work

InFamous is about traversal first and superpowers second. Grinding rails, sliding down wires and vaulting rooftops made moving through Empire City the fun part, and the karma system meant the city visibly reacted to you. Games that replace it need to make movement itself the reward.

inFAMOUS was made by Sucker Punch Productions, the studio behind Sly Cooper, and released by Sony for the PlayStation 3 in May 2009. inFAMOUS 2 followed on PS3 in 2011 and inFAMOUS Second Son on PS4 in 2014. None of the series has been released on PC or Xbox.

9 Games Like Infamous

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   1.Sunset Overdrive(2014)

   Traversal as the whole combat system — grinding and bouncing is how you fight, not how you travel.

   Why it fits: Insomniac Games, Xbox One, 2014 (PC in 2018). Grinding rails and bouncing off cars is how you fight as well as how you travel, which is inFAMOUS's power-grinding taken to its end.

   What is different: There is no karma choice and no brooding — it is a comedy, and the fourth wall is broken constantly. Combat is guns, not powers.

   Where to play it: Xbox One (plays on Xbox Series X|S) and PC.

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2. Pr

   2.Prototype(2009)

   The other open-world superpower game of that era, meaner and more chaotic.

   Why it fits: Radical Entertainment for Activision, June 2009 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 — two weeks after inFAMOUS, and the two were compared from the day they came out. Superpowers, wall-running and a city under quarantine.

   What is different: Alex Mercer is a monster, not a man choosing to be one, so the moral layer inFAMOUS was built on is absent. The city also reacts to you far less.

   Where to play it: PS3, Xbox 360 and PC; remastered with its sequel for PS4 and Xbox One.

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3. Ma

   3.Marvel's Spider-Man(2018)

   The best traversal in any open-world game, with the same rooftop rhythm.

   Why it fits: Insomniac Games, PS4, 2018 (PS5 remaster in 2020, PC in 2022). Web-swinging over Manhattan is the most refined city traversal on PlayStation, and Insomniac also made Sunset Overdrive on this list.

   What is different: It is a hero story with no evil path, and the combat is melee and gadgets rather than ranged powers.

   Where to play it: PS4; remastered for PS5 and PC.

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4. Cr

   4.Crackdown(2007)

   Agility orbs turned climbing a city into the actual progression loop.

   Why it fits: Realtime Worlds, Xbox 360, 2007, from David Jones, who created the original Grand Theft Auto. Collecting agility orbs to jump higher turns climbing the city into the progression system.

   What is different: Almost no story and no characters to speak of — the city is a playground, not a narrative.

   Where to play it: Xbox 360; plays on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S through backward compatibility.

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5. Sa

   5.Saints Row IV(2013)

   Superpowers grafted onto an open city, played entirely for comedy.

   Why it fits: Volition for Deep Silver, 2013 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Super-speed, super-jumps and telekinesis in an open city, played entirely for laughs.

   What is different: Nothing is played straight. If Cole's gravity was part of the appeal, this will feel like a parody of it.

   Where to play it: PS3, Xbox 360 and PC; Re-Elected edition on PS4, Xbox One and Switch.

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6. Gr

   6.Gravity Rush(2012)

   Movement built on falling in any direction you choose — strange and hard to put down.

   Why it fits: Japan Studio, PS Vita, 2012 (PS4 remaster in 2015-16), directed by Keiichiro Toyama, the creator of Silent Hill. You fall in any direction you choose, so the whole city is a playground.

   What is different: Smaller, slower and gentler — there is no karma system and the combat is simple. It is about how it feels to move.

   Where to play it: PS Vita; remastered for PS4, with a PS4 sequel.

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7. Ba

   7.Batman: Arkham Knight(2015)

   For the grapple-and-glide loop and a city that feels built for it.

   Why it fits: Rocksteady Studios, 2015 on PS4, Xbox One and PC (Switch in 2023). Gliding and grappling across Gotham, with a city designed around how you move through it.

   What is different: Combat is close-quarters counters rather than ranged powers, and a large share of the game is spent in the Batmobile.

   Where to play it: PS4, Xbox One and PC; also in the Arkham Trilogy on Switch.

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8. In

   8.InFamous Second Son(2014)

   The direct successor if you simply want more of it with better powers.

   Why it fits: Sucker Punch Productions, PS4, 2014. The direct sequel: Delsin Rowe in Seattle, with smoke, neon and video powers and the same good-or-evil karma choices.

   What is different: Seattle is smaller than Empire City and the climbing is less important, because the new powers make you fast enough to skip it.

   Where to play it: PS4, and it plays on PS5.

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9. Ju

   9.Just Cause 3(2015)

   Grapple and wingsuit traversal at absurd scale.

   Why it fits: Avalanche Studios, published by Square Enix, 2015 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Grappling hook, parachute and wingsuit together make crossing the island the point of the game.

   What is different: The story is an afterthought and the island is empty between explosions; you play it for the sandbox, not the city.

   Where to play it: PS4, Xbox One and PC.

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Where to Start

If you want the closest feel, play Marvel's Spider-Man — it has the rooftop rhythm and a story that takes itself about as seriously as inFAMOUS did. If it was the powers rather than the movement, Prototype is the answer. If you have never played the sequel, inFAMOUS Second Son is the obvious first stop on a PS4 or PS5.

How We Picked These Games

Every pick had to make moving through a city part of the fun — climbing, grinding, gliding or flying — and most also give you powers or tools that change how you fight. Open-world games where the city is only scenery between missions were left out.

Which One to Play, by What You Liked

If you liked Infamous for the karma choices and the electric powers, try InFamous Second Son. Sucker Punch's own follow-up keeps the good-or-evil split and has Delsin absorb new power sets — smoke, neon, video — much as Cole collected new abilities.

If you liked Infamous for grinding power lines across Empire City, try Sunset Overdrive and Marvel's Spider-Man. Both make getting across town the reward rather than the cost: rails and bounce pads in one, web-swinging in the other.

If you liked Infamous for playing the evil route, try Prototype. Alex Mercer has no karma meter to worry about. You are the monster the city fears from the first hour, which is what an evil-karma Cole run felt like.

If you liked Infamous for climbing absolutely everything, try Crackdown and Gravity Rush. Crackdown turns rooftop orbs into the way you get stronger; Gravity Rush lets you fall sideways onto any wall.