Cole MacGrath was already a human battery. He was basically a walking power grid by the end of 2011, having survived a massive explosion in Empire City and a literal apocalypse in New Marais. Then Sucker Punch decided to turn him into a vampire. It sounds like a bad fanfiction prompt, doesn't it? Honestly, inFamous Festival of Blood shouldn't have worked as well as it did. This was a standalone expansion released back when "DLC" still felt like a bit of a Wild West frontier, and yet it remains one of the most cohesive, stylish pieces of content the PlayStation 3 ever saw.
People forget how massive the vampire trend was back then. We’re talking peak Twilight and True Blood era. Instead of just rolling their eyes, the developers leaned into the camp. They framed the entire game as a tall tale told by Zeke Dunbar in a dive bar to impress a girl. It’s a genius narrative framing device. It means if things get too weird—like Cole flying around as a cloud of bats—it’s just Zeke being Zeke. It gave the writers permission to be ridiculous.
The Night New Marais Blew Up
The story kicks off during Pyre Night. Think of it as a New Orleans-style Halloween where everyone is wearing masks and setting off fireworks. While the main inFamous 2 game had a somewhat somber tone about destiny and sacrifice, Festival of Blood is pure gothic horror-lite. Cole gets bitten by a centuries-old vampire queen named Bloody Mary. He’s got one night to kill her, or he’s her slave forever. Simple. Direct. Effective.
What’s really cool is how they swapped the mechanics. In the base games, you’re always hunting for a transformer or a streetlamp to recharge your electricity. Here? You’re hunting people. You need blood to fuel your new "Shadow Swarm" ability. It’s a total shift in the gameplay loop. You aren't just a hero anymore; you’re a predator, even if you’re trying to do the right thing.
Flying is Better Than Jumping
Let's talk about movement. The parkour in the original inFamous games was always a bit... sticky. Cole would grab onto every ledge, every window sill, every stray wire. It could be frustrating when you just wanted to get from point A to point B. Shadow Swarm changed that.
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By pressing R2, Cole turns into a swarm of bats and just zooms. It’s the closest we ever got to a Superman flight mechanic in that engine until inFamous Second Son introduced the Neon dash years later. It costs blood, sure, but the trade-off is worth it. You’re soaring over the gothic spires of New Marais, looking down at the red-tinted sky, and the game feels completely different from its predecessor. It’s faster. More aggressive.
Why the Tech Held Up (And Where It Didn't)
Sucker Punch was always great at squeezing every last drop of power out of the PS3’s Cell Processor. They used a specific post-processing filter for Festival of Blood that makes everything look like a grindhouse horror flick. The reds are deeper. The shadows are pitch black.
However, if you go back and play it today via PS Plus Premium or on an old console, you'll notice the rough edges. The frame rate chugs when there are too many explosions. The civilian AI is still pretty basic—they mostly just run around screaming while you try to find a "corrupted" vampire hiding in the crowd using your enhanced vision. But honestly? The atmosphere carries it. The sound design is top-tier. The screeching of the bats and the heavy, distorted rock music create a vibe that most modern open-world games lack. They had a vision and they stuck to it.
The Stake Through the Heart of Moral Compass
One thing that’s genuinely weird about inFamous Festival of Blood is that it tosses the Karma system out the window. Usually, inFamous is all about "Do I save the kitten or eat the kitten?" In this expansion, you're a vampire. There's no "Good" or "Evil" meter.
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Some fans hated this. They felt it stripped away the DNA of the franchise. I’d argue the opposite. By removing the constant pressure to be a saint or a monster, Sucker Punch let players just enjoy the sandbox. You don't have to worry about collateral damage when you’re fighting underground "First Sons" or Mary’s vampire minions. It’s a pure action game. It’s short, punchy, and doesn't overstay its welcome. You can 100% the whole thing in about three or four hours.
The Legacy of Standalone DLC
We don't see games like this much anymore. Today, it’s all about live service, battle passes, and $20 skins. Back in 2011, you got a whole new map variation, new powers, and a self-contained story for about ten bucks. It paved the way for things like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon or Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
It was a "budget" title that didn't feel cheap. They even included a "User Generated Content" (UGC) toolset. You could literally build your own missions and share them online. While the servers aren't exactly buzzing with activity these days, the fact that they included a full mission creator in a downloadable expansion is wild. It showed a level of respect for the player base that feels rare now.
Getting the Most Out of Your Playthrough
If you’re planning on diving back into this blood-soaked version of New Marais, there are a few things you should actually focus on to make it fun. Don't just rush the main story markers.
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- Find the Canopic Jars: These are the hidden collectibles. Every five jars you find increases your blood capacity. If you want to spend more time flying as bats and less time biting people, you need these.
- The Crossbow is King: You get a stake-launcher. It’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s incredibly satisfying to pin a vampire to a wall from fifty yards away. Use it often.
- Ignore the UGC: Honestly, most of the remaining user-created levels are just "XP farms" or broken messes. Stick to the curated content.
- Look for Mary’s Teachings: There are hidden symbols scattered around the city that you can only see with your "Enhanced Sense." They fill out the backstory of how Mary became a monster. It’s actually decent lore.
Looking Back From 2026
It has been fifteen years since this game dropped. We haven't had a new inFamous game since First Light in 2014. Ghost of Tsushima is great, don't get me wrong, but there is a specific itch that only Cole MacGrath can scratch.
inFamous Festival of Blood represents a time when developers weren't afraid to get weird with their IPs. It wasn't about "brand synergy" or "cinematic universes." It was just: "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if the lightning guy fought vampires?" And it was. It really was.
The game remains a snapshot of a specific era of PlayStation history. It’s dark, it’s edgy in that early-2010s way, and it’s unashamedly a video game. No long unskippable cutscenes of people walking and talking about their feelings. Just stakes, bats, and a lot of electricity.
Your Next Steps for a Retro Run
If you still have a working PS3, hunt down a digital copy while the store is still technically limping along. If not, streaming it via the higher tiers of PlayStation Plus is your only real option. Set your TV to a "Vivid" or "Cinema" mode to really make those red hues pop.
Turn off the UI if you want a challenge. Navigating New Marais purely by landmark is actually doable because the map design is so distinct. Start by clearing the first act to unlock the flight ability, then spend an hour just exploring the rooftops of the Cathedral district. It's the best way to experience the verticality that Sucker Punch mastered long before they ever went to feudal Japan. Stop overthinking the "canon" of the series and just enjoy Zeke's ridiculous story for what it is: a fun, bloody romp through one of the best open-world settings of the seventh generation.