Saints Row

Volition’s gamble to reset and reground Saints Row pays off generously. A visual delight, with plenty of gameplay mechanics to keep players goofing off for days, and the Santo Ileso setting is one of the best in video game history. Sure, the shooting gets redundant after a while, but with so much to see and do you can go hours in between gun battles. Saints Row manages retain what players loved while feeling fresh and new. Other reboots, take note – this is how you do it.

In many ways, Saints Row is a game that looks back on its past with reverence, trying to keep much of what worked in the past while updating it for a new generation of players (and consoles). It manages to do it with many more hits than mistakes, but it's still a game that shouldn't please any player. If you are a fan of its tone and proposal, it is undeniable that there are dozens of hours of fun here.

While much of this review may seem negative, there’s a lot to like about Saints Row. Its cast quickly grows on you, it has some entertaining set-pieces, and there’s explosive fun around every corner. Customisation is also a high-point: if you like creating zany characters, you’ll be in your element. But while in many ways this this the best Saints Row game to date, there are also multiple design decisions that pull it down. For a game all about building a crime syndicate, the fact that engaging in such activities feels so optional on the main path is a crime itself. It also won’t come as much surprise to Saints Row fans that this is just as scrappy as ever before. Still, it’s ridiculously enjoyable nonetheless.

Saints Row had chance to be something much more, if only the team behind the game tried to take a more bold and careful approach.

Ultimately, Saints Row may not be the grand return to the franchise that fans were hoping for, but that doesn't mean it's not worth giving a look. Despite a poorly-paced story with average characters, it still has a ton of content and a sandbox that is ripe for hours of co-op fun. Even if you're playing solo, building a criminal empire is empowering and elevates Saints Row beyond being yet another open-world crime game. If it didn't take some steps back or feel buggy and dated, this game would get a more glowing recommendation, but unfortunately, it doesn't hit all of its marks.

Saints Row could be something special. It really could, but Volition still doesn't know how to treat this franchise, placing it somewhere between Grand Theft Auto and Just Cause, never managing to leave its own fingerprints on the open worlds it creates. The Saints Row reboot is so similar to the original franchise in tone, gameplay and content that it leaves you wondering why it was even necessary to hit the reset button. There is fun to be had, but it's hidden behind bugs, repetitive missions and a detached story that doesn't know whether it wants to be a caricature of other plots or a candid tale about a group of friends involved in the criminal world.

If you find yourself in the right frame of mind, the unhinged nature of Saints Row can be cathartic, particularly if you find yourself in a good series of missions where the writing and humour aren’t too manic, and the action isn't too humdrum. In the end, Saints Row succeeds in recalling and refreshing the affable personality of the dormant series, but this reboot is simply a return, not an evolution.

I'm speechless... The story, the cars, the missions, the customization, everything is perfect. Roughly 150 hours in, cannot get bored of it.

As a longtime fan of the Saints Row franchise, I just couldn’t resist giving the 2022 reboot a try (even with its middling reviews)… and you know what? I had fun. Does the game look dated? Yes. Scenery looks rough in the distance, textures aren’t great, and there’s noticeable pop-in from the low-density NPCs and vehicles. That said, the world is colourful and full of detail, the customizable clothes and vehicles look nice, and Santa Ileso has some of the prettiest video game sunsets I’ve seen in some time. The reboot doesn’t bring much new to the table in terms of gameplay or combat, either, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. The guns are satisfying to use, melee takedowns are hilariously over the top, and the action-packed missions offer a variety of fun scenarios and set pieces. My only real complaint is that the story is quite short, especially in comparison to the “criminal ventures” part of the game where you buy up properties and turn them into income-generating fronts by completing activities. They’re amusing, for the most part, but they’re also mandatory if you want to get to the game’s real ending and can wind up feeling a bit grindy because of it. Another thing I can’t quite figure out is who the Saints Row reboot was made for. Neither as focused on street gangs as the first two games or as crude, irreverent, and zany as the latter ones, it sits at this weird intersection between youthful, dorky, and progressive, but also constant f-bombs and mass murder — it’s kind of like if you stuck Deadpool in Watch Dogs 2. (Case in point, my Boss’ dialogue frequently made me think of Ryan Reynolds.) Anyway, if you can move past the different tone and remember that this is a AA game developed by a studio of only 200 people, I think there’s a fun game to be found here. If you’re on the fence, just wait for a sale — I picked up my copy for $14 at Walmart and am more than satisfied with my purchase.

**Saints Row (7.0/10)** Saints Row attempts to reboot the franchise with a fresh cast and modern setting, but struggles to capture the charm of earlier entries. The open world offers some fun activities and solid customization, yet feels repetitive and lacking personality. Combat is serviceable but unremarkable, and technical issues hold it back. While it has moments of humor and creativity, the story and characters fail to leave a lasting impression.

Extremely Low quality. This is one of the most embarrassing products in the history of the gaming industry.

This game, I'm sorry to say, but it's awful, too many technical problems that make it unplayable, it also has an uninvolving plot and a nice gameplay, but nothing special, there's not much to say about this video game.