Developer: Volition
Publisher: Deep Silver/Plaion
ReleaseDate: 23rd August 2022
Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox & Epic Games Store
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
▫️ Code provided by the publisher ▫️
Beginning back in 2006, the Saints Row franchise has never been given the credit it deserves in my opinion. While always managing to deliver a unique style and over-the-top gameplay, especially in Saints Row IV, it has always felt like it couldn’t fully break away from the GTA comparisons. Early footage of this 2022 reboot, simply titled: Saints Row, felt like it was upping the ante in production, promising a new start after a nine-year hiatus since the last mainline game. What has been delivered though is oh so familiar.
As stated above, this is a reboot for the Saints Row franchise and with that comes a new cast, new story and a new world to explore. You start by using the extensive character creation tool to sculpt your boss. Or if you’ve already made a character via the previously released Saints Row: Boss Hub demo, you can import it and get started. A cool touch was that you can continue to alter and refine your appearance throughout the game.
The story is a fairly basic rags-to-riches affair. You start off in a small apartment, alongside three friends from various gangs and a cat that would look sus for the PS3/360 era. Your friends are pretty handy though. You’ve got Neenah who is great behind the wheel, Kev who refuses to wear a shirt and is a general loose canon and Eli who is a numbers guy. Wanting more from life, you decide to start your own gang – The Saints. This obviously doesn’t go down well with any of the previous employers and so tensions run high.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the general outline of the story, but unfortunately, it moves at a little too brisk of a pace. You can expect the main campaign to take around a dozen hours and while there are plenty of side missions they don’t do a great deal to flesh out the story. The other problem is mission variety. Far too often you travel to a location only to have enemies from one of the rival gangs descend on your location from all angles. The mission then often ends in a vehicle chase, complete with gunplay.
That’s not to say that the above formula can’t be fun, but I was definitely expecting more. The introduction of criminal ventures was a nice touch, although as with a lot of the game aspects, it could certainly have been fleshed out better. As you progress you unlock more establishments and can choose where on the map you want them. Following this you have a series of tasks to undertake for that business, ranging from throwing yourself in front of cars to reach an insurance scam goal, larping, and much more. These are some of the best ways to earn coin in the game and a certain amount of progression is also required to reach the end of the story.
Gameplay will be instantly recognisable to fans of the franchise. This will be a plus for some as the game plays well, but those expecting a big evolution may be left disappointed. As I stated earlier the missions can become repetitive, so it’s just as well that the gunplay feels pretty good. As you level up you unlock various special moves that can be unlocked which keeps the action varied. Driving is good arcade-style fun as well, with the ability to powerfully ram other vehicles. On the default difficult I found the enemies were real bullet sponges, which became annoying over time. It was only near the end that I explored the customisation options that let you tailor the game to how you want to play. I highly recommend doing this from the off.
The game’s audio and visuals are a mixed bag too. At times the open world can look picturesque, especially if you are willing to put up with 30fps to achieve a 4K resolution. The other options include 1080p/60fps and a 1440p mode that targets 60fps, but in my experience did regularly dip below. Overall there is a very last-gen vibe here. The character you create is highly detailed, but some of the NPCs will make you do a double take, and the less said about the crew’s pet cat the better.
One thing that is implemented particularly well is co-op. You have the ability to team up with another player at any time and take on main missions, side content, and more. Any progress made in co-op then carries back over to your single-player campaign too. I usually avoid co-op like the plague, but the absurdity of Saints Row lends itself well to the mode.
As is a staple of the Saints Row franchise, key missions are accompanied by an excellent soundtrack that really gets you in the mood to mow through about 50 bad guys. The audio is not without its issues either though. Whether in a shootout or casually walking down the street the conversation pitch is exactly the same. I even had a few instances of conversations being so low that I could barely hear what they said.
The trophy/achievement list is extensive. You’ll need to fully upgrade everything, unlock all perks and complete all side missions and misc objectives in each of the 15 districts on your way to that 100% game completion. Most of the content is fun, but even if you did venture off the beaten path during the campaign you’ll likely have around 20 hours worth of extra busywork to complete. There are no difficulty-based requirements which is an added bonus.
VALUE: At the time of writing Saints Row can be picked up physically for around £50, or £60 on digital console stores. While I enjoyed the game, and you’ll be looking at around 60 hours to do everything, it feels like one that will hit sales fairly quickly and so unless you are desperate to play, I advise holding off until the holiday sales where I predict as much as a 50% discount.
Verdict
My favourite Saints Row game to date is the third entry. It was just the right mix of over-the-top action while still producing a story I cared about in a world that felt interesting and fun to explore. This Saints Row reboot is unfortunately a step back in that regard. It is still fun for sure and I enjoyed my time with it, but repetitive missions, some cringe dialogue, and a world that feels soulless detracts from what I expected to kick off the next generation of Saints Row.
-Craig ✌️