Saints Row Reviews
I find myself ambivalent about Saints Row – it’s a well done and necessary reboot with a great setting, fun mechanics, and good writing, but the story was just not paced well and there were the graphical and AI glitches that held the experience back to me.
Saints Row 2022 is a time capsule of a game and era many have moved past. Instead of building on the legacy of Saints Row, it feels like a tired retread of a game we already have.
Saints Row is bananas.
The new Saints Row isn’t making any bold statements here or pushing any limits. This release is Volition's way of saying that the series is back and that they have not forgotten why they’ve been able to release four mainline titles with this amount of silliness in the past. The essence of the Saints Row series is intact with this reboot, just slightly altered to fit modern tastes. It’s just unfortunate to not see drastic changes to the game’s core systems like combat, which could have propelled the series to new heights.
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.
Saints Row is a return to form, and some of the most fun I’ve had in an open world in a while. It manages to strike a good balance between the wackiness of previous entries with grounded combat mechanics, and tone. The Boss is hilarious as ever, and a true murder machine completely loyal to their friends through thick and thin. It’s bogged down by a number of bugs that take you out of the experience and uneven presentation with dated elements and plenty of pop-in. Despite these issues, it manages to remain true to its roots with smart additions to the series’ open-world formula.
The Saints Row reboot wants to tell a new, modern story, but the gameplay framework surrounding it is starting to show a bit of rust.
Saints Row offers players a welcome return to a familiar franchise but fails to push the boat out. There's plenty to enjoy for new and returning fans but in dialing back the wackiness, the franchise might have lost its greatest strength.
While there are definitely elements of Saints Row that really annoyed me, I still generally had a good time with the game. If you consider yourself a Saints Row fan you’ll probably find plenty to enjoy in the newest entry, even if some of its elements are weaker than others. If you were hoping for a major new take on the series or what it could be, however, you’ll be left sorely wanting.
Saints Row is a big, over-the-top, extremely fun game and if they can sort out the bugginess quickly it’s an easy one to recommend.
To be clear, this is the Saints Row game you know and love (or hate). Sure, they’ve slapped a new city and introduced a new set of characters into the formula, but everything is rooted in that purple-tinted glow.
Other than a few hiccups I’ve encountered, I am loving my time in the game. Even if the car physics aren’t the best, they are nowhere near unmanageable. Flying around the world in helicopters, drifting cars, and weaving in between traffic is just as satisfying as ever. Gunplay is tight, and if you’re the type to pull the aim trigger and have it lock on, you’re going to love the way this plays too. The writing is corny, but in the right kind of corny, I can respect. Doing all there is to do in Santo Ileso will keep me hopping back into this world more and more. Now excuse me as I wrap this big ass gold chain around my neck and get back to my criminal empire. The Saints are back, baby.
Where for years one superlative followed the next, where exaggeration had to serve as a leitmotif instead of a stylistic device, where blunt self-indulgence justified an entire franchise, developer Volition now courageously trades its unique selling proposition for... well, for what, actually? Apparently against an unjustified shitstorm, an angry crowd of fans and yes, a successful new beginning. Saints Row shows itself to be much more grounded, more tangible and just in this way can make use of a modern interpretation of "exaggeration". According to the motto: back to accessibility, back to the mass market. A return that the franchise unmistakably needed more than badly. Admittedly, Volition has definitely put the game in reverse gear a bit too ambitiously. Where the tone of the game is clearly more modern, entire gameplay elements as well as the visual design seem completely out of time. A trivial skill system, a lifeless game world, flippant gunplay all seem out of place in 2022, but also undeniably bring those glorious oldschool vibes. Saints Row is still full of absurdities that are unparalleled, but is discrepantly wonderfully unexciting in terms of gameplay. If Volition could now bring the technical shortcomings into the modern age, I would completely agree with the US studio when they say: As soon as a franchise can't take any more superlatives, you just have to go back to the beginning.
Review in German | Read full review
Deep Silver Volition took a bold step in setting Saints Row around a whole new crew, and it absolutely paid off. Featuring a cast of interesting and entertaining characters, this narrative reverts back to the more serious nature of Saints Row 1 & 2. Add to this some really slick combat and driving mechanics, as well as a world filled to the brim with fun side quests and areas to explore, and you have an absolutely stellar entry into the Saints Row series!
Saints Row doesn’t exactly add anything new to the franchise, taking a back-to-basics approach and reliving what made Saints Row 3 a fantastic title by building up on that. While the reboot makes it cater to certain sensibilities, the new direction will not be for everyone. Hopefully, it won’t deter you from having a good time. The series fanbase will either love or hate the game because of this sharp change in direction, which is especially felt in the new cast of characters and the writing. Should you choose to overlook these, you can expect a lot of mindless and unapologetic fun for hours. Saints Row is not a perfect game, but the components that make it a good game are good enough. The visuals and presentation could've used a bit of work, and some bugs could have been squashed first, but Saints Row delivers on an open world front that is somewhat fun and entertaining despite the tired formula that could use a fresher take next time.
I have a lot of love for this new reboot of Saints Row, and I have high hopes they will put it right with bug fixes. When they do, I hope to come back and amend this review and make it a glowing one. Until then, I have to caution you to hold off on spending your money, but hopefully not for too long.