Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell Reviews
Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell is the Big Mac of games. You know what you're getting, it's a bit cheap, you enjoy eating it, you don't have to chew and an hour later you've forgotten all about it. Utterly unchallenging and lacking in fresh ideas, Gat Out of Hell is still capable of making you smile.
[T]his expansion is pretty enjoyable, but not essential. It's got some great new weapons and provides an easy excuse to dip back into a world of shameless comic violence – it's also a fairly disposable adventure that doesn't offer much in the way of essential material.
For all the things Gat Out Of Hell could or ideally would do though, it's important to remember what it is - a standalone expansion. Go in remembering that, and knowing about the lack of missions, and it's a pleasant surprise how much it at least tries to offer within its limits. Just don't expect it to be a sequel, or even a full slice of Saints Row 4 at its best.
The chaos and fun of Saints Row is fully intact in the underworld, but a new setting can only go so far.
Gat Out of Hell can stand on its own. Yes, it is undercooked, and it has problems, but the core mechanics and gameplay still work.
Newcomers will find a lot to enjoy, but there's little reason to return if a dive into Hell is what you were looking forward to.
By tying humor and outrageous context to its moving parts, Saints Row The Third and Saints Row IV became viable systems in the modern open-world paradigm. Gat out of Hell (mostly) forgets all of this, sheds (mostly) all of its psychotic humor, and bolts on (mostly) dated mechanics. Its intended function may be a stop-gap between major iterations, but its execution feels like a failed audition against its recent past.
Even with the occasional hiccups Saints Row: Gat out of Hell manages to be a completely worthwhile experience. The first new city since Saints Row: The Third, great characters, hilarious writing, awesome weapons, and a much more refined focus on gameplay all lend to the overall sense of fun that permeates every aspect of the game.
In the end, should you pick the latest Saints Row chapter? Why the Hell not? The Saints games have continued to walk their own path and if you've been enjoying the recent experiences they've been throwing at us, then there is simply no reason to not get this one. Tons of gameplay, awesome new abilities, and probably the most enjoyable time anyone would really spend in Hell. Yeah I'm sold and you will be too.
Outside of the flying woes, Gat Out of Hell is content to let you be an all-powerful demigod or goddess. The game is just plain, hammy entertainment. It doesn't aspire to teach you a great moral lesson—outside of "don't fuck with Ouija boards," which is pretty sage advice—and it's not trying to wow you with 60 FPS photorealism. Gat out of Hell, like its predecessors, is that essential reminder we need from time to time that, yes, sometimes it's okay for videogames to be dumb fun and little else.
The thing about Gat Out Of Hell is that it feels like Saints Row IV but with things stripped away instead of expanded on. Sure you have the challenges to complete, though they aren't different to the other games in the series, and there are a lot of collectibles to hunt down to unlock everything. Outside of that though Hell as a location feels a bit bland, and without the other Saints to bounce off Kinzie and Gat aren't that interesting or funny. Combine that with the lack of in-game music and customisation options and this entry is a step backwards for the series. Don't get me wrong, this game can be fun when you're engaged in big battles against the demons, but outside of that it is lacking character.
So, if Saints Row's meta humor can get you through collecting your hundredth orb or doing the same type of mission on repeat, you may want to check out GOH. But, if not, I'd recommend staying away from this one, as it burns itself out a bit too quick.
Make no mistake this isn't a full blown adventure but a 'just go with it' adrenaline rollercoaster ride; it has its ups and downs, with plenty of big drops for the rush, but it'll be over soon enough. Gat out of Hell is a great round off to the Saints Row adventure as it gets wackier and wackier, with it standing as a defiant parody of how the Saints ended up in this mess.
If I wanted to worry about all that, I'd just go to a college campus and listen to people complain for a few hours. As it is though, I hope that more developers take a cue from Saints Row and realize that it's still okay to tell jokes and implement cartoony violence that's still ridiculous and fun. I know gaming as an industry is maturing and people want to present new ideas and make statements using the media, but luckily, whenever I feel like I need a break, I will have Saints Row proudly on my shelf.
Gat out of Hell applies a dose of air freshener to mask the musty smell emanating from the more traditional aspects of the Saints Row formula and delivers a fun, if overly familiar, slice of its chaos-riddled gameplay.
It's Saints Row IV with too many cut corners. Some of the series' core fun remains, but it's sandwiched between disappointing filler.
In Gat Out of Hell, the joke feels like it's on us
Saints Row 4 fans have been waiting for this expansion to finally touch down for quite some time now and by and large the wait was worth it. The reimagined Saints Row version of Hell built from the ground up is impressive and much of the personality we have come to love about the franchise is prominently on display. Granted the game can be offensive at times but it never takes itself too seriously and is all about entertaining.
Gat Out of Hell is a hell of a lot of fun. The flight mechanics are fantastic, the new arsenal of weapons is as creative as any other Saints Row title's, and the game basically fixes all the problems I had with Saints Row IV as an open-world game. It's a bite-sized portion to hold you over until the inevitable (and larger) Saints Row V.