Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell Reviews
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.
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 can stand on its own. Yes, it is undercooked, and it has problems, but the core mechanics and gameplay still work.
Gat Out of Hell is a comedic romp through myth, literature and video game tropes. The writing is smart, the gunplay is solid, and the city of Hell is a blast to fly though. Some may miss the more traditional mission design or lament its brevity, but Gat Out of Hell is a great way to cap off the story of the Third Street Saints
For those never venturing into Saints Row IV this is a must-buy, and for those that did, Gat Out of Hell is a solid expansion that should satiate the hunger for the inevitable Saints Row V we all hope is coming sooner rather than later.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There is no concept too ridiculous for Volition to exploit and for people with a love of the deranged and silly, Saints Row is one of the funniest games on the market.
Saints Row: Gat out of Hell is a welcome entry in the series. It takes things to new heights in terms of story, while adding a few impressive gameplay mechanics, such as the flight one. There aren't that many different missions and the environment is a bit small, but don't forget that the game costs just 20 USD/EUR, so don't expect a full-fledged experience.
Although short, Gat Out of Hell's story is great, and makes for an enjoyable experience with its unique flying mechanics and setting. Fans of the franchise will love this, however newcomers may feel let down by its lack of real narrative.
Saints Row IV: Re-Elected is still an enjoyable, chaotic romp on PS4 and Xbox One, but its improvements are minimal.
The Saints Row IV Re-Elected + Gat out of Hell combo pack is well-suited for anyone who missed out on Saints Row IV when it released 18 months ago on last-gen platforms. If you've already played through that game, unless you're dying to play through a slightly enhanced edition, your best option is to pick-up the standalone version of Gat out of Hell, also available now.
Short, funny, but lacking in gameplay complexity
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.
Gat out of Hell is a fun way to kill time while we all eagerly await the release of a more-complete Saints Row 5. That's coming, right?
Gat out of Hell is not perfect; it's shorter than it should be, and the missions are disappointingly unimaginative. As a full release, it'd be very tough to recommend the title, but taken simply as a slice of Saints Row silliness, it's much easier to endorse.
Saints Row rides onto new platforms, and a good standalone expansion follows with it.
The return of super powers and introduction of flight makes it a mostly enjoyable three hours, but as a standalone experience it falls just short of typical Saints Row success.