Saints Row (2022) Review - fresh chapter, same kind of crazy
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It’s been nine years since Saints Row IV, which closed a chapter for the Saints Row series, which was one of the most fun open-world sandboxes in a modern setting. When the Saints Row reboot was first announced in 2021, something didn’t feel right. It felt like a massive step back from what the series was known for.
Thankfully, this isn’t the case, as developer Volition started with a new canvas, but used familiar styles, strokes, and colors - the ones that made Saints Row great and unique. It’s just crafted with a new generation of players in mind. This game has faults that prevent it from being one of the best in its class, but the craziness in everything from the narrative to the tasks you’ll be engaging in to kick-start your criminal empire are all accounted for. Just don’t expect dildo weapons and superhero abilities this time around (at least, for now).
The new Saints Row is set in Santo Ileso, a fictional city that feels greatly inspired by a combination of Mexico City and Las Vegas. It has a more brown-ish palette in comparison to Steelport in Saints Row: The Third, but there’s still a familiar section featuring a bustling city packed with neon lights. Santo Ileso is a large city that rivals others that came before it, populated with pedestrians and cars just waiting to bear witness to your carnage.
They hit the reset button not for a do-over, but to just do it all over again
Just like previous Saints Row titles, you play as “The Boss”, an overconfident individual who’s a natural when it comes to murder and destruction. He’s accompanied by Eli, Kevin, and Neenah, roommates and best friends that are all frustrated by their current employers and struggling to make ends meet; they've decided to make their own gang to rival the three prime ones that each manage a chunk of Santo Ileso. This sets Saints Row up to be about building your own criminal empire by starting business ventures and taking out the competition in the silliest of ways.
This cast of characters really shine, thanks to the great voice work and entertaining lines as they all rise up in the criminal hierarchy. As I progressed through the game, each one carried a scene in their own little way, whether it’s Eli’s obsession with Larping, Kevin’s refusal to wear a shirt, or Neenah’s love for cars, there’s a lot of personality to love here, especially from the side characters found in sidequests, factions, and other activities.
The main story has its moments, but it’s simply filled with the crew having fun pulling off stupid ideas, which, if you’re familiar with previous titles, is as expected from The Saints. The main missions can easily be ignored, as I find them the weakest link as compared to the other activities or side stories. The only saving graces are the interactions between each of the main characters and their witty humor and demeanor when facing impossible odds.
They do have okay set pieces, but in the end, the main story serves to spotlight how dated some character models can look when examined closely, as I didn’t feel like the new Saints Row greatly utilized the capabilities of current-gen consoles and modern PCs.
Weird shadow effects and a lack of detail really stand out, especially with a highly customizable main character. It got to a point where I was questioning whether a character hadn't been properly rendered for the scene, but that wasn’t the case - that’s just how they look. The inconsistency in character detail was hard to avoid at times, with some character models looking better than others. It’s a shame, because the game looks gorgeous when you’re out in the world as some cutscenes can make you question whether this game really came out in 2022.
Thankfully, in terms of performance, there wasn’t a significant problem on the PS5, as it ran smoothly with no issues to FPS and rendering, even on the game’s high FPS and high quality modes. I experienced a series of bugs and glitches when playing Saints Row, but nothing significant as to ruin the experience. At best, most of them led to a good chuckle while cruising around Santo Ileso.
Blow stuff up?! Why not?!
This game doesn’t take itself seriously at all, as everything - dialogue and characterizations, quest designs, the overall story, and even the combat are all absurd and over-the-top. It’s intentionally designed to not make any sense, but most of the time it’s a joy to participate in. It’s hard to not compare a game like this to other titles such as Grand Theft Auto V, but the game’s antics keep the series standing out amongst the greats. If the GTA series is considered the serious, successful one at family reunions, this reboot of Saints Row retains the series’ reputation as the crazy cousin whom no one invites, but shows up anyway.
The absurdity translates into all forms of gameplay in Saints Row. Gunplay is wonky and basic at best, as cover is never a thing in Saints Row, so it's just a bunch of people with guns firing out in the open until someone dies. Nothing tactical, nothing smart about it – just point and shoot while utilizing the game’s skills and perks to give yourself an edge against overwhelming odds. AI is pretty dull as well, as most of the time they stand there shooting, occasionally dodging to ruin your chance at a headshot or jumping out of the way to avoid thrown grenades. It does get the job done, as the game creates all this chaos and then lets you be all-powerful when facing over twenty goons at once.
It’s also worth noting that shooting in this game with a controller feel rough even with a flexible auto aim to help during combat. Even with all the options to customize your sensitivity and adjusting the sticks deadzones I couldn’t find a more comfortable spot to make the combat feel snappy and responsive when aiming and shooting. Removing aim assist in any manner actually makes things worse.
Driving cars or anything airborne feels satisfying this time around, with Saints Row’s arcade-y nature helping you to go top speed and make sharp turns with ease. On foot, you feel unstoppable, and you now feel the same way when in a vehicle, as whatever you drive feels unrealistically durable, with the ability to severely damage enemy cars with a single sideswipe. Two clips from your pistol can blow up a moving car, and you can do this while on top of a moving vehicle. Nothing makes any sense in this reimagining of Saints Row, but boy, was it a lot of fun to have this much power and durability.
Familiar fodder, infused with idiocy
As an open-world sandbox game, Saints Row has the typical activities you’d usually find in similar games. Besides the main missions that progress the story, there’s a variety of side activities that contribute to building your criminal empire. Side gigs can consist of hunting wanted criminals from your phone’s app, to giving bad review scores to restaurants, thus angering gang members who then go after you. You can steal armored trucks with a helicopter equipped with a magnet, collect piles of drugs openly scattered around the city, the list goes on. The latest addition is business ventures, which have activities suited for a particular type of business that earns you passive income. It’s a laundry list of activities that fit the Saints Row brand, with content only Volition could deliver. While some are dull, most of these come out surprisingly entertaining due to the characters attached to each activity and the absurdity of the activities or tasks.
Most of the content didn’t feel like a chore thanks to the game’s cracked nature. It feels like an opportunity to destress and feel unstoppable, with rewards for you to engage in similar activities that emit the same feeling, or unlock new ways to deliver destruction to opposing factions. Saints Row naturally opens up to this sandbox filled with content that, despite feeling like the usual open-world fodder, you can easily see yourself suddenly spending hours on without even knowing, unwittingly developing a compulsion to complete each section of the city one by one.
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, 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. It’s a new playground for players to just go nuts, and only time will tell if this series can capture a new generation of players that will love its unique identity as much as those who fell in love with the originals.
Score: 8/10
PROS
Great new cast of characters to carry The Saints name.
Fun sandbox game with loads of activities that perfectly fits Saints Row’s wheelhouse.
A good variety of accessibility options to really fine-tune your experience, from difficulty sliders for every part of the game to how you control your character.
Broad customization features for your headquarters, main character, weapons, and vehicles.
CONS
Forgettable main story that fails to outshine other missions and activities.
Character designs look dated. Main missions and cutscenes highlight this greatly.
Gunplay alone feels dated and awkward at times. Enemy AI during these fights are mostly dull as well. Shooting with a controller a bit rough.
What I’ve Played
Completed the game’s main missions with a total completion of 45%.
Fully completed 4 business ventures.
Did all types of activities available in the game at least once.
Did not try the game’s co-op campaign feature during our time with the game for this review.
[The reviewer was provided a PS5 review copy of Saints Row.]
