Saints Row Reviews
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Saints Row is ready and willing to leap back into the mainstream, though it's unfortunately weighed down by a few odd design decisions and a handful of technical issues.
Saints Row offers a decent reboot of the franchise, although the production costs don't go up to the level of GTA. The focus on fun, action and variety of activities is strong. The co-op helps the fun even more.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Saints Row is a perfectly fine open-world game. Just don't expect any surprises, as the reboot lacks much character.
You could consider Saints Row a love letter to a time when games worried less over quality and more about fun, but that doesn't excuse its faults.
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.
The new Saints Row doesn't break any new ground, however it's still a relatively fun time. If you're a fan of the series, there's no reason not to give this one a spin.
Saints Row is a necessary reboot for a series that was getting out of hand (pleasingly so, but still), and Volition has made smart decisions in retooling the origins of the purple-clad gang without losing that silly, violent, and crude spirit. It leaves room for future improvement and escalation, and that's an exciting place to put the Saints in.
As a new start for the eponymous gang, Saints Row ticks most of the boxes, but falls short in offering up anything fresh. A litany of technical and visual bugs also conspire to spoil the party, making for a solid enough, enjoyable, but ultimately uninspired, return for the series.
Overall, anyone who was a fan of the franchise before this will likely still love Saints Row, as the comedy, goofiness, and chaotic gameplay is still at the game’s core. And while I wasn’t a fan of how they went about the story, there’s definetly some promise in regards to its more grounded focus, as it seems clear this reboot was made to push the series into an interesting new direction.
It’s been nine years since Saints Row 4, and this new entry feels like a back-to-basics reboot. But technical issues, bugs, and many more little frustrations conspire to make this a middling experience at launch. It’s unfortunate because when Saints Row fires on all cylinders, it’s an absolute blast with some truly lofty high points.
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 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.