Saints Row Review: A Soft Reboot with a Perfect Portion of Lunacy

There’s no denying that previous Saints Row series releases, while solid, seemed to be heading in a direction where the mantra of ‘less is more’ was thrown right out the window. The franchise used to dabble in the bizarre and whacky, but doubled-down on it with the last releases in the original quadrilogy. Letting your goofy side go wild is great, but it’s fair to say that Saints Row‘s admittedly offbeat humour and far-fetched scenarios did turn a few away from an otherwise fantastic franchise. Thankfully, with the soft reboot/prequel, the game seems to have found its formula once again, providing a captivating, hilarious, and strong action crime game, but one with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek.

Now, it’s clear that Volition turned down the crazy-dial a notch, but not all the way. So, instead of aliens and demons (as was the case with previous Saints Row entries), you’ll get over-the-top gangsters, questionable physics, and glossy weapons: more akin to the origin of the series.

The result is a wacky but relatable formula, something that’ll appear to both those who want a more ‘grounded’ (in the closest sense of the term) experience, with car chases, explosions, and gunfights, but also can delve into the sillier nature of Saints Row, if you choose to do so. And developer Volition’s promise of ‘play how you want’ really has been fulfilled, and is evident from the first character creation screen.

If you want to play through this game as outrageously as possible with a green alien-like monstrosity wearing a bikini, you can do so. If you want to make a more relatable and military-worn human-looking protagonist, that’s on offer too. And while you can create your own ‘boss’ from thousands of permutations, you will play through an admittedly personal and enjoyable story that’s smaller in scale than previous Saints Row games.

You see, this Saints Row goes back to the beginning, telling the origin of The Saints gang in Santo Ileso, a desert/city sprawl akin to Las Vegas. Capturing that desperate hope of the American Dream, the game really does emphasise the need to ‘make it big’, and the importance of finding a community or friends along the way. While it is essentially an open-world murder and crime-sim, it makes light of that, and delivers a surprisingly sitcom-like story of friends trying to leave their blood-stained mark on the city.

Like with all Saints Row games, the writing is great. Dialogue during missions and in cut-scenes will keep you laughing, and each character brings a notable amount of personality to the campaign missions, which range from heists to hideout assaults and a whole lot more — there’s no shortage of variety with what you’re doing in Saints Row, keeping you on your toes guessing as to what you’ll be doing next.

As for the action itself, Saints Row is far more polished and snappier than its predecessors. Movement and shooting are fluid, and an added takedown manoeuvre (which you build up from racking up kills), along with some extra abilities (such as hooking a grenade onto an enemy), add a lot of kinetic action to combat. The sheer amount and variety of some of the takedown moves are impressive, with some great choreography — such as one where you disarm an enemy, flip them to the ground and shoot them in the face —makes you feel like John Wick and adding to the fact that you are a “murder machine” as exclaimed by the lead character in the opening act.

It’s apparent that the idea of being as fluid as possible was front-and-centre for Volition, giving players the tools to always be on the move. Leaping onto a car, car-surfing while firing, wing-suiting off of it, and landing into a combat roll before opening fire on some enemies is very Just Cause-esque, but captures the identity and frenetic style of Saints Row. The game’s combat is more refined and structured than the spray-and-pray attitude of previous entries, with cover and alternating between ranged and close combat moments playing a bit more of a role.

Weapons themselves also feature ‘boosts’, such as the ability to deliver more damage to vehicles, or certain types of enemies, for example. The customisation approach to the character creator also extends to the weapon line-up, allowing you to paint, accessorise, change, and tinker with your guns to build a more personalised layout.

As an open-world crime game, vehicles play a huge role too, and the combat element has been further injected into the driving scenarios. You can now use side-swiping abilities when driving to ram other vehicles, chasing police, or people off the road; so whether you’re shooting on foot or jumping into a car, the carnage can continue.

The campaign really is the main meal here, but there’s also a lot to do in Santo Ileso, including bounty hunting contracts, side missions, and vehicular challenges; and the world itself isn’t as finely detailed or immersive as something like Grand Theft Auto 5, there’s a lot of fun to be had when you want some timeout from the story.

This revision of what Saints Row is has been a great decision for the franchise, delivering something fresh and interesting but an experience that also refines the ideas and ambitions of its predecessors. Even though some of the zaniness is dialled back, the best parts of the series have been enhanced, with enjoyable combat, traversal, and great visuals all improved upon, not to mention a really humorous story and world to indulge in too.

Saints Row is out 23 August on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, and PC.