We have been crying out for an open-world sandbox game for some time now. Whilst Rockstar Games continue to crack out countless remasters of their remasters, Volition and Deep Silver return with another outing of Saints Row. After the tremendous Saints Row 3, things kind of went off the beaten track for the series with alien invasions and diving into hell and messing about with Satan. Thankfully this time around the development team has opted for a complete reboot and whilst Jonny Gat and crew are left as wonderful memories of the past, we have a fresh take on the brand.

The intention here is to dive back into the roots of what made the Saints games so fantastic off the back of the 2006 original. I have to admit this has been one of my most anticipated games of 2022 and having become a hardcore fan of the original titles, I was also cautious. My thought process was probably in sync with many out there with several unanswered questions. Will this reimagination be as good as the ones we all know and love? Will it push the wackiness of the last few games aside? It is a risky move for Volition, but let’s see if it has paid off shall we?

Introduction

New playground, new crew, new setting, it’s kind of exciting, isn’t it? I know we’d all love to have seen Jonny Gat and the characters from the previous titles return, but sometimes things need a shake-up. There is no better way to do it than to start from the drawing board and bring a whole package of unknown to players. Here you’ll be diving into the fictional land of Santo Ileso which brings an aura and atmosphere of the American Southwest. Imagine Las Vegas and the surrounding Nevada Desert in video game format and you’re pretty much there.

This is a world rife with criminal activity and you’ll be thrusting yourself right into that gangland with your new buddies. You’ll be forming your very own crew with Neenah, Kevin, and Eli as their future boss and building yourself up as The Saints. You’ll be blending into your surroundings in a bid to build your very own criminal empire and attempting to underpin rival gangs Los Panteros, The Idols, and Marshal. Everyone wants control of the city, it’s up to you to make it yours.

Just How Big Is That Map?

With open-world games, everyone is always gagging to see how large the map is and I don’t blame them, it’s important, right? Saints Row places a giant tick into the “It’s bloody massive” category and gives us plenty to explore out there. The map is divided into fifteen different districts all with their own unique points of interest and it isn’t until you fully check it all out that you realise how vast it is. Outside of the missions and side hustles on offer you’ll have hidden drug stashes, dumpsters to dig through and gang-controlled areas to infiltrate and clear out. How you traverse the world is totally up to you, on foot, vehicle, in the sky or even by jumping off a skyscraper to wingsuit and absorb the sun-soaked horizon, it’s all part of the entertainment.

Gameplay & Co-Op

Co-operative play is available for up to one other player to join you to experience the entire package alongside you. Sadly, I did not have the chance to test this feature out before launch but the review guide does suggest seamless drop-in and out gameplay so that the fun can be joined in with at any moment. As for playing things solo, you’ll soon be joining your new crewmates after some initial opening missions. I’ve chosen not to reveal any of the storyline within this article as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but after you link up with the future Saints you’ll be on a mission to become the leading gang and construct an empire of revenue streams throughout Santo Ileso .

If you’re used to open-world sandbox games or have played a Saints Row game in the past, then you’ll be instantly comfortable with the shooting mechanics, driving and fluidity of movement throughout. Nothing has really changed in terms of the controller layout and there is a plethora of accessibility options within the menus should you want to adjust things to suit you.

Los Panteros, The Idols, and Marshal

Los Panteros, The Idols and Marshal are the three main organisations within the game that you’ll need to always be on the lookout for and who you’re looking to stub out. All with their own unique traits, uniform and behaviour, you’ll quickly learn how to deal with and challenge them. It’s not always easy to defeat these enemies and they come in numbers with some of their members much stronger than others.

Los Panteros

By far the toughest of the three, Los Panteros are kitted out in red, black and orange clothing and are a relentless force who seem to blend into the shadows and keep coming in an effort to overpower you.

The Idols

The Idols seem to be absolutely everywhere, hanging out in crowds, showing off their neon-encrusted cars and bikes, they will come and pursue you should you wish to fuck with any of them. By far the most well-designed gang out of the trio and don the colours of hot pink and light blue.

Marshal

Marshal are the wealthiest crew and have all the tech to boot. With automated tanks, VTOL’s and advanced aviation technology along with some back-to-the-future style hoverbikes, they are a handful to engage with. Fooling around with all their gear is awesome though!

Side Hustles & Criminal Ventures

Side hustles are mini-missions that you can go off and blast through at your own convenience. Riding shotgun was one of my favourites, here you’ll be defending a getaway driver and fending off any enemies chasing your tail. You can fire from the passenger window or roll up onto the roof and bombard your pursuers with gunfire in an effort to escape. Other ventures include smuggling goods across the city whilst dodging the police, wingsuiting and destroying certain objects, stealing cars and even leaving damaging reviews to rival businesses only for their gangs to want you dead. These are just a handful of additional chaotic tasks for you to just go absolutely nuts with and just have a blast.

Criminal ventures are business opportunities that you can invest in and place in set locations on the map. These aren’t legitimate companies by any means but extra ways for you to build up your brand and keep that dollar rolling in. Remember the insurance jobs from the past titles, well it’s back in the form of Shady Oaks Medical Clinic. Go and throw yourself in front of traffic for giggles and get paid in the process. Other dodgy jobs include transporting dodgy green liquid around Santo Ileso, getting into the food truck industry or get into fancy dress and pull off a heist.

Don’t Go Anywhere Without Your Phone

Your smartphone is the hub of everything you need in Santo Ileso and what you’ll be using to trigger and access all parts of the game during your playthrough. You’ll be able to quickly open applications to observe the world map, access missions, use the camera to take photographs, access the skills and perks settings and customise your character on the fly. Alongside this, you’ll also be able to contact your crew, arrange vehicle delivery, transfer your earnings from your businesses into the bank and also access music playlists, news and look at and download real player boss designs to use as your own. There are some impressive creations in the sharing hub with mock-ups of Dwayne Johnson, Donald Trump, Heisenberg from Breaking Bad and thousands more.

Customisation

The customisation in Saints Row is the best it has ever been and I’d go as far as to say it is probably the best character design suite I’ve ever clapped my eyes on. Every feature can be edited in detail and the amount of clothing and props scattered around stores in Santo Ileso seems endless. Want to wear a pizza box on your head, tissue box shoes and a pig mask, then you absolutely can. The possibilities are endless and this also extends to some pretty thorough vehicle options if you want to pimp your ride! There are no hidden microtransactions and everything on show can be purchased with in-game currency. Bar some pre-order exclusives, I can’t see any monetization areas, so you’re safe from having to spend more of your own money. If you want to try creating your own boss, then you can without owning the game on the Saints Row Boss Factory.

Graphics

The visuals in Saints Row took some time to grow on me and I had to do some juggling around with the settings. I’m not sure if there is an update planned at launch but I didn’t have a good time of things in 2160p 4k mode. Playing with this setting presented me with frame drops, textures popping in late and some real glaring issues when intense firefights and explosions were happening. I instead had to opt for the 1440p high framerate mode which played out smooth as butter almost all of the time. Now don’t let my words on the resolution problem turn you off the game because graphically it is stunning.

Whilst the game certainly doesn’t push the Xbox Series X to its limits and isn’t the most mind-blowing when it comes to the overall appearance, there are some moments where you pause and think WOW. The backdrops of the desert in the distance with the sunset beaming onto the water below is just beautiful and before you know it the game transitions to the darkness of night. The illustration of the glistening lights on the horizon from the inner city areas to fireworks glowing up the night sky just looks magnificent. The colour palette amongst the neon lighting of The Idols gang was something that I found appealing as their vehicles and aesthetics in their attire bring vibrancy to the world.

Audio

When it comes to the soundtrack in games of this genre, I am a bit selfish and expect banging tunes on the radio stations. Obviously, everyone’s musical tastes are going to be widely different so people will normally go to the radio station they enjoy the most. There are several stations that can be listened to whilst driving around or using your personal mobile phone when out and about on foot. Whilst I didn’t recognise any big names other than TLC, DMX and The 1975, the catalogue of music didn’t really do a lot for me if I am honest. There is a nice variance in genre though and I’m sure many will grow to enjoy it, but for me, it didn’t have the same hit as some of the older collections of tunes from the previous Saints games.

When it comes to sound effects, everything is spot on. Explosions, gunfire, and the heckling of pedestrians on the sidewalk all make for an immersive time. Whilst I would have loved to have seen more interaction and perhaps more off-the-cuff interactions with people on the streets, I had so much other stuff to be getting on with that I didn’t think too much about it. I did take pleasure in wandering around and seeing what conversations were taking place and whether I could find someone to insult me.

In Conclusion

I was expecting Saints Row to return to the formula of what initially catapulted the series to success and I have to say they have achieved it here. Whilst some may not welcome the premise of a new cast of characters, the writing and storyline are solid enough to stay engaged. The same level of comedic witty humour is present with added cheese and cringe with enough carnage-fuelled missions and moments to make it feel true to its values. Introducing the elements of building your own empire surrounding the core main story missions gives you an insane amount to do and gives you reason to spend time in every area of the ginormous map.

Volition and Deep Silver have picked the perfect window for this release and with no major releases in sight until the winter, it gives the new Saints room to breathe in the gaming space. Admittedly it took a few hours to grow on me and let go of the past era in the Saints’ history and latch onto these new characters. In the end, I became really attached to them and could see Neenah, Kevin, and Eli in a follow-up to this reboot. Whilst I did have some personal niggling issues such as struggles in the highest resolution setting and some lazy AI here and there, I gained maximum enjoyment from the whole adventure here. There isn’t anything that seriously hampered my gameplay experience and any minor bugbears I am certain the talented Volition will iron those problems out.

Final Thoughts

So the question remains, is it the best Saints Row game ever? I can’t be so sure, but what I can be certain of is that I have had the same amount of amusement and pleasure with this one. If you’re looking for an open-world title with dozens of hours of entertainment then it is 100% worth your time and money.