Where do you take a series when you’ve already dragged it down to Hell and fought off alien invasions? Space? The ocean? Another planet? An alternate universe? You can only make something so stupid before it jumps the Shark-O-Matic. A system reset solves most issues.
Saints Row is back, but it’s not a continuation of what came before. In this reboot, you’ll witness the Saints be born as a gang for the first time, growing their influence in a new city, in a game, developed in a new engine. It’s a modern take on Saints Row, full of contemporary satire that winks, nods, and probably features a cryptocurrency called Shitcoin (unconfirmed).
Related: The Next Saints Row Needs To Take More Inspiration From Saints Row 2
You take control of The Boss, a custom character who links up with three friends to escape debt, jobs, and the rat race of everyday life. It’s a rags to riches story set in the American Southwest – the game’s tagline is “self made”.
Along with Eli (MBA), a planner who came to Santo Ileso to grow his own business, Neenah, a driver and mechanic who wants to break free of a gang with no prospects, and Kevin, a people-pleasing himbo who’s loyal to a fault, your only goal is to build up your influence and oust your enemies. It’s still undeniably Saints Row – the footage I see shows ragdoll insurance scam minigames, helicopters with magnet-based wrecking balls, and monster trucks crushing parked cars – but it’s closer to the first two games in its DNA.
In some ways, Saints Row reminds me of GTA when it was daft – closer to San Andreas than Gat Out of Hell. You take over portions of the city and construct fronts for your illicit business, choosing what kind of business you want to build in each vacant lot. These change the look of the world and offer up new gameplay options, such as side missions where you run drugs out of a fast food truck. Other options shown are protection rackets, auto theft, and arms dealerships.
Santo Ileso itself looks like the perfect playground for your crime sprees. It’s a condensed version of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and with a chunk of California love. There’s a long road called Route 66, there’s duelling diplodocus statues, bizarre sculptures, intricate graffiti, golf courses, and dusty deserts, all colourful and sunbaked. It features nine districts, each with its own personality and inhabitants.
In El Dorado there’s a mix of glitz and grime, with neon signs popping against the night sky. Monte Vista is basically the Hollywood Hills – the gated communities of the wealthy elite and a place for pools, parties, and pills. Head to the Rodeo District for a slice of gentrification, and go downtown to the Financial Distinct for shimmering skyscrapers and wingsuiting opportunities.
You can leave your mark on all of this, chipping away at the influence of the three rival gangs – gangbangers, private military corporations, and fame-obsessed anarchists – while erecting buildings for the Saints. Want to shit on the bourgeois and build a toxic waste dump in the Financial District? They might not appreciate it, but they probably deserve to be dumped on for once in their lives.
While I’ve only seen 15 minutes or so of pre-recorded alpha footage, it looks like an exciting direction for Saints Row to take. We don’t really get games like this anymore. I mean, there’s a petrol station called Thunder Pump, “Guaranteed to give you gas.” Is it childish? Yes. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Absolutely not. Sometimes you need a good fart joke in your life. Saints Row has always been a series built on fun, and I can already see the potential for sandbox silliness, especially when you’re joined by a friend in co-op. I don’t know about you, but I always feel better about laughing at arse wind with a friend.
Saints Row is set to launch on February 25, 2022 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and the Epic Games Store.
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