Volition has shared a first look at the gameplay, characters, and world of the Saints Row reboot.
The footage comes courtesy of the "Welcome to Santo Ileso" trailer, which shows cutscenes, gameplay, and interviews with the developers about the game and its direction.
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The footage starts by having Bryce Charles, the voice of the female boss, introducing the location of Santo Ileso. The Volition team then discusses why the next Saints Row is a reboot of the franchise, saying that they found it difficult to decide on a new direction for the series after going to hell and space. In their words, "We need to reboot Saints Row".
Bryce Charles and Volition then describe Santo Ileso, which is an area set in the South West that is the "biggest" Saints Row location yet. The footage shows several different locations, and the town's motto, "Keep Santo Strange", which the developers say is perfect for Saints Row.
The next topic shown is the characters, who are described as four friends who "take a chance on each other and create a criminal empire of their own". The Boss is described as a "charismatic murder machine". Some of the other Saints shown in the trailer are Eli, Nina, and Kevin, the cat helmet-wearing gangster who also wants to be a professional chef.
Volition describes these Saints as "100% relatable", although also notes that they wouldn't do the same things that the Saints do. The rival gangs are then detailed for the first time, and combat is shown off in small glimpses of gameplay. It looks very similar to the other Saints Row titles, with a mixture of melee combat and third-person shooting, but it also looks like the dive roll has been reworked to be something much sharper than before.
Initial responses to the trailer have been much more positive, with fans commenting underneath the gameplay video and saying that it's a much better showing than the cinematic trailer, which was massively ratio'd on YouTube. Volition has responded to that backlash by saying that it won't be backing down from its vision.
Next: Saints Row Ditching Johnny Gat And Co Is The Right Move
