At Gamescom ONL, fans the world over got their first glimpse at the new Saints Row game, releasing on February 25, 2022. Fans knew it would be a reboot, and that was the only logical choice for continuing the franchise. Saints Row 4 made the reboot necessary, as The Boss becomes the emperor of an alien empire and Johnny Gat (in Gat Out of Hell) deals with issues of Heaven and Hell.
There’s no coming back from that, not well, for a game like Saints Row. The good news is that the reboot seems promising, as it takes things back to the street level of the first few games. Based on the initial trailer, it seems to have reigned in the over-the-top abilities and story, but it also seems to have kept just enough of the wackiness to make itself unique.
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Right out of the gate, though, there seems to be a problem. There are two ways to go about a reboot: brand-new characters, brand-new cast, brand-new location, and brand-new game carrying on the spirit of an older title OR a game that ignores the sequel, makes some changes, but retains some things of key value. Right now, it seems Saints Row is the former, and that begs a very important question: where is Johnny Gat?
Saints Row Reboot: Where is Johnny Gat?
It should be noted that, in spirit, the player character (aka The Boss) remains.Saints Row confirmed that the lead protagonist is customizable and will fill a similar story role to the original Boss. They’ll be climbing their way up the criminal underworld, as their spiritual predecessor once did. Alongside them, though, there’s no Shaundi, no Keith David, no Kinzie, and seemingly no Johnny Gat.
It doesn’t seem likely any of the old faces return as cameos, rebooted versions of themselves, or the like, as Volition promises “new city, new saints, no rules.” With everything that has happened and the need for something new, it’s almost forgivable to leave these characters behind, but not Johnny Gat.
Johnny Gat is a Big Part of Saints Row’s Franchise Identity
Some characters cannot and should not be removed from their franchise, at least without a major narrative purpose (like Gat’s death in the original series). God of War would not work without Kratos, Halo Infinite wouldn’t be the same without Master Chief, The Legend of Zelda can’t operate without some incarnation of Link and Zelda, and so on. This is because the characters come to define these games, and these are just a few of many examples.
Not having Johnny Gat is a mistake, and as it stands, he doesn’t seem to be there. The new gang has to establish its own members, and that’s fair. However, hopefully, Johnny Gat is there somewhere. Perhaps he is playing a similar role, or perhaps not, but without Johnny Gat, it’s going to be that much harder to sell this Saints Row game as a Saints Row franchise entry. The direction of the trailer, the recreation of the boss, and what has been shown so far seems promising; it’s what hasn’t been shown that creates pause.
Saints Row releases February 25, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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