Saints Row gameplay has finally been revealed in an early hands-on preview of the open-world action game.
Almost 9 minutes of direct Saints Row gameplay has been shared with fans, showing off some of the reboot’s opening story missions.
The video comes via Game Informer, in partnership with Saints Row publisher Deep Silver. The footage is from a pre-alpha build and doesn’t give us a huge amount of context for what’s happening, though we still get to see some action-packed driving and gunfighting gameplay.
There are two story missions on show here – Making Rent and Idol Threat. In the early stages of the game, you and your ragtag gang of hoodlums have only just stepped on the path to creating their Saint Ileso criminal empire.
The new entry in the series will effectively wipe the slate clean from all of the game that have come before, with the Saints Row The Third developer deciding that they really didn’t have anywhere else to take their original game series and outlandish storyline that they had cooked up. So, they’ve hit the big red reset button and chosen to try to update the game to be more relevant for the 2020s.
That said, the reboot is still imbued with that same DNA from past Saints Row games. Vibrant, tongue-in-cheek, and never self-serious, the overriding focus is having fun in a silly sandbox, whether riding solo or playing co-op online with friends.
Saint Ileso may be sandier than previous locales, but it’s far from being a barren wasteland. This new city is teeming with potential for expanding your influence as a maniacal kingpin. So-called “Criminal Ventures” are a big part of the Saints Row gameplay mix, allowing you to increase your reach by completing various illegal activities.
Saints Row has a release date set for February 25, 2022, on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (via Epic).
