When Volition’s upcoming Saints Row reboot was announced last year, I have to admit I was a little unsure of what to think of the game. After all, the bombastic sandbox series has only gotten more over-the-top with each new installment, taking players from the crime-ridden streets of Stillwater to the heart of alien motherships to enforce street justice, one dildo -bat swing at a time. So when it was revealed that the latest entry would be calling things back from Saints Row IV’s super-powered shenanigans to give a more grounded look at building an underworld empire, I wasn’t exactly sure how to feel.
Fortunately, I’m happy to report that my initial concerns were misplaced. I recently had the opportunity to join my criminally minded colleagues in the gaming press at a preview event in Las Vegas hosted by Koch Media. And after spending more than four hours of hands-on time with the game in a seedy hotel converted into a slice of Saints Row’s fictional city of Santo Ileso, it’s clear that Saints Row has what it takes to create the most exciting game in the world. to be series. to date with its overhauled mechanics and likeable cast of layabouts.
Having recently revisited Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row IV: Re-Elected in preparation for the new game, I can’t emphasize enough how much more refined everything feels this time around. While the basics haven’t changed all that much since the last episode, everything feels much clearer and smoother, making any firefight a treat as you blast rival gangbangers with lead with a variety of brutal weapons ranging from the SMGs and pistols you’re used to. from the series to devastating weapons in the near future that send goons flying through the air like fleshy footballs.
As you complete missions and level up your boss, you unlock new skills to equalize the odds. Some of these are quite tame but effective, like being able to place a smoke screen to drop your enemies or take more damage, while others are a bit more colorful. My favorite was the Pineapple Express, which involved shoving a live grenade into an enemy’s paint before lobing them at their friends for an explosive reunion. This quickly became my go-to skill, both because of how effective it was at thinning out groups of bad guys and because it was hysterical to laugh out loud. That said, I really can’t wait to see what other skill types the full game has in store when it comes out later this month.
In addition to these abilities, the strategic use of takedowns helps flesh out moment-to-moment firefights by restoring a bit of health when you take them out successfully, adding a welcome element of risk versus reward to the procedure. However, you can’t just avoid this one. Some enemies are equipped with shields that must be destroyed with conventional weapons before you can meet one of these flashy finishers up close. All of these elements make Saints Row shootouts more satisfying than ever.
Saints Row has also seen some improvements behind the wheel. You can now sweep aside enemy vehicles and send them off the road or oncoming traffic. It is immensely satisfying to perform a successful vehicle removal on one of Santo Ileso’s best during a high speed chase. You can even clamber out the window of a speeding car and onto the roof to better fend off your pursuers or jump from car to car like street-smart Nathan Drake.
Speaking of Naughty Dog’s trigger-happy treasure hunter, my favorite mission during the preview build made heavy use of all these new vehicle mechanics as I worked my way up a caravan of Los Panteros trucks as they raced across the desert in the middle of a sandstorm. It was an exciting moment that more than slightly reminded me of Uncharted 4’s iconic convoy sequence as I jumped from speeding car to car while dodging devastating torrents of LMG fire. If that’s not praise, then I really don’t know what is.
Another new feature that Saints Row is bringing to the table is criminal enterprise. These are tasks you can perform to increase your gang’s influence throughout Santo Ileso. While there are plenty of activities to do, the preview build I played only allowed me to build my Chalupacabra food truck franchise, which serves not only delicious Mexican cuisine, but also the most potent drugs in town. To grow my business, I had to intercept rival food trucks and either shut them down or steal them to expand my dope trading fleet. With other buzz like the toxic waste dumping and the return of the fan-favorite insurance fraud mini-game, it looks like there will be plenty to keep zealous mobsters busy outside of the main Saints Row story.
The newest gang of saints is a significant departure from Johnny Gat, Shaundi and Playa. They are all up-and-coming villains in the city’s various gangs, who all just happen to share an apartment. They’re an affable group—well, except for The Boss, who kills hundreds of poor juicers in his day job as a PMC—that’s more concerned with brunching and paying rent than launching an ever-expanding criminal syndicate. Kevin is a shirtless DJ and member of the Daft Punk-esque gang known as The Idols. Neenah is a talented driver who has a romantic relationship with a member of the Los Panteros street gang. Finally, Eli is a talented investor who dreams of running a big company. Sure, it won’t be long before it comes to a head between the different factions the housemates are affiliated with, but I won’t offer spoilers here. What I can say, however, is that after just a few hours, I began to love each member of the Saints and the way they interact with one another. If the whole criminal empire-building thing doesn’t work for them, I think it’s safe to say that these good-hearted mobsters could have a bright future as the stars of their own sitcom.
If there’s one last thing I want to gush about, it’s the setting itself. While I love the Saints Row series, I’ve always felt that the settings were largely forgotten compared to other games in the open-world genre, such as Elephant in the Room, Grand Theft Auto V. Santo Ileso marks a huge departure for the series with its sprawling map just begging to be explored. The layout feels a lot more organic this time around, with vast deserts, steep mountain ranges, and a densely packed concrete jungle filled with hidden drug caches to grab, bounties to claim, and other problems to get into. I could have spent hours launching my dirt bike over desert dunes to see how much air I could capture or stalking rival mobsters to crush with my comically big monster truck. If you enjoyed roaming GTAV’s sprawling Blaine County, I think you’ll really enjoy what’s in store in Saints Row.
I couldn’t get Saints Row out of my mind on my cross-country flight home from Las Vegas. With its cleverly refined gameplay and the promise of countless criminal activities to engage in as I expand my underworld empire, I can’t wait to reunite with The Boss, Neenah, Kevin and Eli when the game launches later this month. If you’re looking forward to exploring sunny Santo Ilesos, mark August 26 on your calendar when the game launches on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
What do you think of the tone shift of the latest game? Are you looking forward to hitting the streets of Santo Ileso later this month? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
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