That a new Saints Row game is in development isn’t a surprise. And after last week's blatant tease, neither is the fact that it's a total reboot of the decade-and-a-half-old open-world crime saga. I got a look at a gameplay demo of Volition’s freshly announced, co-op-enabled project, which is due out relatively soon on February 25, 2022 for PC as well as both current- and last-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles. And speaking as someone whose favorite game in the series is Saints Row The Third, I was pleased to see that Volition seems to be aiming for a similar tone for the reboot, rather than the more GTA-clone feel of the first two and the over-the-top ridiculousness of the most recent two.
Saints Row recasts the purple-clad gang as a group of young friends in the southwest USA-inspired city of Santo Ileso who’ve seen their ambitions in life stifled, and so they bind together with the aim of not starting a mere street gang, but instead building an entire criminal empire. You’ll play The Boss, and you’ll be able to customize your avatar, just as you could in the previous games. This includes eight voice options. Rounding out your crew are Eli, the planner and financial guru in the group (more on this shortly); Nina, your ace driver/mechanic with a background in art history and anthropology; and Kevin, the people-pleasing DJ who’s also a thrill-seeker.
Yes, that means no Johnny Gat, no Pierce, etc. This is a new Saints Row – though Volition did hint at some Easter eggs that will call back to the original games, though we don’t yet know what form they’ll take.
One thing definitely returning, however, is the Insurance Fraud minigame activity. Volition chief creative officer Jim Boone said it wouldn’t be a Saints Row game without it, and said a few other fan-favorite activities would also come back, though he didn’t name-check any others.
It’s still very much an over-the-top, arcade-y crime sandbox.
Santo Ileso certainly feels fresh compared to Stilwater just on the back of its desert theme. Volition describes it as “one of” the largest cities it’s ever built, and it’ll feature nine unique districts – from El Dorado’s “grime meets glitz” to the Los Panteros gang’s home turf of Rancho Providencia – as well as the ability to buy plots of land and build specific fronts on them that will each unlock new gameplay opportunities.
This seems to be a big focus for Saints Row in addition to the usual driving and shooting, which, rest assured, there will be plenty of. The demo I saw showcased plenty of cars, motorcycles, helicopters, bulldozers, wingsuits, huge stunt jumps, off-road driving, and a ton more. Saints Row may be walking the series back from the crazy corner it had painted itself into, but it’s still very much an over-the-top, arcade-y crime sandbox. Volition cites John Wick, Baby Driver, and Hobbs & Shaw as its creative inspirations.
On the subject of gangs, three of them control the city: Los Panteros, who are the physically imposing melee combat enthusiasts; the Marshalls, a private military conglomerate that favors an abundance of tech; and the anarchistic Idols, who are motivated by fame and notoriety and tend to attack in huge numbers.
The entire campaign is playable in two-player co-op, though when directly asked whether or not the Saints Row reboot supports cross-play either across consoles or across generations (or both), Volition completely avoided the question, so I take that as a “no.”
If Saints Row turns out to essentially be a follow-up to Saints Row 3 with all-new characters in a whole new world, I’ll be plenty happy with that. But at the very least, it’s walking back from a “pure crazy” tone to a more grounded “over the top” tone, and I’m eager to see how that translates into the final game.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
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Saints Row recasts the purple-clad gang as a group of young friends in the southwest USA-inspired city of Santo Ileso who’ve seen their ambitions in life stifled, and so they bind together with the aim of not starting a mere street gang, but instead building an entire criminal empire. You’ll play The Boss, and you’ll be able to customize your avatar, just as you could in the previous games. This includes eight voice options. Rounding out your crew are Eli, the planner and financial guru in the group (more on this shortly); Nina, your ace driver/mechanic with a background in art history and anthropology; and Kevin, the people-pleasing DJ who’s also a thrill-seeker.
Yes, that means no Johnny Gat, no Pierce, etc. This is a new Saints Row – though Volition did hint at some Easter eggs that will call back to the original games, though we don’t yet know what form they’ll take.
One thing definitely returning, however, is the Insurance Fraud minigame activity. Volition chief creative officer Jim Boone said it wouldn’t be a Saints Row game without it, and said a few other fan-favorite activities would also come back, though he didn’t name-check any others.
It’s still very much an over-the-top, arcade-y crime sandbox.
Santo Ileso certainly feels fresh compared to Stilwater just on the back of its desert theme. Volition describes it as “one of” the largest cities it’s ever built, and it’ll feature nine unique districts – from El Dorado’s “grime meets glitz” to the Los Panteros gang’s home turf of Rancho Providencia – as well as the ability to buy plots of land and build specific fronts on them that will each unlock new gameplay opportunities.
This seems to be a big focus for Saints Row in addition to the usual driving and shooting, which, rest assured, there will be plenty of. The demo I saw showcased plenty of cars, motorcycles, helicopters, bulldozers, wingsuits, huge stunt jumps, off-road driving, and a ton more. Saints Row may be walking the series back from the crazy corner it had painted itself into, but it’s still very much an over-the-top, arcade-y crime sandbox. Volition cites John Wick, Baby Driver, and Hobbs & Shaw as its creative inspirations.
On the subject of gangs, three of them control the city: Los Panteros, who are the physically imposing melee combat enthusiasts; the Marshalls, a private military conglomerate that favors an abundance of tech; and the anarchistic Idols, who are motivated by fame and notoriety and tend to attack in huge numbers.
The entire campaign is playable in two-player co-op, though when directly asked whether or not the Saints Row reboot supports cross-play either across consoles or across generations (or both), Volition completely avoided the question, so I take that as a “no.”
If Saints Row turns out to essentially be a follow-up to Saints Row 3 with all-new characters in a whole new world, I’ll be plenty happy with that. But at the very least, it’s walking back from a “pure crazy” tone to a more grounded “over the top” tone, and I’m eager to see how that translates into the final game.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
Continue reading...