Saints Row (2022) Review

Rebooting a series is almost always a polarizing move. Nowhere is that more apparent than in video games. Once strong franchises can fall into obscurity if that reboot doesn’t stay true to the originals while pushing the series forward. This was my one big concern when it was revealed that the Saints Row series was getting a reboot last Summer. Saints Row was one of the first games I played when I purchased an Xbox 360 in the Fall of 2012, after initially opting for a PS3 that generation. It became one of my favorite series because it was just fun for the sake of being entertaining. As the series got into its fourth entry, it got to be utterly ridiculous to the point that I didn’t know where they would go with the series next. Volition didn’t either, as we have waited nine years for the next entry in the series in Saints Row (2022). It probably would have been better if we had had to wait even longer.

Newer Isn’t Always Better

Saints Row dials back many things that were taking the series in a weird direction, like superpowers (which was probably for the best). They also dialed back a lot of the game’s outlandish identity. Volition brought it back to its open-world gang warfare roots. This would work for me if the mechanics were more finely tuned, the characters were memorable, or it were 2006, but it’s not. It’s 2022, and this game doesn’t align with where it should be. It can be great fun at times, and I enjoyed certain aspects of this game; however, I felt like I was playing a remaster of the first game rather than an entirely new entry in the series. There just wasn’t enough content to make me smile or surprise me like I’ve come to expect from this development team.

Santo Ileso

Saints Row (2022) did entertain me a lot at specific points in time. I enjoyed the beautiful game world of Santo Ileso, reminiscent of the Las Vegas area. The world has many moments of feeling lively, with tow trucks picking up cars on the side of the road, police setting up barricades in alleys, NPCs shooting off fireworks, and much more. I felt like the team did a great job creating a varied game world that isn’t big for the sake of being big. I’ve gotten sick of games with massive worlds that fill them with pointless collectibles or become travel simulators. This open world is the perfect size for a game like this, and I never feel like I’m wasting time.

Pockets of Fun

There’s always something to do nearby. Most of the missions felt repetitive, and I found that very few stood out enough to be truly memorable. I did enjoy an early mission where your character jumps from car to car in a convoy to get to the front of the pack. It felt like a fun action movie sequence, and I expected the entire game to be like that, but it wasn’t. There was another sequence where you were going through an explosive train robbery. Another had you drag a man around in a portapotty behind your car. These were fun portions, but they never last very long, and you’re relegated to doing mundane tasks again a few minutes later.

Gameplay

Shooting

The shooting mechanics felt worse than in the previous games in the series. It’s passable, but sometimes the aim didn’t feel as on-point as expected in a third-person shooter. The game has no proper cover system, so you manually find cover and dodge-rolling away from bullets. You’ll have to pull off the occasional execution move to replenish your health mid-fight, which is my preferred method over having to pick up health or anything like that. There’s even a skills system that works on a recharge system that allows you to bind special abilities to four buttons. There are helpful skills, such as shooting through walls, and traditional ones, like temporary armor. It’s all up to you and how you want to play, and you can swap them quickly and frequently if you wish. I was a little annoyed that grenades and mines were skills, as I feel that’s better suited to something you need to grab ammo for.

Driving

Saints Row (2022) takes a conventional approach to driving mechanics. There are plenty of land vehicles to drive around Santo Ileso, but most cars have similar handling, so I didn’t have much preference. I loved the monster trucks that could flatten other cars when they ran them over. They were amusing to mess around with, and some felt nearly indestructible. The game features a drift and sideswipe mechanic that can make chases quite enjoyable. It reminded me of Marked Man in the Burnout series. You can even take a page from the Just Cause playbook, pop onto your roof, and launch into a wingsuit glide. There are also things like tanks, helicopters, planes, and boats, if those are more your speed.

Companions

Your companions in the Saints are where this game falls flat for me. The supporting cast isn’t nearly as memorable as some of the original Saints characters, like Johnny Gat or Shaundi. I enjoyed Neenah because she seemed the most level-headed person in the group. I particularly enjoyed a scene where she and The Boss were on the couch watching the shopping channel. She seems to have the most gang upside, with a love of cars and an affiliation with another gang, Los Panteros. Eli is a nerdy pacifist who has no interest in fighting and enjoys LARPing. His side missions were fun, as he swapped regular weapons for NERF weapons. Kevin is the playboy DJ and is, in my opinion, the weakest character. As in previous games, you can call in your gang mates for help if you are in a sticky situation. The enemy gangs were equally forgettable, with each playing a similar role. I didn’t feel much of a difference, except for the different outfits and vehicles. I hoped they’d have different tendencies and AI, but they did not.

Customization

The character creator can be accessed anytime via the in-game phone, allowing you to change practically everything about your character or download one of the many community creations available. I was straightforward with my customization and went with the dress shirt, jeans, and fedora combo. You can get much crazier, though, by putting on things like taco hats or a bunch of other random items. This customization extends to your HQ, which evolves as you go through the story. You can add a variety of collectibles throughout the property. I wish there were even more things that you could add here, but I like that this was an idea at all. You can also customize all your weapons and vehicles to your liking, as it has been a staple of this series for a while now.

Criminal Ventures

Criminal ventures comprise the bulk of Saints Row’s side missions. You must purchase each and complete its mission set to increase your hourly revenue. I love this mechanic, and I wish more games would utilize something like this because it gives you a tangible reason to want to finish these missions. You aren’t required to acquire all the ventures to complete the campaign, but buying half is needed to unlock the final story missions. The problem with that is that these missions generally aren’t outstanding. Even Insurance Fraud seems quite a bit more unpredictable this time around and not nearly as fun. The Eurekabator, which allowed you to test hoverboards and sticky bombs, only lasted three missions and was one of the better sets. Bright Future had you hauling toxic waste around town for thirteen trips. It’s not exactly the most fun thing to do in the world. It felt like these missions were rushed, and maybe they were. There could have been so much more here. It ultimately consisted primarily of filler and numerous copy-and-paste missions. They aren’t challenging and don’t make you think outside the box.

Annoyances

Saints Row (2022) has many questionable choices that drove me nuts. There were the prompts to return to missions when you barely moved away from them, the instant-fail stealth, and the terrible police AI you could lose by going fast enough in a straight line. I was also annoyed by how little interaction you could have within the game world. You won’t be entering any of the cool-looking casinos. Forget it. Want a bicycle? You can’t steal it. The world is beautiful, and there are plenty of NPCs around, but I never felt like I could get as lost in it as I can in other game worlds, like GTA or even Yakuza, to an extent.

Glitch Fest

I could excuse many other issues with this game, but one thing I have a hard time excusing is the numerous bugs and glitches I encountered. I have had at least three or four missions that just broke, forcing me to restart my game and lose my progress on the mission. I’ve seen my player get in a car only to appear on the roof as I start driving or beside a motorcycle. I’ve had times where my car jumps in the air like I pressed a jump button. It got even worse when I tried to play co-op with a friend. He lost connection a few times and had trouble joining my game a few times. It got even worse when his icon disappeared as we were playing. He was still in my game, but we had no idea where the other was. There was also an instance where our car got shot by fireworks randomly out of nowhere that I still can’t explain. It can be an entertaining game in co-op, but we got so frustrated that we’ll probably never return to it. It’s a shame, too, because so few games do co-op like this.

Final Thoughts

I wanted to like Saints Row (2022) so badly. I’ve been a fan of this series for a long time, and I am very frustrated that the game was released in this state even after being delayed. It’s not the worst experience I’ve ever had in gaming, but it’s so disappointing knowing what this game could have been. I never expected this to be a game with identity issues, but it’s precisely that. It can be a fun time, and I did enjoy myself in short spurts, but it was hard for me to sit down and play it for longer than an hour or two at a time. I hope some patches and DLC can remedy some of the issues I’ve had, but right now, this feels more of the same and doesn’t feel like a proper reboot.