Saints Row analysis: The expected return?

There was a time when the saga Grand Theft Auto A major competitor has appeared. After a first launch in 2006, Volition He brought to the table an alternative to Rockstar’s sandbox, but with a very characteristic personal touch. Saints Row He came to turn everything upside down, and as the saga progressed, it got even crazier and more rogue. The third It’s for some the best installment of them all, and we’ve already had a remaster in 2020.

It was the last time we could enjoy an outing Saints Rowbut that has changed. In the middle of 2022, and by the hand of Deep Silver and Plaion, Volition recovered the saga to bring us a brand new title. No number or sub-name, Saints Row It is billed as a revival of the franchise. Will it be able to live up to what has been seen in previous games? One thing is certain, humor and madness are more than guaranteed.

Saint Unhurt, Saints Row Criminal Haven

The new Volition takes us this time to a new capital of organized crime. Santo Ileso is the place chosen for us to commit our misdeeds and set up a real criminal empire. I must admit that after the first glance and walking through its streets, the mapping seemed smaller than expected. But once you get into the plot and play through the various missions, I think it’s more than enough.

The cartography is divided into three main areas; downtown, “El Dorado” (a small semi-derelict area inspired by Las Vegas) and vast desert wastelands dotted with roads. On the outskirts, where our apartment is located, we also have neighborhoods and industrial areas. But watch out for the gangs, the idols or the Panthers They will make it difficult for us if we disturb the order in their streets.

Leaving aside some more common places, such as clothing or weapons stores, exploration is not too inviting to explore around Santo Ileso. There are a few secret items scattered around the map, such as drug shipments, which will yield a significant amount of money, or photo hunts. Another option, eye on the data, is to dig through the trash, which also brings rarer benefits or items.

More discreet than expected

On a technical level, it must be said that what we see in the trailers or the gameplays is somewhat misleading. Saints Row it features a decent graphics section, but much of it is due to the good work with the lighting. Once the first few hours pass, it starts to indicate a lower level of detail than expected. Cutscenes and interiors look better.

In terms of performance, few complaints. The game runs like a shot, saving a few particularly striking bugs. Driving a car through a pedestrian while the NPC itself freezes, or shooting another with a taser and that one doesn’t flinch, are the most serious things I’ve encountered in my game.

Now the physics and animations indicate sooner rather than later that we are facing a video game from a bygone era. Being an open world with a multitude of situations, and considering other experiences we have already had along the way, much more is expected from a name as powerful as this.

Let’s get to the new Saints Row action

The gameplay doesn’t offer anything we haven’t seen before, nor does it complement it. As expected, Saints Row It’s action-packed, sure, but like everything else, it feels outdated. It turns out that yes, the already traditional radial menu for the weapons that Rockstar incorporated in its time, and from there, a good range of weapons to choose from. However, due to what was mentioned above in terms of physics or animations, the experience loses a lot.

And it is that when there are worlds like those of GTA V oh Cyberpunk 2077, you’re going to have to work hard to capture players’ attention. In this case, the name of Saints Row is the main complaint, but unfortunately I had the feeling at all times that the saga was stuck in the past. Later, I will address other issues.

The ride isn’t exactly satisfying either. You could say that GTA V is almost a simulator compared to Saints Row. I understand that each studio has its resources, and a universe with its own internal rules, but with Saints Row There is hardly any clear differentiation between the vehicles. Not to say that the variety of them is very small. There are tuning options, which is good, but not enough for a driving so little worked.

In the case of motorcycles, things get worse. For some reason, the vibration of the control is constant (while remaining still) until we go fast enough. Again, the physics and animations don’t help either.

Management from our own mobile

And the assignments? Well, being a Saints Row it is expected that there will be very surreal and funny situations. And yes, indeed as soon as the adventure begins, we will end up clinging to the outside of a ship. Another early mission sees a museum tending to security, though it ends up blowing everything up in the middle of a firefight. There’s even a mission parodying a certain well-known battle royale.

There are also a lot of “Bonus” assignments as secondary, as well as challenges available on our phone. Unfortunately, these types of goals are not attractive enough, and usually the only incentive is to get more money, not more.

All this management is carried out from our smartphone, where we will have several Apps. There we can consult the map and the many locations, as well as mark those that interest us. To get to our destination, the minimap has indicators on the road itself and on both sides of it (although they can be disabled).

But that’s not all. In addition to receiving calls, our smartphone allows us to unlock new skills that we can use in battle. We can only activate four of them, because they are divided into buttons A, B, X and Y. On the other hand, we have advantage this will facilitate our daily life in Santo Ileso. To do this, it is necessary to buy the spaces for these benefits with our money, and as we unlock more, the price will increase.

Without identity

I’ve already touched on some of the points that stand out the most at first glance, but the worst thing about this title is that feeling that something is wrong. And it happens from the beginning, with everything.

The worst thing that can happen to a video game is the loss of identity, that developers try to capture a series of ideas and they end up being the opposite. Or worse yet, don’t let them. I have my doubts about what happened with Volition, but what I’m sure of is that the essence of the saga has been lost along the way.

The kind of humor, with quirky jokes, those weapons that are as absurd as they are fun to use, and characters that have found meaning in classic cliches of “bad” movie gangsters. All of this, in a context that doesn’t help either, makes Saints Row stay in no man’s land; It’s not a GTA, but it’s definitely not a Saints Row Classic, not even in the construction of the characters. They just don’t have charisma.

dare I say that the current wave of “goodness” and the quick hand in undoing have something to do. Saints Row and other games from that era were very silly (in every aspect), and to a large extent their success was due to that. Maybe a reinvention was sought, something that can be adapted to the times. Otherwise, I don’t understand. And as I say, the shots can go in that direction. Therefore, I understand that Saints Row

Put on the radio!

Few complaints about the sound level. In this aspect, it fulfills and greatly exceeds what Saints Row. As expected, the game relies on a wide variety of music in terms of in-vehicle radio stations. Heavy Metal, Hip Hop, Pop… there’s everything, including loudspeakers, so traveling is more than enjoyable.

The sound effects, while not crazy, are consistent in general terms, although in the case of vehicles they are quite upgradable. Of course, the English dub (it’s not available in Spanish) is worthy of any AAA production. It is a pity that the others do not follow.

Have we witnessed the death of Saints Row?

The answer to this question will only be given by time. What I’m sure of is that Volition missed the opportunity to give fans a real experience Saints Row. There’s probably an industry that’s happy with the end result, but I doubt the majority will take this saga return for good.

The essence has been lost, and that means characters without charisma, a much whiter and more restrained comedic tone, not to mention a technical section that leaves a lot to be desired. The plot doesn’t exactly invite you to dive into the game’s story either., with poor exploration lacking good incentives. I think the publicity of the game itself didn’t work in its favor either, pretentiously sinning through a name that was great in its time. Unfortunately, Saints Row is not what I expected and seems like a completely out of place title. I hope I’m wrong and a future comes Saints Row at height.

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We thank as always the code that allowed us to perform this analysis to the team of PLAION Europe.