Board 8 > Saints Row Review Zone

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://opencritic.com/game/11879/saints-row

Only a 65 through 82 reviews. The Embracer Group will not be pleased. Sounds like there might be a fun game under the hood, but it's hampered by too many technical issues at launch. Maybe one to keep an eye on after it's patched?

Gaming Nexus - 9.5/10
Volitions gamble to reset and reground Saints Row pays off generously. A visual delight, with plenty of gameplay mechanics to keep players goofing off for days, and the Santo Ileso setting is one of the best in video game history. Sure, the shooting gets redundant after a while, but with so much to see and do you can go hours in between gun battles. Saints Row manages retain what players loved while feeling fresh and new. Other reboots, take note this is how you do it.

GameByte - 8/10
Although hindered by technical issues and packed in an overly inflated map, building your criminal empire via driving and shooting your way through Santo Ileso is a molotov cocktail of fun made more so with the wealth or perks, skills, and customisation options at your disposal. Be that as it may, its the modern take of the Saints Row series signature writing and tone carried through an entertaining story and its lovable characters that shines brightest.

GameSpot - 6/10
Saints Row reins in the absurdity to a fairly significant degree but still manages to indulge in some of the chaotic action and silly hijinks the series is known for. Its story is simple and fairly predictable, yet spending time with its diverse and well-rounded characters makes it worth seeing through to the end. It's a shame the gameplay isn't quite as progressive, opting instead for out-of-date mechanics and level design. Combat is decent, and the story missions are enjoyable when at their most over-the-top, but there's too much bland filler in between. Rebooting the series made sense, yet in many ways, Saints Row is still stuck in the past and struggling to live up to its legacy.
Upvote

IGN - 6/10
For a game that gives us so much freedom to be exactly who we want to be via its superb customisation options, its odd that Saints Row itself struggles to forge its own identity when it comes to the types of wanton criminal activities it makes available to us. Theres definitely no shortage of shallow shoot em up thrills to be had here, but its a very familiar and uninspired brand of sandbox fun thats unlikely to wow anybody whos played a Saints Row game before, much less a GTA. There are a few spectacular story moments and the city of Santo Ileso serves as a sprawling new playground full of surprisingly antiquated and non-interactive amusements, but the distinct lack of new gameplay ideas and the frequency with which some of its least interesting ones are reused means this Saints Row feels more like a repetitive retread than a proper reboot. Its definitely a new gang of Saints, but theyre guilty of the same old sins.

Hardcore Gamer - 6/10
Technical issues notwithstanding, Saints Row is not without its shortcomings, but it succeeds more often than it doesnt. Even with the release date pushed back it still doesnt feel finalized. The tech issues can hopefully be ironed out in a patch or two, but the characters could have also benefitted from further development and being more fleshed out. Santa Ileso is a great open sandbox to explore, but it seems like a greater emphasis was placed on repetitive criminal venture activities and less on the more exciting story missions. Still, what Saints Row does well is it does very well with memorable missions after the Saints have started to establish themselves. The banter between characters is generally entertaining and a lot of the humor is derived from this series never taking itself too seriously. Theres a lot of potential with this reboot and new cast of characters, but it doesnt seem like it was fully realized in this title, making it a game thats fun for Saints Row fans, but isnt the spectacular reboot we were hoping for.

XGN - 4/10
The reboot of Saints Row is failing both as a reboot as well as a good game due to the game running poorly, a sandbox riddled with bugs and a boring story with just a few fun characters. Blowing stuff up is good and all, but Santo Ileso simply isn't a fun place to create chaos in. Driving the expensive cars is simply the best part, but steering clear of Saints Row at launch is by far the best way to go.

oh no =(

Yo how did that one website give it a 9.5? Just watching this review and it seems impossible to give this game credit. The man had so many glitches and game breaking bugs.

https://youtu.be/T-hsMkWHMLU

They just needed to remake Saints Row 2 but in New Mexico with new gangs, thats it.

I'm suddenly worried im being bamboozled again

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

Yo how did that one website give it a 9.5? Just watching this review and it seems impossible to give this game credit. The man had so many glitches and game breaking bugs.

https://youtu.be/T-hsMkWHMLU

That video's from someone else. People never have the same experience with game breaking bugs and glitches.

MacArrowny posted...

That video's from someone else. People never have the same experience with game breaking bugs and glitches.

I never said it was the same person. This is just the review I'm watching and wondering how anyone could give it a good review with the number of obvious issues this has.

For all the Giant Bomb perverts here:

https://twitter.com/DanRyckert/status/1561725729892704258?t=nnGs8G47Tl99rxcmy6_44g&s=19

ChaosTonyV4 posted...

They just needed to remake Saints Row 2 but in New Mexico with new gangs, thats it.

Yeah, and from what these reviews are saying, it sounds like that's what they did. SR2 is far and away the best in the series (despite some glitches) and I don't take anyone's opinions on Saints Row seriously if they say otherwise. SR2 had the right mix of absurdity, normalcy, tragedy, gangster moxie, and fun - it didn't overdo any of those and the end result was a perfect product for the genre.

I hope this one ends up the same way. Might actually go buy it first time there's a sale...

Feels like they maybe didn't realize that the entire modern Saints Row fanbase consists of 3 stans and that making it less crazy to appeal more to the passionate but very small SR2 fanbase (not that they're wrong!) was the wrong way to go.

The general industry nowadays expects cyborg Abraham Lincoln, ninja hookers, and Keith David in their Saints Row game, and it doesn't sound like that's gonna change.

oh no the SR2 nerds have shown up

I should make it clear that I have never played SR2 and only made that comment to satisfy the SR2 gang so they don't hurt me. I have to do the same thing with the Far Cry 2 people.

SR3 for life baybeeee.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Yeah, and from what these reviews are saying, it sounds like that's what they did. SR2 is far and away the best in the series (despite some glitches) and I don't take anyone's opinions on Saints Row seriously if they say otherwise. SR2 had the right mix of absurdity, normalcy, tragedy, gangster moxie, and fun - it didn't overdo any of those and the end result was a perfect product for the genre.

I hope this one ends up the same way. Might actually go buy it first time there's a sale...

Im right there with you. SR2 gang rise up

https://twitter.com/schillingc/status/1561715412714364928

UshiromiyaEva posted...

I should make it clear that I have never played SR2 and only made that comment to satisfy the SR2 gang so they don't hurt me. I have to do the same thing with the Far Cry 2 people.

You should really remedy that. SR2 was easily the best in the series. It was free on Xbox games with gold recently. Not anymore, though I don't think. But it's easily worth a play through if you like the genre.

I don't have an Xbox so there's really no way to play the game. If they put it out again for real I'd do so!

And actually I....dont like the genre. I hate GTA! SR3 is the only one of these games I have ever liked. SR4 a little but to a much lesser extent.

One day I will boot up the copy of Sleepy Dogs I own.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

I should make it clear that I have never played SR2 and only made that comment to satisfy the SR2 gang

Fix that. Play SR2 (not on PC - whatever happened to the remaster they were doing? I know the guy in charge of it died ) ASAP. It's still in my top ten games of all time.

SR3 really repelled the fans that even got them a third game. It was too focused on being absurd; the end result was a game that had some of the best missions in the series, but the other missions were boring, the activities were meh, the sandbox was terrible (not enough places to enter and too much redundancy), the plot was trash, and there was virtually no replay value. It stripped the soul to be ridiculous. Oh, and don't forget (spoilers for 3 and 4) they killed Gat off anti-climactically in the first hour of 3 to give their fans the middle finger, only to try to rein them back in with retconning themselves in 4.

That alone says a lot.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

I don't have an Xbox so there's really no way to play the game. If they put it out again for real I'd do so!

And actually I....dont like the genre. I hate GTA! SR3 is the only one of these games I have ever liked. SR4 a little but to a much lesser extent.

SR2 is also on PS3. SR1 is the only Xbox exclusive.

You might enjoy SR2 - it's a step between San Andreas and SR3. A bit closer to the former. It's in that sweet spot that makes it perfect.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

I don't have an Xbox so there's really no way to play the game. If they put it out again for real I'd do so!

Do you have a PS3? Cause I think it's on there as well. I'd say it's closer to SR3 than to GTA. My main complaints about SR3 aren't the zaniness, but more just... the story's pretty 'meh'. The villains in 3 were a little boring aside from Eddie.

https://twitter.com/schillingc/status/1561715412714364928?t=pHc0TllTiRZIwhfm1Vo5UQ&s=19

I really hate the modern gaming paradigm of ship out whatever we have and we will fix it later.

Even great games are doing it nowadays with Elden Ring balancing so many weapons post release and nintendo adding the extra half of the game that was missing before

No PS3.

And if it's on PS+ that doesn't matter be a use I don't stream games.

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

https://twitter.com/schillingc/status/1561715412714364928?t=pHc0TllTiRZIwhfm1Vo5UQ&s=19

Rude.

masterplum posted...

I really hate the modern gaming paradigm of ship out whatever we have and we will fix it later.

I think it's fine, mostly. Sometimes you just don't catch bugs early enough in development. Or you don't catch them at all. Some bugs only happen sometimes, and it takes time to figure out what causes the bug to occur. Day 1 patches should be super common.

Dancedreamer posted...

I think it's fine, mostly. Sometimes you just don't catch bugs early enough in development. Or you don't catch them at all. Some bugs only happen sometimes, and it takes time to figure out what causes the bug to occur. Day 1 patches should be super common.

Then why do some companies like Nintendo almost never have them?

Ive seen reviews calling it both bad and middling. I was willing to overlook the characters, but dated gameplay (something that turned me off of the SR3 remaster) absolutely kills the appeal.

Dancedreamer posted...

I think it's fine, mostly. Sometimes you just don't catch bugs early enough in development. Or you don't catch them at all. Some bugs only happen sometimes, and it takes time to figure out what causes the bug to occur. Day 1 patches should be super common.

Bruh people literally can't even fight in gameplay and the only thing they can do is walk until they die. They're also answering the phone in their car and it locks the camera so they can't even drive without getting out and getting back in. People take damage from getting out of their car, every time they get out of the car because the door is hitting them!

You can't say "Well somehow they missed this and they can just correct it later." Like no! They cannot actually just miss these things. How do issues like thes make it so far in development and aren't corrected ASAP?

Dancedreamer posted...

I think it's fine, mostly. Sometimes you just don't catch bugs early enough in development. Or you don't catch them at all. Some bugs only happen sometimes, and it takes time to figure out what causes the bug to occur. Day 1 patches should be super common.

I'll actually agree with this as long as the key word is 'mostly'. Game launches don't have to be absolutely perfect, but it's looking like Saints Row is going to be way too far over the line of what is acceptable.

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

Bruh people literally can't even fight in gameplay and the only thing they can do is walk until they die. They're also answering the phone in their car and it locks the camera so they can't even drive without getting out and getting back in. People take damage from getting out of their car, every time they get out of the car because the door is hitting them!

It's happening to some people. Not everyone. People I've heard from playing the game haven't run into those bugs. If it was happening to everyone, then I'd say "Yeah, no way they should have released it this way." But it doesn't appear to be happening for everyone.

"Doesn't appear to be happening to everyone" when it's happening to a pretty solid percentage of people who have access to this game right now is still an issue with too many people having that problem and it absolutely needing to be caught and fixed before release.

I just want to lament how said I am that this game is pretty universally earning nothing but disappointment. Saints Row was such an enjoyable romp of a franchise for me just getting into high school and going through college, and I could tell from the trailer that there was such a toothless game waiting in the wings this time.

Rebooting was the mistake. The series had always been about diversity and anti-capitalism from day one, but I think eradicating all connections and just trying to start fresh is what caused me to lose interest. I wanted Pierce and Shaundi and Johnny Gat!

This is apparently a big spoiler so don't watch if you don't want to be spoiled, but this is apparently a pretty common glitch that is hilarious and just completely kills the moment.

https://twitter.com/TheEmeraldStar/status/1561749285833670661?t=B8FoQ_BErNgBvhcNggMrww&s=19

wg64Z posted...

Then why do some companies like Nintendo almost never have them?

Well, theyre developing for a single console that they made which is a bit easier than developing for multiple consoles and PCs.

I have this game preordered as I like open-world games and Saints Row, but Im honestly not surprised this is reviewing badly. I was mostly getting it on brand loyalty and nothing in the trailers really sold me on it. Meh well, just have to hope that the bugs and glitches are at least amusing.

scarletspeed7 posted...

I wanted Pierce and Shaundi and Johnny Gat!

As much as I enjoy that trio, I'm not sure where else their story could go.

Still mad at what they did to Shaundi between 2 and 3. No development, just an abrupt transition that wasn't explained until SR4. Because the fans were mad, they needed to explain themselves.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

As much as I enjoy that trio, I'm not sure where else their story could go.

Still mad at what they did to Shaundi between 2 and 3. No development, just an abrupt transition that wasn't explained until SR4. Because the fans were mad, they needed to explain themselves.

I still love the conversation. "Go, team!"

Oof.

Especially after Agents of Mayhem.

Such a shame this series got wasted. Went from a legit GTA rival to a complete joke.

SR2 and SR3 were both fantastic games that Ill always love.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

As much as I enjoy that trio, I'm not sure where else their story could go.

Still mad at what they did to Shaundi between 2 and 3. No development, just an abrupt transition that wasn't explained until SR4. Because the fans were mad, they needed to explain themselves.

I ended up LOVING the SR4 Fun Shaundi mission, however. It's one of my favorites in the series.

https://twitter.com/Batman_Beware/status/1561325190784614400?s=20&t=20MsQ6Iof4r1mTNJjmjpkg

Just thinking about how it's okay to release a game with a bunch of game breaking bugs because not everyone will experience them.

https://twitter.com/TheSphereHunter/status/1561938609497788417?s=20&t=4JZUgxzoO00EwzXOic5eGw

scarletspeed7 posted...

I ended up LOVING the SR4 Fun Shaundi mission, however. It's one of my favorites in the series.

Yeah, my memories from SR4 are very few and far between, but the things I remember are:

• Stopping the nuclear missile or whatever in the cold open
• The alien attack on the White House
• Rescuing Gat
• Zinyak anticlimactically blowing up Earth, only to have it "undone" by time travel in the ending
• The mission you describe, where Shaundi and her fractured self are going "no u" to each other on the bridge

That's about it. Zinyak was an incredibly generic villain and Digital Steelport was a rather boring sandbox so that's probably why.

As for THIS game... I am gonna wait until it's $30 and patched. Sounds like it could've benefited from another two months of delays just to patch these bugs out. Anyone know which console has the FEWEST bugs?

The review I read suggested that it dialed the colorfulness back past 2 and all the way to the original.

SHINE_GET_64 posted...

https://twitter.com/Batman_Beware/status/1561325190784614400?s=20&t=20MsQ6Iof4r1mTNJjmjpkg

Someone thought this was funny

SR1 was such a sad GTA knockoff that I never bothered with 2

3 was different enough to lure me back, and I'm glad it did

I'll give SR2 a shot if it's ever super cheap, just to figure out how silly you guys are

From a quick look, Saints Row 2 is $2.50 on Steam right now. Not advisable to get that port, but it is in fact super cheap.

Are you saying the port is bad enough to guarantee I will dislike the game? I want to give it a fair shake, so it seems like that would be a bad idea

if I recall the PC version of SR2 is busted and needs a fan mod to be playable

One thing is it's just terribly optimized, so you might be able to power through years later with the help of that mod pack. Given the alternative may be tracking down out-of-print discs that will run as well as a GTA clone does on a gen 7 console, it's not necessarily the wrong option.

SHINE_GET_64 posted...

if I recall the PC version of SR2 is busted and needs a fan mod to be playable

This is correct. "Gentlemen of the Row" is the fan patch. The SR2 PC remaster probably isn't happening - it was to be for PC only, to replace the garbage that they originally contracted out to port. They found the code for it so the goal was to fix it up and remaster the graphics for modern PCs. But the guy who was doing it died of cancer so........... I hope somebody else took up the reins, because he knew he was going and to leave a trail for whoever to take the torch.

I am also posting again to inquire as to how people are enjoying THIS new Saints Row. I might be getting it on Black Friday since it sounds like they've righted their ship tbh