If you aren’t already excited about the launch of the new reboot of Saints Row, you have another reason to get excited, as a new trailer for the story mode has just dropped.
If you’re the type of digital gangster that loves the gang-building aspects of previous Saints Row entries, you’ll finally have your chance to take it to the extreme. Like the other games, the story revolves around YOU, or at least the character you create in the BOSS Factory–but this time, you have a little more backup.
Saints Row Returns to its Roots
At the heart of the Saints Row franchise, it really just is an over-the-top depiction of American consumerism and media. Much more than a GTA clone, Saints Row takes everything one step further, injecting a dose of steroids into every concept and storyline and putting its own spin on things. While the humor can sometimes become so absurd it teeters on intentionally corny, the Saints Row story has seen an almost unprecedented level of gestation throughout the run of the franchise.
The original titles indeed started very similarly to other games in the genre. You’re a guy, in a vast open world, with a main questline and a bunch of fun repeatable side quests that you can do.
However, as the series aged, the endless need to up-the-anty produced some interesting results. Most sadly, the last addition to the canon, Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, where you literally play in Hell as the series titular character Gat in angel (or is it demon?) form.
Or, almost as insane, Saints Row IV, which, more often than not, played more like a Marvel superhero game than a Saints Row game, focused on gaining new powers that would put Amazon’s Invincible to shame.
Instead, this time around, Deep Silver decided to take a more realistic route while still adhering to the same crass, sarcastic humor from previous entries.
Watch the trailer for the new Saints Row game below:
A Refreshing Reboot
It’s been a total of 7 years since the aforementioned Gat out of Hell release, and we’re excited to see where the franchise can go from here. We’re happy that instead of continuing to lean into the absurdity of what Saints Row had become, the developers decided to go back and expand on what made the original Saint Row games so good—building your gang and doing funny and absurd missions within a hyper-realized version of America.
In the new Saints Row, your Saints will be battling it out with 3 rival gangs in the city, The Idols, Los Panteros, and Marshall Defense Industries. You’ll use diplomacy and firepower to dominate the city and build your crew. Like previous entries, the game already has a solid cast that will back you up, including characters named Neenah, Eli, and Kevin, which will all have their own witty and strange personalities.
For us, it all comes down to how deep the criminal empire mechanics get. We’re hoping they go deep (no innuendo intended) and that you get to recruit more than just the pre-built characters in the game.
When Does the Saints Row Reboot Release?
Saints Row releases on August 23, 2022, on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. To pre-order the game, visit their Official Website.
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