A year ago, during the Summer Game Fest presented by Geoff Keighley, we saw the return of a saga loved by many, which had been in the doldrums for a few years, without any new delivery or news about a future title: Saints Row. The franchise, developed from the beginning by the Volition studio, began trying to resemble the GTA saga, but during the 3rd installment, Volition saw that there was another way to both achieve the success they wanted, and at the same time get rid of the similarities with the franchise. rock star.
But everything must be said, and in that search for an “identity of its own”, the studio led the franchise in the 4th installment to a madness that, to many, seemed “too much”, in a story of aliens and superpowers where They moved away from the main idea: leading an organized crime gang. But now, in this re-imagining of the saga, Volition has understood that they had to return to the roots of the franchise, without losing that madness that characterized Saints Row: The Third so well. We will talk about all this, and much more, in this saints row review.
The birth of the Saints and their enemies
The famous criminal gang that gives the franchise its name was already created in the previous installments, but in this one, being a re-imagining of the franchise, it was not yet created. It will be up to us to shape the iconic Saints band from scratch.along with our faithful friends Neenah, Kevin and Eli, who will be our lieutenants in the fight to control Santo Ileso.
But as usual, we will have many obstacles while we are getting more and more power, like the other 3 main gangs that rule different districts of the city. To start with, we have the Panthers: the typical gang of tattooed thugs that we have seen in many other games.
Then we meet Marshall, a mega security and weapons corporation (something very American, even many times it is a satire directed at America and weapons) that will not let anyone steal their place in the city. And then we have the most interesting band of all, both for its style and its objectives: the Idolswho seek total anarchy in a capitalist world, wearing an extremely futuristic look, breaking with that of the other bands.
Santo Ileso is a city with many styles
Something that is to be praised, and much, is the great work that Volition has done to provide Santo Ileso with many different environments, as their districts feel completely different, thanks to the artwork of the developers. In a moment, we can be driving through the streets of Santo Ileso, and in a few minutes we can be touring the plains that surround this city.
Unfortunately, the city itself is very underused, since if we stop to observe it, we will notice that it feels more like a “playground” than a living city. It is a very common mistake in many free world titles, since when trying to make the largest map possible, they neglect the immersion of the player himself, and in this Saints Row it happens, leaving us with a very beautiful city, but which is pure props.
The typical mistakes of open worlds happen again…
Thanks to titles like Elden Ring or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, we have seen that open world games do not have to have a gigantic map, full of icons from the first minute we start playing, and accompanied by missions secondaries that bring nothing more than an “empty” reward. But unfortunately, Volition’s title falls back on the same old mistakes…
Holy Unharmed is full of silly side quests, like taking photos, protecting an NPC, or holding off waves of enemies., something that takes away a lot of grace and it shows that it is pure padding. Instead of trying to go one step further, as From Software or CD Projekt RED did with the incredible side quests of Elden Ring and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Volition prefers to take a more Ubisoft approach, and many people You will not like it, since we have been asking for novelties for years.
In the end, Saints Row is PURE fun
It is not a revolutionary title, nor does it innovate in anything special, but Volition has created a play that is fun to play from start to finish. A funny script, charismatic characters, a perfectly chosen soundtrack, and endless follies to live, make Saints Row a delight with which the hours will fly by. Even with its mistakes (which it has, and not a few) and bugs to fix, Volition’s work does something that is not easy at all: entertain.
Die-hard fans of the franchise couldn’t be happier, as is a game that respects the past of the saga, while bringing a breath of fresh air with a new story, new characters and a city to discover, while the criminal empire of the Saints is growing under our leadership. When the game is released, it will be time to show Santo Ileso and the other gangs who the Saints are…
