Saints Row fans are desperate to see the series return to its grittier roots

We, as gamers, often lament when good franchises go bad, or when they get killed off by studios. Many a favourite has fallen only for fans to hope and pray that the series makes a comeback, perhaps with a different feel to it. This is often a conversation had by players of Saints Row, the once super popular franchise that could do no wrong.

Sadly, it’s only the first two games hailed as standouts due to the right balance of gritty crime simulator and tongue-in-cheek humour. The most recent project, a reboot of sorts, fell flat and audiences moved on. Now, on the r/gaming subreddit, fans are wishing the series would return to its roots and strike a “perfect balance between Melodrama and not taking itself too seriously.”

The recent outing from Saints Row fell flat with fans who wanted more grit.

Among the many opinions is one consistent comment that the series is dead due to the closure of the developer Volition. While this is true, the franchise rights are another story and could still find themselves with Deep Silver. Regardless of its current standing, players gathered to discuss the games and what they’d want from a new title. “Saints Row 2 was the peak for me. Held up surprisingly well on recent replay, too. 3 was fun and I get why some people prefer it,” said one commenter and it became a theme that Saints Row 2 was favoured as the best iteration.

One Redditor had a great insight, saying, “The OG Saints Row is very clearly an attempt to capitalise on San Andreas' fame and popularity. It's a GTA clone through and through. Saints Row 2 is the point where we have a game that can stand on its own merits and mostly be out of GTA's shadow.”

Perhaps, instead of a new title, we could revisit the original game and its sequel to capture this feeling, as mentioned in the thread, “Saint's Row 2 was great. The best example of a perfect balance between humour and grit that I have seen in a game. I honestly would not mind a remake of 1 & 2.”