‘Saints Row’ Review: Open-World Sandbox That’s All About The Grind
Becoming a crime boss isn’t easy. You’ve got to steal a lot of money, kill a lot of people, and commit plenty of other crimes. You must crush rival gangs, acquire a flashy headquarters and recruit the type of people who show no mercy while looking good in purple. As fun as all this sounds, Saints Row is all about the grind, but a pleasurable one.
In our preview, I spoke about the modern-yet-traditional balance this new game strikes. It’s visually gorgeous when compared to what came before, but it still looks like a Saints Row game, which is obviously great news for fans. The soul of the series is very much intact in this reboot, with you playing the founder of this new iteration of the Saints.
See the game in action here:
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Playing on Xbox Series X, I found myself slipping into the ‘just one more mission’ mentality that many great games conjure. The simplistic gameplay of ‘go to a location and kill/steal/whatever’ keeps you engaged because of how quickly you can finish each job. It’s nothing new, but Saints Row isn’t trying to reinvent anything really. It’s good old fashioned, violent, sandbox fun.
As part of the main story of a newly formed street gang trying to seize control of Santo Ileso - the game’s California-esque setting - there are plenty of hilarious hijinks and funny characters to keep you engrossed during the 15 hours or so required to roll credits. If you want to do everything, though, you’re going to need to invest a lot more time.
Saints Row has a lot of side content, and I mean a lot. You see, you’re expected to operate a host of ‘criminal ventures’, from running an illegitimate laundromat which disposes of dead bodies, to illegally dumping toxic waste, and more. These ventures, while different enough from each other in some ways, quickly get repetitive.
Take stealing cars for Jim Rob’s garage/chop shop. Each mission is essentially you going to a point on the map, grabbing a specific car, and driving it back without being killed by police, or whoever else you’ve annoyed in the process. I’m not saying these missions aren’t fun, because they are, but the lack of variety is a bit disappointing.
Sadly, these same-y missions have to be done if you want to progress the main storyline. At certain points you’ll see your next mission requires you start and/or complete a set number of criminal ventures, and it makes Saints Row feel bloated.
When not being slowed down by busy work, Saints Row has some really fun sequences. The main campaign has you storming a high-security prison, tearing through enemy bases, and competing in a murder tournament similar to Professor Genki’s in Saints Row IV. The main story goes from strength to strength, with some excellent set pieces and plenty of laughs. The only downside is this part goes by pretty fast, minus the aforementioned criminal venture bits placed in between.
Outside of the main story, there are extra bits and pieces to enjoy. You can decorate your HQ with cool statues and curios found around the in-game map, from windmills and cannons, to giant chess pieces and dinosaur skulls.
Customisation is a big part of Saints Row, with your protagonist’s look being entirely down to you. There are plenty of different clothes and outfits to unlock on your journey, with shops spanning across Santo Ileso. This level of customisation stretches to your vehicles, with bikes, cars, tanks, helicopters and jets all available to modify to your heart’s content.
Now, I mentioned in my preview that there were some bugs in Saints Row. Sadly, these issues haven’t been resolved at time of writing. I have reached out to Deep Silver and asked about the potential of a day one patch, but in its current form, this game has issues on both gameplay and visual sides.
On three separate occasions, I was forced to reload my file due to glitched quests softlocking me. While these moments didn’t cause me to lose significant amounts of time, they were still unwelcome and broke the sense of immersion.
Similarly, visual bugs were just as irritating. My character’s legs and hair would randomly turn translucent or disappear entirely. Then there was a moment in the story where I was in a tense standoff with an enemy whose body randomly elongated, spun around and then reset into a t-pose, completely shattering the tension.
Luckily for Saints Row, it’s part of a franchise that leans into self-awareness, so these moments never really felt like dealbreakers. For instance, there were times when the in-game physics would send my car flying into the air after gently grazing a curb, but it was easy to laugh them off because of how goofy the game is. Having said that, there was a moment where a character said “it’s a bug, not a feature”, and I was stunned by the residents of this glasshouse being so bold.
Don’t let me be misunderstood, Saints Row is not a “broken” game, at least not in the sense Cyberpunk 2077 was when it launched in 2020. It plays from start to finish with only mild bugs for the most part, but they are flies in an already struggling ointment.
Saints Row isn’t a bad game at all. In my 20 hours so far, I’ve had fun in Santo Ileso, and I’ll likely put plenty more hours in as I aim for 100% completion. The problem is that it’s not a groundbreaking game by any means. It’s the video game equivalent of a later Fast & Furious movie: it’s silly and over the top like it’s meant to be, but nothing really feels exceptional here.
Santo Ileso is a lovely world to drive around. Similarly to older Need For Speed games, it’s a pleasure to get behind the wheel and just tear through the city and its various neighbourhoods. There are plenty of cars to unlock/steal and customise, with different abilities to discover by completing challenges, like performing tricks or towing items over a specific distance.
In addition, the protagonist’s companion characters are a joy. Kev, Neenah and Eli all have their moments, and bring life to the story and world with their dialogue and distinct personalities. Plus, they all have their own side quests for you to take on.
In short, Saints Row is a very good game. It’s got highs and lows, with some flaws hopefully set to be patched out by its release date. While it may not blow players away, it’s an enjoyable open-world title with lots to do. Side characters are charming, there are plenty of funny moments, and it’s a perfect game for simply messing around in.
Deep Silver
Pros: Gorgeous in-game world, charming characters, lots to do
Cons: Gameplay and visual glitches, repetitive side quests, bloated at times
For fans of: Saints Row franchise, Grand Theft Auto V, Just Cause series
7/10 : Very Good
Saints Row releases August 23, 2022, for PC, Xbox Series X/S (version tested), Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Google Stadia. Find a guide to GAMINGbible's review scores here.
Topics: Saints Row, Xbox Series X