Series Saints row is one of the few representatives of the “clones” Gta, who managed to stand out against the background of the hippopotamus from Rockstar… The first part was able to attract the audience due to the fact that it was almost the only such game on the brand new Xbox 360.
However, already in the second part, the developers began to drift in the direction of uniform insanity and clownery (some missions with shit pouring over real estate are worth what), and in subsequent games the insanity (in a positive sense) only grew stronger.
In the last games of the series, the gang members “The Saints“survived the destroyed Earths and even went to Hell. And the developers themselves from Deep silver volition admitted that it is extremely difficult to surpass this.
So they made the decision to completely reboot the franchise. No Johnny Geta, no virtual realities, and rocket flights under Aerosmith… Meet the new 2023 Saints. As they said in the studio, they were inspired by films during development “Baby on a drive“,”Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw” and “John Wick“.
The concept for the Saints Row reboot is as follows. The main character opens his “criminal startup”, in which he attracts promising members of other gangs. The backbone of the new organized criminal group is formed by four talents who want to work for themselves.
The head of the “Saints” is the player himself. Character customization has been reworked and expanded, and it is also allowed to choose one of several voice acting options. In the trailers, a strong and independent dark-skinned kid of indeterminate gender with a matching hairstyle was chosen as an avatar.
But the head of the gang cannot do anything without his lieutenants-buzzers:
- Eli – an entrepreneur who is well versed in business and operations planning;
- Nina – an employee of the museum and a talented driver;
- Kevin – DJ and local joker.
Each of them is a self-made man. And they intend to climb to the top of the food chain.
Events take place in the Southwest Desert, where the city is located Santo Ilezo, which will become the largest playground in the history of Saints Row. It is divided into nine thematic areas, which differ in verticality and population. Let’s say Eldorado is a neon-drenched entertainment bulwark, and Monte Vista is a wealthy suburb.
At the start of Saints Row, Santo Ilezo is controlled by three gangs:
- Los Panteros – relies on brute strength and muscle with heavy weapons, the headquarters of the organization is located in the factory;
- Marshall – PMC, which relies on high-tech weapons and controls the financial district;
- Idols – crazy anarchists in pink.
The “saints” will have to capture all the districts, capturing block by block. To do this, you will have to complete missions, recruit new fighters, and also make decisions about which buildings to build on this or that piece of real estate.
Volition relies heavily on the cooperative. Saints Row is conventionally divided into two parts: the story missions are devoted to the arcs of the main characters, and a variety of madness is happening in the side activities. And all this can be done not only in splendid isolation, but also with friends.
Players will be offered a huge park of ground and flying vehicles. The autopilot function was not abandoned this time. The wide variety of insane weapons will not go anywhere either. However, for some reason, it was decided not to return the weapons that were loved by the previous parts of the franchise, because the developers had new ideas.
Glaveroy will also receive an updated leveling system based on perks. It will be complemented by a brutal action movie inspired by “John Wick”.
Graphically, the game looks like an improved version of the remaster. Saint’s Row 3, which many have praised. But Volition decided to go for a more realistic style. And the demonstrated gameplay really looks very nice and exciting. However, it is too early to draw any conclusions.
The most questionable is the connection between the new Sains Row and previous games. Volition promised fans a lot of Easter eggs, but nothing more. At the same time, the developers diligently pretended that the last part of the series was Gat out of hell, not a failed spin-off / reboot Agents of Mayhem…
Saints Row releases on February 25, 2023 for PC (EGS), Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, PS4 and PS5.
See also: And the gray-haired king: Our impressions after 25 hours in King’s Bounty II
