Saints Row (2022) review - New faces with old-school tricks

When developer Volition announced that the brand new Saints Row title would be a reboot of the series, fan reception was divided. Many were hopeful, as this ground-up revival was a prime opportunity to return to the series roots and the peak it reached with Saints Row 2. Others felt the open-world action-adventure series would go further downhill, doubling down on the absurdity and wackiness that was already raised a notch with Saints Row: The Third.

Of course, when the game was officially unveiled to the public, the latter group of fans had their concerns justified. Instead of a grittier, over-the-top-yet-grounded game, fans were treated to an oddball cast of quirky, tropey characters that felt out of place. But what about the actual game itself - is it really a flaming wreck, or are there redeemable qualities that even the most hard-core OG Saints Row fans might want to check out?

Welcome to Saints Row's new setting: Santo Ileso

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Saints Row (2022) takes place in the American Southwest in the city of Santo Ileso, whose locales are inspired by Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the biggest changes to the series is the desert setting over the strictly urban grays of Stillwater and Steelport from previous games. It is the biggest open world in the franchise yet, with a variety of areas to see and explore.

These range from quaint rural-esque settlements to bustling cityscapes with towering skyscrapers. And yes, there is also the sprawling desert that constitutes a sizable portion of the game's arid, cactus-laden environment - all of which are wrapped around a large body of water in the heart of the city.

As for the narrative itself, fans will feel right at home with this simple tale of rise to fame and glory. The story of Saints Row (2022) sees the main character (simply called "The Boss") and their friends Neenah, Kevin, and Eli fight against the rival factions that control the city to establish their own criminal empire. There are three opposing gangs: Los Pantheros, The Idols, and the Marshalls.

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Marshall, also known as Marshall Defense Industries, is a military organization acting as a security force around Santo Ileso. The Idols are an anarchist group, recognizable by their neon highlights and outrageous attire. The Pantheros are the most "gang-like" among the three, as they're all about pumping muscle and driving muscle cars.

Each gang has its own enemy types, attacks, and vehicles. They play a big role in the story, as each key Saints member is affiliated with one of them, such as Neenah, who belongs to The Pantheros.

Let's get this out of the way first: yes, the game is as bonkers as the trailers make it out to be. The cutscenes, cinematography, writing, and humor all signify that this is still very much a parody game of sorts.

The new cast of characters also pales in comparison to established ones like Gat, Pierce, and Shaundi from previous Saints Row games. Yet, the game has its moments of seriousness sprinkled around, as it tries a balancing act to please both fanbases of 2 and 3.

Despite that, it is quite clear that Saints Row (2022) more often flaunts its SR3 side, such as with a side-quest involving large-scale LARPing (Live Action Role-Playing) amidst a group of Dustlanders following a tabletop game or outlandish vehicles like hoverbikes. Yet the weapon selection is surprisingly traditional, for the most part at least. But let's talk about the core gameplay first.

Shoot, drive, and shoot while driving

The open world is waiting to be explored (Image via Saints Row)

The basic gameplay is pretty much the same as Saints Row: The Third. Players control their Boss in the third person, who can be armed with various ranged and melee weapons. These include pistols, SMGs, ARs, RPGs, and more.

The game's gunplay is pretty all right, but I would recommend players adjust the sensitivity from the Settings right away because the default controls are terrible and feel slow.

The sniper, in particular, is a pain to use as it glides across the screen on the Y-axis and is sluggish on the X-axis, turning headshots into a painful endeavor - these issues also paint a key problem with Saints Row, which I will touch on later in the review.

Coming back to gameplay, the basic design is akin to previous games; players can freely explore the map and go where they want, while missions (especially pertaining to the main story) will put them on rails, following a certain route, killing enemies, and as a whole, engaging in different set-pieces.

Players earn Cash and Respect (essentially XP) for completing missions and other side activities. Sometimes even goodies like collectibles, cosmetics, weapon parts, vehicle skins, and so on. Vehicles range from cars and bikes to tanks and helicopters.

Engage in exciting skirmishes (Image via Saints Row)

The main thing to note is that combat is overhauled in many ways. For one, players now have a meter at the bottom of the screen that fills up over time (kills fill it faster), and activating it when it fully allows performing a Takedown. This Takedown meter is key as these executions are the only way to regain health by default in combat.

Then there is the Flow system, indicated by glowing yellow diamonds above the player’s health bar. These allow the use of various Skills in combat, however, only four can be active at any time. These include the hilarious Pineapple Express, allowing the Boss to grab an enemy, chuck a grenade in their pants, and lob them at a target. Oh, and vehicular combat is a thing, thanks to the sideswiping mechanic allowing players to take down enemy vehicles by crashing into them.

Perks also make a return, however, only up to a couple of them can be equipped in each Tier. Given that these range from beneficial (e.g., not losing Flow in combat unless performing a Skill) to passive (like magnetized money), this feels like a shortsighted decision to force customization on players. Since when did this series turn into an RPG anyways?

Another key inclusion is the Empire map allowing players to establish new ventures across the city where they please - these in turn guarantee revenue as players engage with these activities in an effort to make the Saints a household name.

Customization is the name of the game

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Whether it's free-roam or following the campaign, players will need a ride to help them get around a map as big as Santo Ileso. To do this, players may use various vehicles they acquire throughout the Saints Row (2022)'s campaign or just steal one off the road. The latter is a great option to bring new vehicles into your garage and expand your collection.

Yes, the Saints HQ makes a return, allowing players to store vehicles, access the wardrobe, and more. Player character customization is also a highlight of Saints Row (2022), offering detailed options from body sliders to even tooth types for players - not many games out there offer this level of customization. There are also good attire options, covering headwear, eyewear, shirts, underwear, bottoms, footwear, and lots more.

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There is something for everyone here, that is for sure. The same is true for vehicle customization, which is as robust if not more than previous entries - from body paints to changing decals and tires or even installing an Off-Road Kit to allow better maneuverability on the harsh desert terrain.

Vehicles and guns aside, players can manage their Skills, Perks, and character customization with the tap of an app on their in-game Smartphone. This nifty feature allows players to customize their Boss on the fly (outside of missions) and is a welcome step forward for the series.

What new sights and activities does Santo Ileso have to offer?

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There is a lot to do and see in Santo Ileso. The main activity hotspots are Criminal Ventures, the main source of income for the Saints. These establishments allow engaging in different activities, like stealing cars scattered across the world to bring back to Jim Rob's Garage or the beloved Insurance Fraud side-activity, which can be accessed under the Shady Oaks Medical Clinic venture.

There are new ones too, like Bright Future Disposal, which sees the Boss try to safely bring back a truck full of volatile toxic waste.

Players can also find collectibles when out exploring Santo Ileso in Saints Row (2022). These are of a few different types, like Dumpster Diving, photographing monuments to add them as collectibles, and so on. Players can even utilize their wingsuit after jumping off tall locations to get around quickly.

What do you prefer to wear? (Image via Saints Row)

There are also other types of side activities, which include transporting heavy cargo via a helicopter and fending off hostile gangs while riding atop a car. There are a variety of shops too; while many of these have full-blown showrooms like the previous game, there are a number of smaller stalls that offer a small range of specific themes of cosmetics for sale.

Tattoo shops also make a return, however, the game does not seem to offer players the option to change their color. The game suffers from these small, baffling design decisions throughout its journey.

Design shortcomings and what's missing

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I have to say, for how detailed the environments are, they are very static, which was a problem in SR3 too. This makes most of the main activity areas (especially featuring shootouts) feel like linear hallways with nothing but enemies and red barrels scattered around. It seems that players are no longer able to use enemies as meat shields or even perform streaking (i.e., strip naked and run around to earn XP).

Then there are the more glaring issues: Like why is it not possible to recruit allies on the spot as was possible in past games? Eli, Kevin, and Neenah can be called in for support via the Smartphone only when at a distance from the HQ.

Other changes may also not appeal to fans, like Saints reinforcements being a Flow Skill rather than a call on the phone. On that note, unless you use the Map, the game will not pause the action when using the phone. So expect to take a few cheap hits from enemies while trying to call your friends in for combat.

Graphics, sound, and performance

Visually, Saints Row (2022) is a big step up from previous entries in the series, including more modern spin-offs like Agents of Mayhem. It is a realistic yet somewhat stylized visual direction. The lighting and material quality, in particular, are pretty impressive, and so are the detailed character models.

Now, it isn't pushing the technical envelope by any means, but it is still a good-looking game. But when it is not wowing players with its great weather effects, Saints Row (2022)'s shortcomings are apparent in other areas. Shadows, for example, draw pretty close to the player, even in the High setting. This is especially distracting when moving through areas with lots of grass.

On the topic of settings and platforms, Sants Row (2022) was reviewed on PC. At native 1080p with a mixture of Low, Medium, and High settings, I averaged around 30 FPS with drops in more geometrically dense areas.

A look at the official system requirements shows that players will require a modest rig to run the game well on a PC. The key problems start with the game's lack of polish and bugs. Static and dull environments are one thing, but when the game constantly interrupts the gameplay with one problem or another, it can get annoying.

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There are a decent number of bugs in Saints Row (2022). Some are minor, but there are major ones, like being unable to attack/use any weapons. One side-activity required blowing up a police truck, except the thing refused to take any damage as the health bar did not go down.

One of the clothing shops (Everything Costs A Million) is not interactable for me at all. On that note, there are bugs affecting cosmetics as well, often swapping out the Boss's innerwear with something else entirely other than what players pick.

Then there are other oddities with missions, like one spawning new enemies out of thin air right in front of my Boss or Kevin's AI getting stuck in a corner while trying to climb the stairs of a yacht. In a nutshell, players should vary of this before they jump on the hype train.

On the sound side, it is pretty good. The sounds are crisp, from environmental sounds to weapons and explosives. The radio also has many new stations to check out across different genres like rock, rap, RnB, EDM, and more.

On an unrelated note, Saints Row (2022) also features a full campaign co-op for those interested.

In conclusion

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Saints Row (2022) is a wild ride that is bound to be polarizing for many fans. There are aspects of it I enjoyed, which thoroughly makes this a better Saints game than whatever has come before. Yet there are also countless moments where its flaws tend to overshadow its strengths, especially with the buggy nature of the game.

Is this the best Saints Row game ever made? No, that crown is still atop Saints Row 2's head. But that is okay because the game is trying something different within a familiar mold - and new ideas may not always work out well. However, that does not mean Saints Row (2022) is a bad game; this is still an alright experience worth checking out for fans of the series.