Saints Row Review - A Tale Told By An Idiot, Signifying Nothing

thegamer.com:

There are people among us who think the golden age of video games was 2008-2013. This five year span was when the PS3 and Xbox 360 were in full swing, but before The Last of Us came along and changed everything. Gaming in the modern era is focussed on ballooning size, realistic graphics, and emotional, cinematic storytelling. Around a decade ago though, games were all about fun, silliness, and methodically clearing areas of an open world map so you could turn it the right colour. Saints Row (2022) is a throwback to those days of wine and roses, and all I can say is be careful what you wish for.

Let’s say a few more things anyway, just for kicks. The attempt to reboot the story is a massive whiff. The new Boss has the same attitude and charisma as before, but everything else suffers. Kinzie Kensington is gone, and everything is worse now. I’m not sure what the point of this idea is. It’s an origin story, but it’s set in the future disconnected way from the stories we’re all familiar with, so what’s that about? The three new characters work enough in isolation - Eli had the most criticism during the marketing, but is the most likeable in practice - but lack any sort of dynamic or purpose. They’re all tropes dressed up in purple, and impossible to care about.

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The game uses these characters in such a manipulative way, too. During one mission, a character drops in that they were an orphan, then it never comes up again. Another bluntly brings up their mother has cancer, a plot point which again, does not return. This puts Saints Row level with The Room for narrative ability then. There’s a Pride flag in their apartment, but a character mentions being poly once in what amounts to a joke.