Overview of Saints Row. The reboot that didn’t really happen

Nothing speaks more eloquently about the “success” of the reboot Saints Row than the 7% decline of Embracer Group. The international holding company from Sweden obviously did not count on such a result.

Just a few months ago, his representatives spoke confidently about the good dynamics of pre-orders and interest from the players. And now all the media and social networks are full of devastating reviews and notes of disappointment. What is the reason?

Something went wrong?

The fundamental problem with 2022 Saints Row is that it is just a boring and outdated game called a reboot of the once popular series.

This is her greatest sin, followed by everything else: a crude technical part, an attempt to guess everyone and no one, the lack of at least any significant progress against the background of the previous parts.

What do you expect from the reboot? Most likely not just a story written from scratch, but, most importantly, a reimagined gameplay that removes everything obsolete, and instead offers something the developers couldn’t implement before for some reason. For example, lore did not allow to implement some mechanics that the team had dreamed of for years.

The gameplay of the new Saints Row is hopelessly dated, as if the team is still held back by the limitations of the hardware of the PS3 and Xbox 360. First you travel to the beginning of the mission. You’ll then be asked to roll around the map towards your target, only to be thrown into a hallway in a lackluster firefight or with waves of enemies in the open. Or the same beginning, but the shootout will be prone on the roof of the car. And so the whole game.

Steer, shoot, steer, shoot. And taxiing or shooting causes nothing but frustration and sadness. Although it seems like everyone has started all over again.

The series couldn’t boast of hurricane-level skirmishes Max Payne 3 and advanced vehicle physics. Everything was arcade and no frills. Aimed the sight, made a “pee-pee”. Press the button, the machine goes. And all this was justified, right up to the release of GTA 5, which the industry could not reach for ten years.

Driving in the restart is a real circus. I, the author of this text, don’t understand why the developers mentioned “Baby Driver” as the source of inspiration during the interview. A beam from a downed fire hydrant can throw a car into the air! During a ski jump, a bucket with wheels can be rotated three times in the air around all axes. Do you want to feel the weight of the transport? Go to GTA 4, there is no such thing in Saints Row.

And so you understand that the car is almost “booming”, the game kindly draws a health bar above it (at the car!), because the physics of body deformation was not provided. In addition, the cabinet sometimes deforms in the wrong places and some parts cannot be damaged at all.

The tone of Saints Row is neither fish nor meat. The game tries to be a landing and crush the drama but at the same time the player throws flying bikes and gliders above the groundThe tone of Saints Row is neither fish nor meat. The game tries to be a landing and crush the drama but at the same time the player throws flying bikes and gliders above the ground

Technical issues can cause cars to be pulled right under your nose – let alone how local drivers behave! Deprive everyone of their rights with no chance of reissue.

The animations are generally well saved, which makes the game feel damn sloppy. Of particular surprise is what they did with the tires. When hit by a bullet, they don’t deflate, but drop a few inches into the tarmac under a signature thud. Well, the characters don’t have to close the doors, ghost scripts do it for them.

I don’t want to talk about using transport in missions. More than ten years ago Mafia 2 was scolded for the dull delivery of boxes of cigarettes. And what will we see in 2022? Same boring delivery of goods in Saints Row.

In Saints Row you want to become a pacifist and stop touching weapons

With shooting everything is also boring down to the gritted teeth. Opponents are divided into regular cannon fodder, cannon fodder with an extra life bar, and those that take damage when a certain condition is met. For example, bandits with neon nunchucks. They deflect any bullets flying at them, but become defenseless at the moment of the attack animation.

Despite the colorful clothing, they share exactly one gyrus for everyone. Bobbleheads can stand in a pack and blunt, stabbing guns everywhere, but not at you. They may stare at a wall or get stuck while in a car.

Gangsta minions are downright boring. No advanced ragdoll (sort of more realistic procedural animation), no hit damage. Cannons do not sound, hand-to-hand combat consists of two animations. This, by the way, is in stark contrast to well-developed fatalities – not had enough time to brush?

Just like before, the character editor allows you to make every freak to your tasteJust like before, the character editor allows you to make every freak to your taste

The worst part is that the developers hid the progress in the story behind the obligation to clear the map from additional tasks. Are you the gang boss? Here you will steal food trucks and participate in neighborhood shootings. Until you clear the city of tacky activities and stuff your pockets with money, we won’t let you into the story mission.

Not to mention that the chance to watch the story’s cutscenes will be some kind of big reward for routinely performing the same tasks according to the formula “get in the car, kill the target, repeat.” The commercials are rather blandly staged, and there is no spark in the production, as before.

Heroes not of our time

The New Saints are a bunch of young people of indeterminate age who act like characters in a comedy series who break into drama and social commentary. Characters are thrown from the state of “feel sorry for me, I grew up in an orphanage so don’t wear shirts” to the “shooting random passerby for a weapons test” at the snap of their fingers.

There are also attempts to introduce real issues, but this is not tied to the gameplay in any way. This is where the main character is in trouble. He pays off his student debt and is forced to work for the military company Marshal. Do we have to build up the amount gradually to pay off this debt? No. The game just gives you the social pain of the average American and does nothing about it. After all, throughout the mission, the Saints literally surround a muddy shop in which they grow a hefty sum of evergreens.

Here is an example in contrast. yes in Yakuza: Like a Dragon was also social, albeit Japanese. The main character, who was left with empty pockets after prison, started a new life collecting cans in the company of homeless people abandoned by society, because there was no other choice. And this downright pathetic activity was framed in a very fun minigame with a competitive element. Having received at least some money and expanded the circle of acquaintances at the very bottom, the hero already moved on. And that, according to the author, is much more productive. The authors give you ideas to think about and entertain, not to mention that they are making a video game, not a social poster on a college campus.

Nothing good in the game? No, I managed to dig something up

Wingsuit is one of the best ways to move in the game. It’s a shame that the developers seem to forget him in the missionsWingsuit is one of the best ways to move in the game. It’s a shame that the developers seem to forget him in the missions

In order not to get the impression that Saints Row is completely unbearable, it is worth noting a few positives. Still, there are some fun missions in the game. Here and theft of artifacts from city streets, running around with cardboard guns, and confrontation with the owner of the application, which allows you to set awards for someone’s head. There’s a wingsuit, on which it’s pretty cool to soar over the city at night, when the sun disappears on the horizon and fireworks are launched outside the city for no reason. Of the cool skills, it is worth noting the enemy’s throw with a grenade attached to it. The city has a number of interesting sights. And as for giving jokes here, like Taika Waititi in the latest Thor (Thor: Love and Thunder): there are many, but only a small percentage are actually funny. Unfortunately, these are all crumbs that do not change the overall picture.

The game has no central element of fun, looking at what one would like to forget is its dullness. That reminds me of the game adaptation of Mad Max. Pretty average game, also with a large set of the same type of content in the open world. But the authors of Mad Max managed firstly to make it fun to ride a wreck in the desert (and this is the lion’s share of the gameplay), and secondly to convey the atmosphere of the movies: tribal quarrels, poor fellows dying of dehydration, a frantic search for food and fuel. While the developers of Volition, who started everything from scratch, had nothing to offer. Apparently, the point was not that Saints Row, after the battle with aliens and Satan, according to the plot, could not develop anywhere because of the absurd story.

***

If we tear off the wrapper of the reboot in the form of a new location and history, we have the same third Saints Row gameplay, but without a drop of charisma and character.

The best outcome for Saints Row 2022 is to have a Sony or Microsoft subscription within a month or two. Some of the bugs Volition will clear up with patches over time, and the conditional “free” ones (although free in the subscription you pay money for, yes) will at least attract someone.