If there is a series that has been irreverent until the end, it is Saints Row. From its first GTA pastiche to the joyful superpower mess of Saints Row 4, the series has always pushed the fun and excitement into every episode.
So when THQ Nordic announces a reboot of the series with a return to a more relaxed game, being a fan of the series since its inception, I can only be worried about this backpedaling, while being intrigued by what will give this new start.
Get out your purple clothes, get your giga size dildos ready and welcome to Santo Ileso, the new playground of the Saints
In Saints Row, you embody the Boss, previously created from scratch. During your adventure, you will be accompanied by your roommates and friends, Eli, Kevin and Neenah. Because, you see, becoming a big criminal organization is a bit complicated with the Pantheros, Hispanic scum who drive mechanics with their cars, the Idols, a pseudo anarchist revolutionary group who eats fluo for breakfast and Marshall , a private corporation that is very zealous in security and of which you were previously a part to make ends meet.
Quickly, Saints Row will become messy with all these beautiful people who will want to kill you. Not to mention the cops...
Concretely, the style of play does not change from previous games, we are in a very arcade-like GTA-Like without the delirium of the latest opuses. We find ourselves more in an atmosphere between the first and Saints Row II.
Except that, apart from the Boss who, as always, will be in your image, at least the one you will model for him via the powerful and complete character creator, the other characters do not have the same flavor as before. Only Neenah manages to live up to the old Saints Row. Eli being a sort of intellectual sissy and Kev is far from being up to a Johnny Gat.
It's not a question of taste, but of charisma.
In terms of gameplay, if you know the series, you won't be too out of place. If you don't know, there is nothing rocket science, especially since some of the different activities will be able to stir up the nostalgic fiber, like bringing something new with more or less success.
It is at this point in the test, like a Saints Row mission, that nothing goes as planned. Because if visually, everything holds up, the bugs remain numerous.
Too many. Some are anecdotal, others are a bit embarrassing like the difficulties a character can have getting into a vehicle. But the worst part is the AI. Sowing enemies will be a nightmare because the game will teleport opponents behind your vehicle. On foot, it's not even worth thinking about losing anyone.
Enemies call for reinforcements even if their call timer has not expired. Killing opponents is a bit random, making some missions completely blown in terms of difficulty while the next test, it's abusively too easy.
There is a frustrating inconsistency in this game in the behavior of the AIs and therefore in the progress of the missions which only increases as your empire gains height.
Without even counting that of certain activities such as the cult insurance fraud. The transition between the classic phase and this activity can mess up vehicle behavior scripts in deadly ways...
And we find a little of this frustration on the side of the soundtrack as well. So indeed, it's all about taste, but we're talking about radio tracklists with few headliners. And when they do, which is rare, they are relatively obscure songs.
We are very far from the excellent tracklist which gave rhythm to the beams of Zyniak's men.
Note that it is possible to play in online coop with another player Boss. Unfortunately, I no longer have an internet connection for a while (relocation requires) and it was impossible for me to test this aspect. A small shift of this point will be made at the end of September, when I will have found my precious.
But overall, we have fun on this reboot of the franchise. It's not the total blast of the IV, there are flaws here and there, but we're having fun and some situations are up to Saints Row. With even big easter eggs as a nod to other things (in the biggest ones I picked up: Zelda, GTA San Andreas, Red Faction, Mario Kart, etc.)
It's typically the kind of title that lays more modern foundations but will wait for the sequel to go all out.
If you are a fan of the saga, you can go there without any problem.
You will come out a little disappointed, but like me with great hope for the future of the series.
- Epic Games Store - 59,99€
- PSN Store (PS4/PS5) - €69,99
- Stadia - 59,99€
- Xbox - 69,99€
