Saints Row Preview | GamersGlobal.de

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Even if Volition takes a less silly approach, sheer insanity is often still on the agenda. At least that’s the impression after a detailed gameplay presentation.

There are many things to fault about Volition’s Saints Row series. Examples are infantile humor. Or jokes with mallet level, for example in the weapon design that lets you use a huge, purple pleasure stick against your opponents. One word that has probably never been used to describe the series is “serious”. Or “serious”. And even if the developers want to appear a little more mature with the new offshoot, they haven’t forgotten their roots. At least that’s my impression after a detailed gameplay presentation that I was allowed to watch recently. Here I was introduced to features such as the headquarters, the customization of the character, the weapons and the cars and of course the new possibility of setting up a business.

With everything that was going on on the screen, it quickly became clear: Volition is now trying to address more serious topics and do a little more storytelling. But along the way you will complete missions and experience things that defy description. Anyway, I’m sure fans of the series, and fans of over-the-top open-world adventures in general, will have a blast with the new Saints Row when it releases on August 23, 2022. However, I still have a few possible points of criticism, which of course I don’t want to withhold from you in my preview.

From the headquarters of the Saints you manage your companies and make numerous adjustments.

Big in business

In the past, the Saints always had the big goal of taking over the city. In the reboot, the developers are focusing even more on this part of the game. You are “The Boss” again and live in a flat share with three dissatisfied members of one of the gangs of Santo Ileso. Your long-term goal is to take over all nine districts of the city. Of course, any means, no matter how dirty, is right for you. And what’s dirtier than money laundering?

The new wartable in the headquarters will help you with this. On this you set up shops in the districts. Of course, the 14 legal businesses are just camouflage for your criminal activities. The restaurant Chalupacabra opens the drug trade, with an army shop you can get into arms smuggling. Once you have opened a business, you must complete special missions in order to fully expand it and take over the district. Example weapon trade: The Mayhem tasks ask you to cause as much damage as possible within a time limit. Since it bangs and rattles that it is a sheer joy.

Even if I consider the wartable to be a successful innovation, I don’t wonder if Volition isn’t in danger of forcing grinding. If only because elements such as auto-tuning are hidden behind the special missions. Here the developers have to be careful that the wartable does not turn from a nice freestyle to an annoying obligation.

Huge explosions are also the order of the day in the new Saints Row.

Skills for Kills

Of course, Saints Row also offers a huge arsenal in the reboot. In addition to classics such as SMGs and shotguns, there are of course wacky weapons again. The Thrustbuster is an explosive football that launches enemies into the sky, the finger guns are deadly foam hands. And at the latest with the black light grenades and the psychedelic trip that followed, it becomes clear: Serious things are different.

You can also choose up to four skills to use in battle against enemies. They are, to put it mildly, not necessarily on the realistic side either. For example, you hit particularly hard with your flame fist. Or you can use the Pineapple Express. This involves stuffing a grenade down an opponent’s pants and then throwing him into a squad of other enemies. kaboom! With passive perks you also arm yourself against special types of opponents, for example the Panteros are more of a close-range fighter and rely on fire. So you can choose your gear to counter it.

But the skills don’t just help you in missions and battles. Let’s take the ejection seat as an example: once you have unlocked it for your cars, you can use it at any time in cars equipped with it. In combination with the wingsuit, you can quickly cover large distances. Conveniently, you can also use passers-by as jump pads to generate more airtime. In case I haven’t mentioned it yet: No, Saints Row hasn’t really grown up with the reboot either.

The passers-by quite rightly flee from the boss, because they can easily be misused as “springs”.

Standard open world

Of course, as an underworld boss you need money. You earn that in the open world, for example by blowing up armored cars. Or you tackle side hustles, special side missions that lure you with money and experience points. However, what was shown seemed a bit generic to me: After a jewelry store robbery, you play the shooter while the thief drives. You really know that from other titles, including the dialogues while driving. After all, there are now many more ways to defend yourself in the car, you can even climb onto the roof. If you take too much damage, just go back into the passenger seat to heal.

The driving model of the cars looks like arcade-heavy, practical are some fresh skills. For example, you can sweep cops or enemy gang members off the street with a quick dash – or blow them up directly. Speaking of which I just heard from the police: the arm of the law seemed a bit aggressive to me – but that impression can be deceptive.

One of the most important objects in the game seems to be the boss’s smartphone. For example, you can access the extensive customization options for your character at any time. Or you can change your skills quickly and easily. Everything else can be found in the Saints’ headquarters, an old church. If you have collected enough experience points, it will get bigger and bigger. Later there is a helipad, you rebuild your weapons here, define the look of your gang and attach signs and set up furniture. The HQ is more important than ever in the reboot.

Author: Dennis Hilla (GamersGlobal)

Opinion: Dennis Hilla

I was concerned that Saints Row might take itself a little too seriously. But after the presentation of Volition, my fears vanished into thin air, the madness that sometimes flickers across the screen here is second to none. Flame blasts, brightly colored guns and cars, passers-by that serve as wingsuit catapults. The developers dug deep into their bag of tricks and let their imagination run wild.

In terms of innovations, I particularly liked a few of the skills shown, but the wartable is also very promising. However, I’m a bit worried that Volition will fall into a typical open-world trap and stuff Santo Ileso too much with side stuff. This could result in saturation and loss of interest. Here the final game has to show that the side jobs are more than generic run-of-the-mill tasks.

I can’t and don’t want to say much about the co-op mode and the final technology. I like the comic look, but I find the animations when throwing grenades or getting into a car unnecessarily complicated and too pseudo-funny. However, the short multiplayer sequence looked like everything was going well. So all in all I’m sure that Saints Row and a successful new part of the series will come with a few nice fresh ideas, but won’t reinvent the wheel. But in my opinion, that doesn’t have to be the case.

Saints Row