It looks like Saints Row is back. But this time with a fresh coat of paint and it doesn’t have to strive to go over the top of Grand Theft Auto. They’re rebooting the franchise after Saints Row 4 with this upcoming game. Volition showed off the new trailer during the Opening Night Live of Gamescom 2021. It looks like we might have the series origin as the goofy and vulgar alternative to GTA in the rear view mirror. From the looks of this trailer, it still has some of that humor and charm, but we might not have dildo weapons this time around.
The characters shown in the trailer are: Eli, Nina, and Kevin. Your character is fully customizable and you still have access to the crazy outfits the series is known for. You can play the campaign fully in co-op or by yourself. Volition Chief Creative Officer Jim Boone had this to say about the previous Saints Row games:
You know, we talked a lot about the previous Saints Row games, and that we’re very proud of them. We love those games. But we also recognize that those are games of a time – they made sense within that era. But that tone is not something that we feel like is something that we even want to do today. We had a different kind of story that we want to tell that still has a lot of the same hallmarks – like humor and [being] over-the-top and the action, we’re still a pretty bloodthirsty game, there are all kinds of combat and everything. But in terms of the story that we wanted to tell, it was important for us to come up with something that we felt resonated right now, not something that did maybe 10+ years ago.
More On Saints Row‘s Reboot
Saints Row had reached a point that the Fast and Furious franchise is at right now. How do you keep going over the top of yourself? Putting Vin Diesel in space was really the only option and like Saints Row, they would have cannibalized themselves. It’s looking like a more adult and movie like vision of the franchise going forward. You start at the bottom of the criminal ladder in Santo Ileso and move your way up.
There are multiple other criminal factions including the Marshall Defense Industries to tangle with in your time in the game. As for the game’s inspiration, it’s taking a lot from films like John Wick, Baby Driver, and Hobbs and Shaw. Each district in the game, has it’s own feel and is inspired by the American Southwest. So LA and Vegas fans should feel right at home here.
For the people who are crapping all over this one, where were they supposed to go with the series after Saints Row 4? Really. After all, this was just a trailer, we’ve got plenty of time to see what the finished product looks like.
Saints Row releases February 25th, 2022 on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, and PC.
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