Saints Row - 2022

After so many facelifts, there were fears Saints Row would fail to recapture the unconventional beauty of the earlier games, but this reboot proves how adept Volition is when it comes to reinventing their flagship franchise. This latest outing is my favourite game in the series to date, so while basic combat and dips in visual quality are disappointing, they did little to keep me away from Santo Ileso. You'll struggle to find anything ground-breaking though this sandbox is bursting with entertaining things to do, ideal for sharing with a partner in crime.

Still, what Saints Row does well is it does very well with memorable missions after the Saints have started to establish themselves. The banter between characters is generally entertaining and a lot of the humor is derived from this series never taking itself too seriously. There’s a lot of potential with this reboot and new cast of characters, but it doesn’t seem like it was fully realized in this title, making it a game that’s fun for Saints Row fans, but isn’t the spectacular reboot we were hoping for.

Volition’s return to the series is a joyful romp, brimming with charm, violence, and quippy one-liners, but only when it remembers to take itself less seriously.

It may not push your new hardware to the limit and is a little rough around the edges, but the latest Saints Row is everything it needs to be, delivering a wonderful comedic experience with plenty of depth. While a little irritating, I was never bored and wanted to see where my team’s goofy antics would take them next. The payoffs are often worth the time investment, and just veering off the beaten path pays dividends. I’m glad the Saints are back, hopefully for another long haul.

Saints Row (2022) represents a reboot for the series, dialling back on the iconic satirical and wacky tone – but, arguably, this feels like a backwards step. While the over-the-top action remains entertaining, the unimaginative missions are bland and the story fails to deliver laughs or an engaging plot.

Sometimes repetitive, sometimes eye-rolling, and sometimes just plain busted, Saints Row 2022 is far from perfect, but that doesn’t stop it from being a chaotic good time.

There’s a lot to like and a lot to laugh at in Saints Row as you raise hell around Santo Ileso with your unique boss. Collecting clothes and cars as you scale up your network of businesses is compelling as you accumulate wealth and solidify your spot at the top. But outside of the super set-piece main missions, it’s easy to bounce off the more repetitive elements of the open-world.

Saints Row, therefore, ticks all the tech boxes while also maintaining the most important factor of them all - it's a huge amount of fun. There's still a modicum of silliness and a healthy dose of laugh-out-loud humour, but Volition has ensured that the reboot wasn't just in plot and personnel, it also hits the right notes when it comes to gameplay. Some will lament the lack of the former Saints, but this new crowd have got off to a great start.