If there was ever a time for Saints Row to come back with a fresh coat of paint, it’s now, during the long hiatus between the previous Grand Theft Auto title and the next one. This new reboot seems to be aiming for a middle ground between the more grounded world of the first two games and the balls-to-the-wall craziness of the last two entries. After a week of teasing, we have our first look at the Saints Row reboot titled: Saints Row. Along with a reveal trailer, we also have some new details about the game.
Let’s start off where Saints Row starts off. Before you’re set loose on the new American Southwest setting, you can create a custom character. Deep Silver Volition promises the most extensive character customization suite in the series yet. Santo Ileso is the largest Saints Row map to date and is split into nine distinct districts populated with various gang territories. From go-karts to VTOLs, there is a wide assortment of traversal options.
In typical Saints Row fashion, you have to take down the gangs littered around the city to claim it as your own. And you can purchase real estate properties to act as fronts for your criminal activities. This mechanic will impact the world based on player choice and it’s up to you to decide whether you want to build your empire with fast-food drug running or arms dealerships.
Unlike previous Saints Row titles, which gave you a group of gang members to lead, in the reboot, there are no more additional named side characters. And, other than potential easter eggs, there will be no returning characters either. However, seeing as you’re part of a group of young friends ready to be #SelfMade, there will still be gang members for you to take charge of. Volition says that the game has drop-in/drop-out co-op, meaning you can play through the entire campaign with friends and bring the Saints to life together.
Saints Row is a cross-generation title, launching on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Epic Games Store on February 25, 2022. That last point, the EGS exclusive PC release, has got a few players worked up. But to appease the masses, Saints Row: The Third Remastered is currently free on the Epic Games Store until September 2. This is just one of the exciting new games we saw at gamescom Opening Night Live. Be sure to check out our full coverage of that event to see everything that was announced in the roughly 2-hour showcase.
