A Saints Row reboot has officially been announced by developer Volition, but early reactions to the trailer and gameplay reveal have been mixed to negative. The game was unveiled during Gamescom 2021's Opening Night Live event after a previous Saints Row tease released earlier this month. Unfortunately, the first look at the reboot doesn't seem to have yet wowed fans.
The Saints Row series has been all but dormant since the release of 2013's Saints Row 4. The action-adventure franchise has a heavy focus on street gangs, driving, and shooting, with earlier entries in the series often being compared to Grand Theft Auto. Since then, Saints Row games have leaned heavily into their own silliness, adding in humor, pop culture references, and exaggerated gameplay, finding a new identity as over-the-top crime-riddled capers. The developer has stated that the new Saints Row will be a reboot simply because the original games left the team with little else left to explore.
The reveal trailer, which was followed by a snippet of gameplay, gave a taste of what players can expect, but the reboot has seen an overall negative response from fans. On YouTube, the Saints Row announcement video has 10,000 "Like" reacts in comparison to 12,000 "Dislikes" at the time of writing, with many of the commenters disappointed in the younger protagonists. One YouTube user described the characters as too "hipster," while another criticized some of the writing for its "cringe vibes." The official Saints Row announcement on Twitter has also drawn similar complaints around the character designs, with multiple commenters believing the new cast of younger protagonists stands at odds with the series' previous notorious and dangerous gangsters.
Watch the video on YouTube here.
While many reactions to the new Saints Row trailer have been negative, there are still lots of fans excited by the reveal. The YouTube Like/Dislike ratio seems to show opinions are fairly evenly split, despite most comments on the trailer being pessimistic. The game's release is just a few months away, meaning it's unlikely Volition will be able to make many significant changes to the game based on fan reactions, but it's worth noting that only a cinematic trailer and a short snippet of gameplay have been revealed so far. As the game's development progresses, players could see more content that dispels any current concerns over the title.
Lots of Saints Row fans might not yet be sold on the reboot, but the announcement trailer highlights a lot of the elements the series is known for. Players can expect dramatic showdowns between rival gang members, a range of dynamic weapons and vehicles, and exaggerated dialogue, all of which helped to make previous Saints Row games so memorable. The new Saints Row is due to release on February 25, which means more details on the game are likely to be revealed in the coming weeks and months.
Source: SaintsRow/YouTube