Leave logic and reasoning at home because where we are going there is absolutely no need. L’The adrenaline-pumping madness of the Saints Row saga is about to return and with it all the potential and technological advances of the new generation of consoles. The Saints Row reboot will be available starting tomorrow 23 August but eager to blow some heads (several), we got our hands on this dazzling new chapter to tell you more in this reviewobviously without spoilers.
Our review of Saints Row on PlayStation 5
Important repetition: the new Saints Row is a reboot of the saga with a new story, characters and factions. This new chapter catapults us to Holy Unharmeda vital American town home to historic sites, exciting casinos and needless to say, the craziest criminal gangs you have ever seen. The protagonist of this is us, the nameless Boss to whom we will give shape who lives on the outskirts of the city together with his roommates Neenah, Kevin ed Eli.
Prey to the difficulties of daily life, made up of bills and rent to pay, our character is forced to look for work but no one seems suited to his personality… explosive! Tired of a mediocre life, the four decide to join forces and found their own criminal gang to take possession of the city, money, power, fame. Thus Saints Row was bornbut the street of crime is full of obstacles!
In addition to the difficulties of maintaining a very honest criminal organization, Santo Ileso is already teeming with rival gangs. Among these we find:
- The Panthers, a brutal group organized with a passion for the gym, chains and wearing chains to the gym. Maybe not the smartest ones, but what biceps!
- The Idolsan anarchist group intent on bringing freedom to the city by destroying multinationals and occasionally a few neighborhoods here and there
- I Marshall: a technically legal private police but willing to do anything to get what they want by using brute force against everything and everyone. Technically legal here …
Holy Unharmed, prearati!
Saints Row keeps the legacy of the previous games alive by reinventing it in a whole new style while maintaining the same degree of madness. We are facing a third person action video game in which we will only be able to control our Boss. At the beginning of the game we will have to in fact customize the protagonist between hundreds and hundreds of options by choosing the face, sex, voice, body, clothing and so on. In terms of clothes we will have a few choices available that will expand greatly in the course of our adventure.
Becoming a respectable criminal is not really easy but luckily we can do it many missions to do, eliminate so many people and take advantage of a powerful arsenal of weapons to vent our anger. The style of play is extremely frenetic, forget strategic plans or careful reflections and above all say goodbye to stealth, was replaced by a rocket launcher. The action scenes are the order of the day, always different and totally crazy: “physics is out of the game”.
Acquiring the notoriety and the money needed to be respected will be a long and perilous task. In addition to the missions of the main campaign (which will keep you busy for about 15-20 hours), you will have many side missions available. Through a smartphone menu, we will be able to hunt down criminals, that is… other criminals, explore the map in search of side quests, start new missions, call our companions to help us and much more.
Password: customization
All side missions can be done when and how we like it, which gave us one great feeling of freedom. Among these the most interesting are those related to ours criminal empire. Saints Row must indeed reinvest the money earned in a number of strictly illegal shops and companies to expand our power over the city. You choose which property to buy and in which areas (default) of the map. Each activity is linked to a series of specific missions that will increase its revenues and benefits. For example, your mafia-type insurance company offers you the ability to scam insurance. The result? you throwing yourself headlong into traffic causing more damage and uncontrolled explosions. Simple, isn’t it?
The side missions are hilarious and at times, we preferred them to the main story which, despite the delirium that will accompany her from start to finish, offers touching and more adult sequences (never too much!). In general, the secondary missions greatly expand the game, as well as the various difficulty levels, putting the spotlight on story, empire and character customization, a key feature of the series. Going forward with the game, unlocking missions and making purchases, we will in fact be able to customize in the smallest details the clothing of the character, shoes, socks, underwear, t-shirts, ice, glasses, alien head, the possibilities are endless! As well as the customization of vehicles, they are not cars and motorcycles but also planes, boats, tanks. In short, the usual!
To these are also added a series of skills and perks that we can unlock by leveling up. Each mission, as well as any criminal or noteworthy action, will give us exp points with which to level up our character and acquire skills. The Skills are not many but they adapt perfectly to the style of play of each of us. Not only weapons then, but also crazy lightning attacks, regenerative abilities and even the possibility of shoving a grenade into the enemy’s underwear and throwing it at the others … we had anticipated Madness.
Technical sector
Like any self-respecting Reboot, Saints Row also brings its good, very good dose of technical innovations. The last chapter of the saga dates back to 2013 and since then there have been many technological advances, including the arrival of the new generation of consoles, not surprisingly this Saints Row review was done on PlayStation 5.
The graphic change is excellent or super appreciated and gave us some glimpses of Santo Ileso not bad. The game, on PS5, also offers the possibility to use theHDR (if your TV supports it) and select various graphics rendering modes from a 1080P with Ray Tracing support up to 4K. It goes without saying that despite good intentions, this last bold option doesn’t do the game justice. The frenetic pace, especially in the action scenes, causes the FPS to drop abruptly with a consequent drastic decrease in fluidity and the situation worsens in case of excessive presence of particles such as during a fire or during a sandstorm. We we were “satisfied” with the 1440P Max Framerate quality, for the right balance between video quality and stability.
This however does not affect some graphic deficiencies especially in the details and shadows, too little compared to the importance of this title. On the other hand, the audio quality is excellent from every point of view, from the game soundtrack to the radio on the cars, perfectly in line with the rhythm of the game. Deserved praise also for the original dubbing (in English with Italian subtitles) that manages to give soul and body to well-written and structured characters.
Santi bug…
Sore point is instead that of bugs and glitches. Really too many and annoying. In addition to the minor graphical ones, there have been many that have forced us to reset the console several times. Last but not least, the audio bugs that make the music stop and restart in an absolutely random way, leaving us dry in the mouth during the most action sequences. Have you ever tried to shoot around the city in absolute silence? The satisfaction is not the same …
Fortunately, a patch is planned at launch that should address many of these issues. We will come back to this review to update you from this point of view.
Saints Row review in a nutshell (nothing illegal)
Saints Row was in need of a makeover and this Reboot came at the right time and in the right way. What we liked most was the attention of the developers to renew a saga without distorting what it has represented over the years for many players. If you are a Saints Row fan you might feel a certain nostalgia for a bit more serious themes but nostalgia will soon give way to adrenaline! If, on the other hand, you have never approached the series, this is the right time, as anticipated it is not necessary to have played the previous chapters to enjoy the story.
This chapter of Saints Row will keep you glued to the screen giving you moments of pure frenzy and destruction in a city that oozes with crime and neon lights.
PRO
- Game map and unique atmospheres
- Lots of collectible and secondary missions
- Great level of customization
- Possibility to complete the story in co-op
VERSUS
- From a graphic point of view we expected more
- Several bugs and glitches, graphic and otherwise