While this year’s Saints Row isn’t due out for release until later this year (August 23), MP1st got invited to a (hands-off) preview, where we got to take a look at the beginning of this Saints Row reboot. Same as with our other previews, we listed down everything we learned from our preview for an easier read! There’s the gameplay, story, the garage and more! We also included thoughts on this new take on the Saints Row franchise.

Everything We Learned About Saints Row Gameplay and More

Gameplay:

• Sideswiping is possible to do with vehicles, allowing you to push other cars of the road and into objects.
• Off-roading was shown off with a motorcycle.
• Car surfing allows you ride (in a prone position) on top of a vehicle.
  • This expands combat as you have access to additional weapons while surfing versus driving.
  • The risk is you are more exposed.
• Cars can be modded with nitrous and other mechanics.
• One mod shown off was the ejector seat, which, as it sounds like, ejected the player out of the vehicle high into the sky.
• This gives players the opportunity to make use of the new wingsuit.
  • The wingsuit allows you to glide around.
  • You can bounce off people’s heads while gliding to gain more height (yes, really).
    • NPCs will ragdoll into oblivion for those concerned about them dumbing down any ragdoll physics.
  • You can also hijack moving vehicles if you glide over them and press the prompted button.
• There are police chases both on foot and in vehicles.
• On foot combat – Combat roll is confirmed.
• Weapon wheel is also confirmed, featuring 8 slots (6 guns, 2 throwables.)
  • An AK47 was shown off, which sounds good.
• There are special combat abilities. Example, one was called Pineapple Express where you throw an explosive pineapple (yes, seriously) at an enemy and it blows up.
• Finishers are in the game during melee combat.
• There are NPCs, though from what we could see it seems the world didn’t have a whole lot of them
  • You can interact with them using emotes and they will dynamically react.
• There is an in-game smartphone menu system.
• You can customize appearance on the fly using the Style app.
• You can save outfit presets in the Style app for easy access to switching between custom made looks.
• If you see armored cars on the street, you can rob them by blowing them up.
  • This causes police to show up.
  • Police can call for backup (shoot them while they’re on their walkie talkie to cancel this).
  • Notoriety system can cause tougher enemies to appear (sort of like GTA’s star system).
  • Tougher enemies with swat shields and armor can eventually show up.
  • You can pick up swat shields and weapons off the ground.
  • Or you can hop in any car and get away (police cars will chase).
• This was all shown in one gameplay demonstration just roaming around the city.

Side Hustle demonstration:

• These are repeatable side missions that players can play to earn cash and rewards.
• In the demonstration, an old lady asked the player to help her rob a jewelry store.
• The player drives shotgun (passenger seat) and shoots out the window while the NPC drives.
• Parts fly off of cars as you shoot them, eventually blowing them up.
• “Every side hustle introduces you to new game mechanics.”

Car Garage:

• There are more than 80 base vehicles you can customize in the game.
• Cars are highly customizable. Paint, trunk, spoiler, neon lights, bumpers, etc.
• There are also signature abilities you can unlock per car (like the ejector seat) by doing challenges while driving them.

Main Story Missions, Side Missions, and Other Activities:

• Tonally, the game’s story is more grounded than Saints Row 3.
• In total, Saints Row will feature 25 main story missions, with an additional 10 side missions.
• The story mission we saw was your typical open world modern mission where you drive to a location while other characters talk. Then assault a base or complete some other objective.
• There are 9 districts total to freely explore.
  • Every district has unique clothing stores where you can purchase new cosmetics that are tied to the theme of those districts.
  • Cowboy district sells cowboy clothing, etc.
• The mission shown off featured a flyable helicopter with machine guns on it.
• This was an introduction to how base infiltration worked as the player caused havoc and mayhem at an opposing enemy base. They then proceeded to park on the roof and infiltrate the base by foot. Players had to fend off enemies, and destroy vehicles.
• Lots and lots of explosions in the game, as expected from a Saints Row game.
• The faction that the player was fighting against were called the Los Fenteros, who like to run in and attack with melee abilities.
• Several different enemy types including “Gladiators” who are tougher than normal enemies and charge at you, as well as Specialists, who feature long range slug throwers.
• There are several enemy gangs, each with their own combat style and special enemies.
• A huge weapon that can be used was shown off. It looked like a minigun but it charges up and fires like a shotgun. It has the special ability to knock down enemies.
• Some character progression mechanics were shown off during this portion of the demo.
  • You can respec your combat abilities
  • Perks are also available in the game, which unlock minor passive abilities like fire resistance.
  • Weapons can have signature abilities like more damage to vehicles
  • Another combat ability tases enemies any time they hit you with a melee attack.
  • The flaming punch skill turns your fist into a fireball for a powerful falcon punch.
• Completing a mission earns you money and XP. Players can also unlock rewards like new cars, combat ability upgrades, and a heli-port for the HQ.

Saints HQ, Building, and Co-Op:

• The Saints HQ is set in an abandoned church and grows as the Saints grow.
• You can customize the HQ with props and other decorations.
• With this being the HQ of the Saints, you can also talk to the other members of your gang.
• HQ includes a garage for customizing vehicles, weapon cache for customizing weapons, and more.
• Weapon customization is very in depth. You can change the entire look of the weapon including adding weapon skins.
• There’s all kinds of character customization as well.
• New feature called “The War Table” available in the HQ.
• The War Table shows an overview of the entire map with the locations of available “criminal ventures.”
• Criminal ventures are basically legitimate businesses that the Saints can use as a front for criminal activities.
• Beginning a venture constructs a building in a vacant lot in that district of the map.
• Once you build it, the player is teleported it directly to it to speak with an NPC.
• Once you speak to the manager of that location, you unlock multiple “Instances of Mayhem” around the district.
• Beating them all completes the Criminal Venture.
• One Instance of Mayhem example – Blow up as much as possible with an RPG within the time limit.
• Co-op was demonstrated here. A friend showed up in a helicopter and they flew together to the Instance of Mayhem.
• According to the developers, “All facets of the game are available in untethered, two player co-op.” Difficulty scales and co-op players will share rewards.
• Drop-in and drop-out co-op is available across the entire game.
• There is an “empire tier” level at The War Table that grows as you complete more Criminal Ventures.
• There was one mission where you drive around wrecking an enemy camp with a Port-a-Potty tied to your vehicle with an enemy inside to interrogate them (yes really).

Overall Impressions

AJ:

I must admit, it’s hard to take these characters seriously as gangsters. As far as gameplay though, this is still distinctly Saints Row. It’s filled with that pure, unbridled chaos and crass humor the original games were known for. New additions to combat like car surfing and the Combat Abilities improve on the formula without completely changing the feel of the game. Traversal seems to have been a huge focus as well. The Volition team talked about how much work went into their driving physics, and the entire map seems to have been built around the new wingsuit.

It feels like part of the reason the team went with these characters was to make them feel more relatable, perhaps even to a younger generation of players who may have never played a Saints Row game before. But in the end, it just doesn’t feel believable that this is supposed to be an up and coming criminal enterprise. We’ll have to see how things pan out by the end of the game.

With that said, I left the demo feeling optimistic. I’m not expecting anything special on the story side, but the gameplay looks like a great time, and with full co-op support, Saints Row should be good for some open world insanity when it releases in August.

James:

In terms of world activities and gameplay, this is without a question, a Saints Row game. It’s insane, crude, and filled with that same stupid humor that doesn’t shy away from being offensive. Lots — and I mean — lots of mayhem to cause around the city, and with co-operative play, you are going to find that Saints Row offers just enough to keep you entertained for hours end.

There was a lot of new mechanics showcased to us during this demo, each giving us that “only in Saints Row” feel that we have grown to love about the franchise. For example, the Wingsuit. While not a new mechanic to gaming, it’s in it’s execution that makes it an exciting addition as players can soar through a city, whiling popping off the heads of unexpecting NPCs, or hijacking vehicles in almost a Just Cause (game franchise) kind of way. Elsewhere, the new set of skills and perks all looked fun and interesting, as did the newly overhauled vehicle combat. I can just see myself getting lost in this new revisioning of Saints Row, and I honestly can’t wait to jump right in come release.

With that being said, I do have a concern. Like AJ mentioned, I just can’t get behind these new characters who are meant to replace past ones as the main stays. It’s hard to look at them and think, “yeah, those are some serious gangsters,” when they look like they’re barely out of middle school. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown so fond of the classic characters, but something just feels off about the new ones. Perhaps they’ll grow on me, but for now, I’m not entirely convinced.

Still, outside of that I am mostly walking away from this showcase impressed, and excited for the release later this year.

Saints Row is set for release this August 23 on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC.