The Saints Row series has been dormant since 2015, but much like the Third Street Saints themselves, you can't hold this franchise down for long. At Gamescom 2021, we learned about a Saints Row reboot which will bring the series back down to Earth, while maintaining its over-the-top humor and unhinged gameplay.
For those who aren't familiar with Saints Row, the first game was a slightly wackier version of Grand Theft Auto, casting you as an up-and-coming criminal in a city where causing mayhem was the way to get to the top. By Saints Row IV, you had become the President of the United States, and gained superpowers to fight off aliens in a computer simulation of the real world.
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The reboot looks like it will aim for a middle ground, combining a charismatic cast of characters with some decidedly cartoonish physics. We don't know that much about the game just yet, but we do know that it will aim for the same tone that made the Saints Row series such a hit in the first place.
Saints Row reboot: Trailer
The new Saints Row trailer debuted at Gamescom 2021, kicking off the opening night keynote on August 25, 2021. You can take a look below:
If you've played a Saints Row game before, this is all pretty familiar territory. The Third Street Saints harass a rival gang and banter amongst themselves, eventually stealing a car to outrun foes with rocket launchers. This time around, the action seems to be taking place in a Las Vegas-style desert city. There are chases, explosions, one-liners — you know the drill.
Saints Row reboot: Release date
If you've been waiting patiently for the next Saints Row game, you don't need to wait for too much longer. The Saints Row reboot will debut on February 25, 2022 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC (via the Epic Games Store). The base game will cost $60, and we can probably expect some fancier, more expensive versions to crop up over the next few months.
Saints Row reboot: Gameplay
The Saints Row reboot trailer from Gamescom didn't include any gameplay, focusing instead on a prerendered story segment. However, we did see a small snippet of Saints Row gameplay during the Gamescom 2021 opening keynote. It's not yet available on the Saints Row YouTube channel, but you can see it around the 38-minute mark in the opening keynote recording.
The gameplay is precisely what you'd expect from a Saints Row title: a lot of shooting at bad guys, both on foot and in vehicles, along with some impressive car stunts and a brief stint in a helicopter. That's all well and good, but what we really need to see are some of the side activities: generally the most fun (and most humorous) part of a Saints Row game.
Beyond that, there's a lot we don't know about the Saints Row reboot. Is it a hard reboot, or will it continue some of the original series' story threads? What kind of character and vehicle customization options will it offer? And, most importantly, will it go for the grounded feel of earlier games, or the completely off-the-wall feel of later ones?
We'll know on February 25, so stay tuned to Tom's Guide for additional coverage.
