Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell

A welcome entry in the series. It takes things to new heights in terms of story, while adding a few impressive gameplay mechanics, such as the flight one.

You need a special kind of sense of humour to appreciate Gat Out of Hell (the same kind you need to like Saints Row IV), but if you do, it will boost this add-on from 'too ludicrous to be enjoyable' to 'laughing out loud fun'. One problem: it's almost impossible for Saints Row to get more insane than this.

Gat Out of Hell is a comedic romp through myth, literature and video game tropes. The writing is smart, the gunplay is solid, and the city of Hell is a blast to fly though. Some may miss the more traditional mission design or lament its brevity, but Gat Out of Hell is a great way to cap off the story of the Third Street Saints.

Make no mistake this isn’t a full blown adventure but a ‘just go with it’ adrenaline rollercoaster ride; it has its ups and downs, with plenty of big drops for the rush, but it’ll be over soon enough. Gat out of Hell is a great round off to the Saints Row adventure as it gets wackier and wackier, with it standing as a defiant parody of how the Saints ended up in this mess.

More of the same, but still very entertaining. Who would have thought that musicals and hell fit so well into the Saints Row universe?

The newest DLC for Saints Row 4 is also the most disappointing one. The setting is really cool, but it seems like the developers did not know how to use it for their typical Saints humor. There are fewer gags than in the previous DLCs and they are not as good. Only in a few moments does Gat out of Hell get funny. The design of the missions is also pretty lame. Even main missions are nothing but side-quests which are already known from its predecessors. Fans of the Saints will have some fun, but overall the game is too expensive for its content.

That said, it’s still Saints Row, and there’s still a ton of fun to be had up front before the activities start repeating themselves.

And while the story is fun enough, the plot isn’t the centerpiece. This expansion to the Saints Row universe is here to give a new sandbox to blow things up in. It is a sandbox to play around, without either worrying or carrying about the direction of any overall plot.

Fantastic, absurd, and a little on the short side, even for an expansion. [March 2015, p.63]

It's still hard to shake the feeling that this is DLC; it is padded-out content and it is, ultimately, a bit of a grind. [Issue#157, p.112]

It's supported by a few memorably silly cutscenes, but Gat Out of Hell isn't as story-rich or even as funny as previous Saints Row expansions, and so it ends up feeling like a missed opportunity, settling for a shallow diversion when it could have put a grand coda on Saints Row IV's story.

Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell is proof that Volition's bag of tricks needs a dramatic overhaul or even an exchange for something completely different. And I mean both the technical, and gameplay side of things. The new Saints Row is still a perfectly playable, very enjoyable game but it emphasizes many weak points of this gangster saga (that slowly starts to eat its own tail).

Gat Out of Hell offers all the open-world distractions of a Saints Row game, but precious little of what made the last two so remarkable.

The never-ending repetition of gameplay is a killer for this fun stand-alone add-on. We miss vivid surroundings, awesome level-design and original assignments. Thankfully the powers you are given during your time in this game (like flying and kill demons in a fantastic way) make it still worth while.

Saints Row: Gat out of Hell supplies more Saints Row IV gameplay but in a new setting backed by an amusing, if short, story. It’s just a shame that its made up of a collection of side content that doesn’t offer the stupid creativity that made up so many moments in the last two Saints Row games.

There are some really pleasant components in Gat Out of Hell, but they never gel into something cohesive and worthwhile.

Soaring through Hell thanks to the wings on your back adds another element to your A-to-B arsenal, however the repetition on offer stifles flight.

This expansion of Saint's Row 4 is a bit lazy. The upbeat psychotic humor that we love in this franchise is what keeps Gat Out Of Hell a fun game to play, but the game is too slender to really be a stand-alone game.

Provides a decent dose of chaotic fun, but at the same time the game lacks interesting new content. Gat Out of Hell can bring a smile to your face and most likely will satisfy Saints Row fans. Overall it's a little disappointing.

For all the things Gat Out Of Hell could or ideally would do though, it's important to remember what it is - a standalone expansion. Go in remembering that, and knowing about the lack of missions, and it's a pleasant surprise how much it at least tries to offer within its limits. Just don't expect it to be a sequel, or even a full slice of Saints Row 4 at its best.

Saints Row IV's visuals feel worse than before. It has a plenty of bugs and generally the entertainment got lost a bit somewhere. Even the usual bizarre show won’t make you overlook its many errors.

I hope that there is a special place in hell for the those who made this train-wreck.