This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
This game was a blast to play through for a bit, but for an achievement hunter it can be pretty boring in the end of the stretch. This game can be beaten in 20 hours, making it an easy completion if you're looking for those easy achievements. I think this game has a solid base, but other than that it does very little in terms of innovation, and even makes some steps back in some areas.
Let's start with characters and their customization. This is definitely the weakest in the series, as there are only 2 main characters to choose from. Both being great characters, this is fine, since the story takes your old character as a hostage in hell. There's no customization for the characters though, which is a bit of a bummer. However I didn't really miss this feature, but those that did love the customization options are going to be disappointed on how it was handled in this game. Most characters in game are basically just power ups and don't do much to progress plot forward. You'll see a lot of familiar faces for a nice little bit of fan service, but other than that you can't do much with them. No calling them in as homies or anything. A real missed opportunity. Also, they RUINED how Dex was added into this game. He is basically one of the 8 BILLION ghouls in hell, but with is signature sideways cap. Like come on Volition. One of the most pivotal characters in the SR franchise and this is what you do to him. Lazy and pathetic.
Next lets talk about weapons. And there are 20 total, most of them being generic with not much to offer. You either have your standard human weapon like a pistol, the demon version of the pistol, or the ultimate weapon based off one of the seven deadly sins. I thought the seven deadly sins were a great addition but other than that, there was almost no reason to pick anything other than one gun (in my case the human LMG) upgrading it, doing all the side quests, getting the seven deadly sins, and doing everything else. This game doesn't really encourage using it's arsenal of weapons very well. However accompanying the guns, are the super powers. There are a few new additions, with summon replacing Saints Row 4's telekinesis, as well as a change in different elements of the powers. However, some are basically useless. Shadow blast has no reason to be in the game, since it does less damage and has less utility then it's other counterparts. I usually found myself liking 4-5 different powers and ignoring the rest until grinding out the last few achievements/challenges. And that's not a good thing. It's boring, grindy, and definitely doesn't feel cool. Flying and super sprint make a return, which are still super fun. Flying however got a slight change with it's wing mechanic and slow mechanic, allowing to speed up or slow down whenever needed. It's different but sometimes less is more with the wing mechanic.
Activities are one of the things Saints Row has always excelled in. However in this game, they're almost all shallow versions of themselves. Mayhem is the best, being kind of fun to blow stuff up, but the lack of things to blow up is underwhelming to say the least. The new version of Insurance Fraud is really frustrating sometimes, due to the explosion/fire mechanics, which can make the game more frustrating than fun. Their version of racing is mostly skyborne, which is kind of fun but mostly a bore, and the two new modes, Salvation and Pledge Rush are lacking in anything interesting or challenging. It's boring and really just felt like a chore. Soul clusters are basically regular clusters from Saints Row 4, and just a boring copy and paste by volition. It's very boring and not fun to hunt them down. Same with Blackbeard's treasure chests. It can be fun at first, but after a while it's tedious, not fun, and the rewards are definitely lacking. There's also the redone "capture certain point and fight waves of enemies" which was very lazy and had no reason to act as fast travel in a game where you can get to one side from the other in 2 minutes. Once I was done with them, I never had any intention to do any of them again, other than maybe Insurance Fraud 1.5, but it's way better in SR4 due to the fact there's no fire or explosions. If you want great activities, look elsewhere.
Now the one thing I do like is the story. It starts off interesting, and Johnny Gat really sets the stage for his carnage he's about to cause. After the boss has taken Hell, your job is to cause enough destruction to get face time with Satan. After defeating him, you are giving one of 5 "different" endings to choose from. I say "different" because they all end in a cutscene, and transition you back to the main game, able to redo the fight with Satan however many times you want. It was satisfying at first choosing the most obvious choice, giving Johnny a chance to see Aisha. However the other choices aren't nearly as good, and it's kind of lazy.
All in all this game isn't something to write home about… Expand
Saints Row: Gat Out of HellYour Score0 out of 10User Score
