Developer Volition confirmed rumors of a Saints Row remake at Gamescom 2021, showing off a new trailer as the series branches into new territory by way of a total reboot. The preview quickly generated some controversy among returning fans of the series, many of whom criticized its tonal differences and character designs, claiming that the reboot seems to entirely forget what made the series so unique in the first place.
When Saints Row first launched in 2006, it was more or less a straight-laced clone of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, featuring an experienced street gang rising to power in the fictional city of Stilwater. In many ways, the Saints Row reboot seems poised to return to this back-to-basics formula, starring a quartet of budding criminals, albeit in a new location and without any of the returning characters and organizations from previous entries in the series.
Tonally, though, the Saints Row reboot aims to fall somewhere between the likes of Saints Row 2 and Saints Row: The Third rather than strictly taking after the first game. By the time of Saints Row 2, the crime drama sandbox game had taken on a much more comedic approach, an aspect that was only heightened as the series progressed. When the previous Saints Row franchise had wrapped up, players had become president of the United States, battled alien forces in space, and even escaped from hell. Narratively, there wasn't much else to tackle after Saints Row 4.
The Saints Row Reboot Is Too Weird
Starting the series over from scratch seems like a wise move, but Volition doesn't appear to be taking the right approach in doing so. What made the Saints Row series so memorable was its gradual evolution from gritty realism to over-the-top shenanigans and spectacle. The dive into strangeness made sense within the series' narrative and never felt too out of place for its characters. Unfortunately, by jumping straight into the oversized hijinks of later Saints games, the Saints Row reboot effectively abandons its chance at evolution. Instead, it sets players in the middle of the weird, rather than simply at the helm of a budding empire.
That isn't to say that the Saints Row reboot will be quite as comedic as Saints Row: The Third or Saints Row 4. Volition confirmed in an interview with Stevivor that the "wacky" element is definitely less present in the reboot than in previous entries; there are, for example, no space aliens or in-game phallic weapons. Instead, the focus is directed towards the criminal aspects of the first game, and the new cast of characters is meant to be contemporary and believable.
Still, the Gamescom trailer demonstrates the reboot is both not taking itself completely seriously and not leaning fully into the parody of the later Saints Row games. This odd middle ground may harm the studio's attempts at creating a new identity for the Saints Row franchise.
Source: Stevivor