The Saints are in a new city, with new faces, new enemies, and a new crew, but make no mistake, the Saints are coming back in their full glory. Releasing on August 23, players will step into the shows of their new fully-customizable Saints Row boss as they and their group of friends set out to form the Saints. Going back to the beginning is a good place for a reboot, but much of the humor the brand is known for in later Saints Row games remains.SPOILER WARNING: The following details the opening hour or so of the new Saints Row Game. Those wanting to go in fresh should turn back now.Game Rant recently attended a Saints Row gameplay presentation hosted by Volition, where the company presented a deep dive on Saints Row missions, gameplay, and more. Volition confirmed that there would be 25 critical path missions in the game, beginning with the formation of the Saints through their rise in Santo Illeso, and with plenty of chances for mayhem in-between.
Saints Row: How The New Saints Are Formed
In the first Saints Row game, the player is saved by, joins, and eventually leads the Saints come future games. This reboot goes all the way back to the roots, beginning earlier than even the first game when it comes to the Saints. At the very start of this reboot, the Saints don’t exist. Instead, players are just one of four roommates who, for some reason or another, are part of different gangs (well, except Eli). The Saints Row player character and new Boss is from the Marshalls, Kevin is from the Idols, Neenah is a member of Los Panteros, and Eli is just someone who moved to Santo Ileso to set up a business for themselves.
Despite their differing associations, it’s clear that the new characters are close friends. Volition didn’t show the exact moment the Saints were formed, but the reasoning for its formation is clear: the rent in Santos Ileso is far too high. They can only afford it through criminal and gang-related actions. In fact, when players boot up Saints Row, the first mission is all about making that rent.
SERIOUS SPOILERS AHEAD
Saints Row: Making the Rent Mission
Players will begin the game by robbing a local loan company, which is all cinematic. There are a few interactions afterward, but the plan is clear: the Boss and Neenah are supposed to distract the police, while Eli and Kevin abide by traffic laws and get the money home. Players will run from the police, eventually get away, and have to make it to their other car to ditch the police. However, players will discover that it’s been stripped by one of the gangs, Los Panteros.
The Boss will have to kill them, to which Neenah says she hopes the Los Panteros leader never learns it was them, and get on a nearby Saints Row motorcycle to speed off through the desert. More police are encountered, but players will eventually join back up with Neenah, making a big and dramatic getaway. A big question gets posed, though: “what do we do the next time we need rent?”
Because this mission is early on, many of the weapons in Saints Row used here were pretty basic, but throughout the entire presentation, we saw an impressive array of weaponry, skills, and perks. Every weapon has challenges that unlock new abilities, and there are plenty of skills and perks that complement even those. There are ways for players to shoot through walls, an ability called Pineapple Express where a grenade gets dropped down someone’s pants and that enemy is thrown like a grenade, weapons that deal more damage to vehicles, and even the ability to shoot while car-surfing on the top of a vehicle. It’s Saints Row madness 101.
Saints Row Mission Rewards
Of course, every mission ends with players getting rewards, and these rewards will depend on the exact context of the mission. In general, players can expect money and XP, while some missions will unlock allies, cars, HQ add-ons, and more. One mission we saw rewarded players with a helicopter pad for the Saints Row HQ, as an example. Overall, the mission structure seems rather straightforward but with exciting twists, and there is plenty to do across the world of Santos Illeso beyond that. It's ultimately clear Saints Row brings all of its classic personality to every part of the new game world.
Saints Row releases on August 23 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.