Saints Row was a fun game to play as a teenager because it was goofy, offensive and downright dumb. But like with all things, the franchise has grown up, and the freshly rebooted Saints Row (2022) takes on a more tasteful style.
Despite its surprise reveal at Gamescom 2021, we know quite a bit about the new Saints Row, especially concerning its release date, story, gameplay and more. This franchise needed an appropriate reboot, especially for new fans of the game to jump in without being overwhelmed by chaotic superpowers and tyrannical aliens.
Here’s everything we know about Saints Row (2022) so far.
Saints Row (2022) release date
Unlike most games launching in 2022, Saints Row has a definitive release date of August 23, 2022 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4.
THQ Nordic announced that Volition was developing another Saints Row back in August 2019, but we didn’t find out that it was a reboot until Gamescom back in August 2021.
Saints Row (2022) story
With a well-deserved reboot, Saints Row is taking a step back from the aliens and giant dildos to capture a fresh new beginning for the Saints Row gang. This story takes place in the fictional city of Santo Ileso, based in the American southwest, and focuses on the player-character known as “The Boss.”
At the beginning of the game, Santo Ileso is occupied by three gangs: Los Panteros (heavy melee fighters that prioritize physical prowess), the Idols (imagine Deadmau5 but with guns and more numbers), and Marshall Defense Industries (a private military company that provides “security” for the city — your classic Ultor).
Meanwhile, the group that forms Saints Row is made up of disgruntled members from each gang. From Los Panteros, there’s Neenah, who is not only a mechanic, but a getaway driver. Kevin, a shirtless man from the Idols who specializes in the execution of heists. Then there’s Eli, a business entrepreneur that left Marshall.
Saints Row (2022) gameplay
As you might expect, the gameplay is taking a step back too, removing the superpowers and The Boss from the presidency of the United States.
Like the original, Santo Ileso is broken up into nine districts that the player has to take control of. The ones we know about are Rancho Providencio (a rural town), El Dorado (discount Las Vegas) and Monte Vista (a suburban area). What’s new to this particular game, is that players will be able to open illegitimate businesses as fronts in empty lots across the districts to make the gang money.
We have seen some snippets of gameplay, and it looks like a smoother, more organized Saints Row 2, which I don’t mind at all. Volition claimed that driving has been tightened up and areas have more verticality for players to explore with new tools.
Like other games in the franchise, there’s a detailed character creator for the player, in which you can select their gender. There’s also drop-in co-op and the secondary player will progress their story alongside the hosting player.
Saints Row will also feature an expansion pass that will receive at least three pieces of DLC post-launch. There hasn’t been much said about the music involved, but Saints Row games typically feature a number of licensed tracks. I’m excited to see what’s in store for this one.
Saints Row (2022) customization
In a briefing for Saints Row customization, we learned that there are eight different presets you can choose from for your character, and there’s even a community section, presumably including presets uploaded by other players.
Once you have a preset, you can customize hairstyle, head shape, eyes, eyebrows, nose, ears, and more. All of the settings are asymmetrical, meaning that you can make your character’s face look truly human, removing that uncanny valley effect.
You can configure the shape and size of your character, even your groin size, because Saints Row. There are tattoos, scars, and even funny censor stickers over your junk. You can even choose not to hide the nudity, if you’re into that. All of the clothes are wacky and super customizable, and you can even configure your walking animation. There are also eight different voice options as well.
The custom car shop in this game is called Jim Rab’s. There are over 80 vehicles in Saints Row, and each one has several presets to automatically deck out your vehicle without spending too much time in the shop.
On top of configuring the paint, you can change the roof, side panels, height and tires. You can change the hub caps, axle height, and even the audio for the horn and engine. You can also add nitrous, a towing cable, and an off-road kit. There’s even a future ability you can unlock to strafe your car, almost like the Batmobile in Arkham Knight.
According to the devs, you can color any part of the guns that you want from the body down to the minor parts. You can adjust the material, color, and surfaces to make it look as glossy or metallic as you like.
You can also add decals or even 100% change the look, like turning the rocket launcher into a guitar case or the assault rifle into an umbrella. You can even turn a normal baseball bat into a piñata bat. Some weapons literally shoot out a gag boxing glove, and there’s even a weapon that’s just a straight-up American Football.
Your headquarters will feature an armory, a garage, and a closet packed with a crap-ton of clothing. You can customize your HQ with a bunch of collectibles, and you can even configure the clothing style for your crew. There are also options for crew vehicle customization.
On the second floor is the criminal empire table, which is where all of your missions are organized. I’m not sure if there are meaningful choices involved here beyond choosing what to do first.
Of course, you can’t shop at your HQ, so you can explore the world to find all of the brick and mortar stores, some that’ll be familiar, like Leather Lace, and some new ones, like Branded.
Saints Row (2022) PC requirements
As nice as Saints Row (2022) looks compared to its predecessors, it doesn’t seem too graphically demanding. That’s good because that means you can probably run it on a weaker system. Saints Row has never been about next-gen graphics, anyway.
To give us a clue as to what you’ll need to run Saints Row, let’s look at Agents of Mayhem, the most recent Saints Row spin-off. This title required a minimum of Intel Core i3-3240 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 750 Ti GPU. Meanwhile, the recommended specs included an Intel Core i5-4670K CPU, 12GB of RAM, and a GTX 1060 GPU.
Considering that Agents of Mayhem was a 2017 title, the next recommended specs might be an RTX 2060 Super. That isn’t too bad considering that the best cheap gaming laptops are boasting RTX 3060 GPUs.
Outlook
I am hyped as all hell for Saints Row (2022). It is one of the most fun franchises I’ve played. However, it spun out of control and lost its way when it started throwing superpowers into everything. I’m excited to see where Volition takes this franchise and how it has evolved (or devolved) since the previous games.
