One of the most contentious games of 2022 may now be played on Steam thanks to the Epic Games Store’s exclusivity expiring this week. But whether Steam players will actually want to play it is an entirely different matter. The game is not currently playable on Steam Deck, or at least its Steam listing makes no mention of the Steam Deck, so if you’re on Steam Deck you don’t even need to deal with this conundrum. It does however indicate that the game is 67 percent off in conjunction with its Steam release. The game is now only $19.79 instead of $59.99, and this offer is only valid through August 31.
The developer and publisher of the enigma game in question are Volition and Deep Silver. If you are familiar with the former, you are aware that it is best known for the Saints Row series. This was once a source of pride for the company, but it isn’t any longer. Volition attempted to revive the series last year under the same moniker, but it failed.
Saints Row faced criticism as soon as it was made public. Social media criticized the remake for not just being cringe-inducing and unimaginative, but also for being considerably different in tone and presentation from the first three games in the series, which fans are eager to return to. Even while Saints Row has always been outrageous, it used to be a little more realistic and focused more on (parodying) gang life. The series gradually drifted more and farther away from both of these as it went on. Volition had the chance to return to the series’ beginnings with the reboot, but it chose not to take it. In fact, it doesn’t even appear to have tried to take advantage of the chance, but rather to have gone in the opposite direction.
The game currently has a “Mixed” Steam User Review score, with just 60% of 445 user reviews being favorable as of the time of writing. And this agrees with the game’s Metacritic score of 61, despite the fact that there are significantly worse user ratings there.
One of these Steam reviews asks “Who is this game even made for?” This is not suggested for Saints Row lovers. This is not advised for those who enjoy open worlds. This is not advised for anarchy and random devastation. This is not advised if you want a nice tale and characters. This is not advised for gameplay or progression.
Our review of the game states, “Saints Row may not ultimately be the grand return to the franchise that fans were hoping for, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth giving a look.” The game nevertheless contains a ton of content and a sandbox that is ideal for hours of co-op fun, despite having a slow-moving narrative and subpar characters. Building a criminal empire is empowering even if you’re playing alone, elevating Saints Row above other open-world crime games. This game might receive a more enthusiastic recommendation if it didn’t take some steps back or felt antiquated and buggy, but regrettably, it falls short of all of its objectives.
