Fans ofSaints Rowhas been waiting for a new entry in the series for years now. The open-world action series is very well known for its ridiculous weapons, crazy antics, and over-the-top comedic tone that sets it apart from other games in the genre like theGrand Theft Autoseries. Players have come to love the 3rd Street Saints, whether it be from fighting turf wars, running around the Matrix as a superhero, or helping Johnny Gat escape from Hell. As ridiculous asSaints Rowoften is, it has undeniably left a mark on the industry and many of its players.
Now, a tease seems to indicateSaints Row 5will show up at the upcoming Gamescom, and fans of the series are understandably excited. The series has not gotten a new entry sinceSaints Row: Gat Out of Hellin 2015, which was a standalone expansion toSaints Row 4. While the game had a lot of the gameplay elements that fans of the series enjoyed, it also was missing a lot of the features that fans expected like full character customization, hangouts, or custom cars.Gat Out of Hellwas largely well-received by the series' community, but it also left many hungry for a full new title.
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The History of Saints Row
Saints Rowwasn’t always as absurd and hilarious as many fans now know it to be. When the series first started in 2006 it was a more serious competitor toGrand Theft Autoand followed an urban gang during its power struggles. The game’s story was much more focused on its drama. Although, some side activities were a bit more on the comical side than players would typically find in aGrand Theft Autogame, whichSaints Row 2then grabbed on to as it started to steer the series towards more ridiculousness.Saints Row 2started the series taking itself less seriously and led to some of thebest missions in all ofSaints Row.
Saints Row The Thirdthen released and catapulted the series to its more comedic tone that it is now well known for. This included insane missions, more ridiculous and crazy player customization, and some really crazy side activities. The craziness of the third entry in the series brought a lot more fans toSaintsRowand even led toSaints Row 3getting a proper remasterlast year. Then,Saints Row 4not only put the players' characters in the shoes of the President of the United States of America but then had America get invaded by Aliens who abducted everyone and put them into the Matrix where they used their minds to give themselves superpowers. After that, inGat Out of Hell, players escaped from the eternal shackles of Hell and Satan with demonic powers and musical numbers.
The Wait for Saints Row 5
Ever since the release ofGat Out of Hell, players have been waiting for more from theSaints Rowseries. The developers of the series, Volition, confirmed in 2019 that another entry in the series is currently in production, but fans have not received any updates on the game since. Fans are alsowaiting for aSaints Rowmoviethat has been in the works for quite a while as well, but video game movies don’t have the best track record, so most fans are more excited for a new game in the series.
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However, the game did skip 2021’s E3 and other industry conferences that have taken place online over the course of the year, so fans are definitely hoping that the rumor of a reveal at Gamescom is true. The wait for the game has also not been helped by there not being very many ready alternatives for fans. EvenSaints Row’s competing seriesGrand Theft Autohas not put out a new title since 2013, and even if it had there are some things thatSaints Rowas a series does better thanGrand Theft Autofor its fans. The lack of similar releases in recent years has made the wait forSaints Row 5feel even more drastic and extended than it actually has been.
Rumors Regarding Saints Row 5
Thankfully, fans of the series do have some rumors and leaks regarding the game that have helped tide them over until it is officially revealed. One of the biggest rumors regards where the game will take place in the timeline of the series. This is a very important question because not only would it be difficult for the game to import players' characters and actions into the new game, but becauseSaints Row 4also literally blew up Earth. This has added a lot of credence to the rumor thatSaints Row 5will reportedly be a soft reboot of the franchise.
What shapeSaints Row 5’s story will take has not been commented on by the developers or publisher, but it would make a lot of sense. The most recent official statement on the game came fromSaints Row’s community developer saying that the game will “blow the roof off.” However, with the direction that the series has taken in recent releases, it will likely feature the wacky tone of later games in the series, complimented with ridiculous weapons and absurd side activities like spewing sewage over the city from a truck or committing insurance fraud. However, it remains to be seen just how ridiculous the game will go or if it will take the series back to the more slightly grounded reality ofSaints Row The Third.
It will be very interesting to see what shapeSaints Row 5eventually takes. The games industry and player expectations have changed a lot since the last releases in the series, and there are a lot of different ways that the new game could attempt to modernize theSaints Rowformula. Hopefully, publisherDeep Silver’s tight-lipped approach toSaints Row 5will pay off in the end, and it will be interesting to see how the game meets the expectations of fans. With Gamescom just around the corner, hopefully, fans will get a look at the game soon.
