Saints Row review: GTA 6 can wait

Saints Row starts by letting you create your own gang boss character, from a wide array of appearance options, before jumping back in time to their humble origins as a crook. You’ll start off working for a private military/security company, but you'll soon be branching out to become your own boss (which leads you into some serious trouble).

At its core, the game is highly entertaining. Whether you’re driving around in a car (you can take your pick and hotwire whichever you want), taking on side-missions for quick cash (there are fully-fledged quests here and short challenges), or following the main story, you’ll almost always find something to enjoy.

The story packs plenty of twists and turns, and it's told in quite an enjoyable way. The world is packed with detail and there are heaps of secrets to be uncovered, weapons to be collected, cars to be stolen and other shiny things to attract your attention. It's a nice mix and we'd recommend it to any GTA fan.

One of the first things you’ll notice is that the open-world city of Santo Ileso (not a real place) looks absolutely stunning, boasting plenty of different districts and an array of visually-arresting vistas. By night, with the city lights reflecting off surfaces as you whizz around at speed, it looks particularly impressive.

Driving through the city, exploring new regions and ticking off the occasional quest is a great way to spend some time. The driving controls feel just right on the sticks, and the game rewards you for near-misses and airtime which is a nice touch (reminding us of the Forza Horizon games).

The character models, you could argue, look slightly less impressive. The people you’ll meet certainly look better than they did in the 2006 game that launched the franchise, but there is still something uncanny about them. We found ourselves staring at our character’s face from time to time, tweaking the settings to try and make them look a bit more real. And on occasion, their facial expressions seemed to freeze in awkward positions.

That qualm, of course, could be fixed in future patches, so let’s not get hung up on it too much. In a sprawling urban playground like this, gameplay is the most important thing, and the new Saints Row does admirable work in that regard. The missions are nicely varied, the shooting feels fine, and the driving is really fun.

This is the kind of game that you could easily lose a few hours in, with the world itself being the true star of the show and the content being engaging enough to keep you interested. The inclusion of co-op is a nice touch, and it'll be interesting to see how players use that team-up element to maximise the carnage they can cause.

It’ll also be interesting to see what the common consensus ends up being regarding the key characters (your playable boss and their three pals) and the overarching story of the main campaign. Personally, this writer found the friend characters to be a little bit grating, with their constant enthusiasm and playfulness not exactly screaming ‘hard as nails criminals’.

That being said, once again, you could argue that the characters aren’t what you come to a game like this for. If you’re looking to wreck things and get into scrapes in a stunning playable city, this game will tide you over until GTA 6 nicely. We don’t mind waiting when we’ve got Santo Ileso to enjoy!

Saints Row launches 23rd August 2022 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. We reviewed on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.

Follow Radio Times Gaming on Twitter for all the latest insights. Or if you're looking for something to watch, see our TV Guide.

Visit our video game release schedule for all upcoming games on consoles. Swing by our hubs for more Gaming and Technology news.

The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.