Starting something and restarting something can be two sides of the same coin. You’ve got to fact in audiences, competitions, and climate. Even then, you conclude that your research and planning don’t translate to the real world. In 2022, after spending the better part of the decade moving on from their beloved crime sandbox, Saints Row, Volition started again, with a hipper image, in Saints Row.

Saints Row starts things off with your character, sharing an apartment with three of their buddies, having to do grunt work for a P.M.C. and other gangs amongst Santo Ileso to help pay the bills. After circumstances force them out of their gangs, they pool their limited resources into their outfit, The Saints, after their church, which they converted into their Headquarters. You acquire land to build up and expand, but the question of whom to trust and how to make your mark in a crowded market faces every new start-up, and is no exception for the Saints.

A lot has changed since the wacky crescendo that was the ending of Saints Row 4. Agents of Mayhem failed to capitalise on the superhero motif; Watchdogs 2 came with its cast of young, hip revolutionaries, and that’s where this generation of Saints feels like they get their style from, of course, almost a decade later. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul came and went, so the move to the Southwest also feels like a natural choice. Santo Ileso follows on from the likes of Stillwater and Steel Port, being very pretty to look at and explore, especially with the inclusion of the hidden history spots, complete with some more fun writing. The reboot, while featuring criminals, does manage to portray them in a slick, almost sitcom way, as evident from your posse. Neenah, a car mechanic who used to ride for the car-obsessed Panteros; Kevin, a Himbo for the modern internet to swoon over, who used to ride for the anarchist-collective-ravers The Idols, and Eli, who seems more comfortable with an L.A.R.P. gun and a copy of Quicken than a real one. They remind me a lot of the cast of Gen Zed versus the wacky but professional killers from the last few games.

Combat feels similar enough, although you get bars of your health back by performing finisher-type moves on foes. The parachute and flying from 3 and 4 are replaced by this simple-to-get, fun-to-master wingsuit. You collect all sorts of weapons and vehicles, but now these have special abilities that require you to complete little tasks to unlock. There are also perks and skills you get as you progress through the game, a nice tweak from existing gameplay. The mini-games and empire-building elements have been redefined; now you build one business in one neighbourhood, and do all the mini-games to build up the total earned. Each neighbourhood has five threats, which also gives you a bonus for dispatching, and a myriad of discoveries to reward you for spending time in Santo Ileso.

Saints Row does dial back the O.T.T. for its reboot, which, following the last two games, makes sense. Playing through the campaign, I found getting reacquainted with the classic formula that made those crime sandboxes of the 2000s so compelling. With the majority of the gameplay feeling like remixed versions of the old Saints hits, and the humour feeling a lot more trendy, more savvy, and youthful, fans might not like the change of pace, tone, and scenery. But they will be pleased that the game still hits the right notes. While starting from ground one can be challenging, restarting from ground one can be doubly so.

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