If there's one thing players almost unanimously love about the Saints Row franchise, it's the character creator capable of meeting almost every single creative whim – even if that whim is the Incredible Hulk. Though Saints Row's reboot may have rightly been met with its fair share of controversy and critique over its numerous bugs and glitches, one thing about the game has remained in universal praise: character customization.
Volition knew it had something good on its hands in that regard, and launched Saints Row's Boss Factory a few months before the game's own premiere. It allowed players to preview just how flexible the new character creator could be, even if it lacked the full extent of options present in the final product. From celebrities like Bruce Willis, to comic book characters like the Joker, character creation in the Saints Row franchise has always been flexible and rarely disappointing.
The Saints Row reboot has pushed the envelope even further in terms of what players could do, as it allowed Reddit user H8DCarnifEX to recreate Bruce Banner's alter ego in-game thanks to some creative value editing. Given that the Incredible Hulk was made without any explicit use of mods, it lets other players use H8DCarnifEX's design through the share-code and roam the streets of Santo Ileso in Saints Row as the hulking green monstrosity himself.
A huge appeal that the Saints Row games have over Grand Theft Auto is the ability for players to create their own character past choosing the clothes they can wear, the haircut they can have, or how much in-shape they may be. With vehicle customization sometimes rivaling that of the Need for Speed franchise, and weapon customization enjoying similar freedom, it's very easy for players to make Saints Row their own.
While rough and unpolished at launch, a few choice fixes made to Saints Row's reboot could turn it into a worthwhile entry in the franchise. Quality of life additions such as being able to customize the HUD, or implementing a better photo mode by allowing players to manipulate and freeze the surrounding environment.
Volition has a lot of feedback to work with for any potential sequel Saints Row may have, but one thing that its players have undoubtedly been happy with under the new game's direction has been customization. Amidst Grand Theft Auto 6's leaks confirming a traditional experience for the franchise and genre, it proves that there is still room for Saints Row's satirical, off-beat take.
Saints Row is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
