Highlights
- The Saints Row franchise has faced challenges, with the recent reboot failing to satisfy fans and the closure of developer Volition adding uncertainty to its future.
- Remastering older games in the franchise could be a successful way to win back fans and bring the series back to its roots, similar to the success of remastered franchises like Resident Evil.
- The decision to focus on the reboot instead of remasters may have hindered the franchise's future potential.
Last week, the creators of the Saints Row franchise Volition was forced to close its doors. This comes amidst the Embracer Group's restructuring plans and after the Saints Row reboot failed to reinvigorate the franchise, leaving Saints Row fans wondering what will happen with their favorite open-world series. Nothing has been announced yet which could mean that the franchise has been put on hiatus for the time being. However, there seems to be a relatively easy way to right the ship if the Embracer Group wants to.
The Saints Row reboot was not the return to the more grounded nature of the first two games some players wanted, nor did it retain the charm of the wilder entries in the series. It simply felt like a confused game that did not know what audience it was aiming for; its numerous technical difficulties did not help make the experience any better. While it may be hard to win fans back after the reboot's issues, a collection of remastered games could be the best way to do it.
Saints Row Remasters May Be the Key to Keep the Franchise Alive
Remastering classics seems to be a big thing these days, as shown by the success of franchises like Resident Evil. It serves as a great way to bring series that may have lost their way back to their roots while letting nostalgic fans replay favorite titles. When a remaster is handled well, it can be a fantastic adventure for old and new fans alike. It not only lets the studio re-explore the past, but can also be the perfect way for it to build hype for the future, and that is something that Saints Row definitely needs right now.
The Saints Row series has been in a bit of a tough spot ever since the release of Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell. The series went completely off the rails by taking players away from the gang story in Saints Row 2 to a literal invasion of hell itself. While some players loved the wackier entries in the franchise, others were clamoring for a return to a more grounded story. On top of that, Volition sort of wrote itself into a corner the minute it put the Third Street Saints in charge of the United States.
Saints Row needed a bit of reinvention, but the tone of the reboot was not the way to go. Players had grown attached to Saints Row characters like Shaundi, Pierce, and Gat along with much of the comedic writing throughout the course of the series. No one seemed to really want to give any of that up, and they would not have had to if Volition remastered the older games. The studio could have forged ahead with its reboot plans while also honoring the past with a slew of remasters. The Resident Evil franchise has not stopped releasing remakes while new games take the series in new directions, so clearly Saints Row could do the same thing.
Throughout the last 17 years, the Saints Row series has only had one remaster which came in the form of Saints Row: The Third Remastered. The remaster retained the charm of that original game while modernizing its art style. After that released, fans were hungry for more Saints Row remasters, but instead they got the reboot. Volition and Embracer Group could have done both, yet they chose to only focus on one. Now, fans may never get the remasters that they wanted when they could have been exactly what the series needed to ensure it had a future.
Saints Row is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
