The new Saints Row reboot has all the wild side activities that fans of the franchise have come to expect, but they feel a bit more mandatory now. Saints Row players can tow all sorts of vehicles, steal food trucks, blow things up, and even throw themselves in front of traffic. These activities can be a lot of fun when made optional, but the new game forces players to grind these out to progress their criminal network.
Every Saints Row game has had zany side activities for players to enjoy, and they had to complete them if they wanted to control the entire map. However, there was not as much of an emphasis placed on grinding out these activities like there is in the newest title. These various missions are fun in spurts, but forcing players to grind them out may remove a lot of that fun. If Deep Silver continues down the reboot path, then it really needs to make sure that the side activities feel optional again.
Side Activities Are Required to Progress Criminal Ventures
Saints Row has always had wild side activities that range from players throwing themselves in front of traffic and covering vehicles with sewage to simply towing cars. These activities provide players with some wild gameplay in-between the over-the-top stories, and they have always been a major part of the Saints Row gameplay loop. Some of these activities came back with the reboot, but they were heavily tied to the new criminal ventures feature, which made them feel a little less optional.
The Saints Row criminal ventures feature is how players take over the different districts and expand the power of the Third Street Saints. It is the main mechanic of the game, and gives players a bit of control over how their Santo Ileso looks. They get to select from a set of buildings and spend large sums of money to place them down in the city. These ventures then unlock their own little mission chains, which task the player with completing different side activities to grow the venture and take over the district it is in.
Previous Saints Row titles tied some side activities with taking over various bits of the map, but the way that the reboot does it makes it feel more mandatory. To unlock the next set of buildings and side activities, players have to place down and complete a couple of ventures. This requires players to grind out these side activities until they fill a bar and are able to complete the venture's mission chain. They have to travel across the map to accomplish this, and it can feel a bit like a chore.
The Grind Makes these Activities Boring
Having to complete these Saints Row side activities to control the map is nothing new, but completing criminal ventures is heavily tied to the game progression. Players cannot unlock certain side activities or missions until they place down a certain amount of ventures. They cannot place down these ventures until they level up the gang, and they cannot level up the gang until they complete a certain amount of ventures. This turns the once optional side activities into a mandatory part of the game, and that sucks most of the fun out of it.
Players will play activities like Insurance Fraud when they want a bit of cash, want to take over a territory, or want to simply throw themselves into traffic for fun. That is how it has been for the majority of the Saints Row series, but the newest game forces players to play every single version of a side activity to complete a venture and progress through the game. Having to do seven Insurance Frauds to progress just sucks the joy out of the activity, especially since players will probably have to repeat the same one over and over again until they finish it.
These side activities are supposed to be fun and optional, but Deep Silver chose to make them more mandatory, which makes them tedious. The next Saints Row game should not follow this model. The criminal venture feature can stick around, but players should not be forced to grind out several side activities to progress through the story. At the end of the day, players just want to have fun, and forcing them to engage with activities that should be optional takes a bit of the joy out of a series that is known for its wild world.
Saints Row is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
