After months of wait, Deep Silver Volition has finally revealed Saints Row's post-launch roadmap. Players can expect a slew of new content throughout the next couple of months that should expand the game in exciting ways. It seems like the studio is really trying to improve the controversial game, but it might not be enough to win the playerbase back,
The Saints Row reboot has been controversial within the community ever since it was first announced, and its launch state did not help at all. The game was allegedly a critical and commercial failure, and that has put the entire franchise in jeopardy. While the DLC may be able to get players excited about Saints Row again, it may be facing an impossible uphill battle against its scorned fanbase.
The Saints Row Reboot Has a Lot to Prove in 2023
From the minute that the Saints Row reboot was announced, the community made it clear that this was not what they wanted. They had spent multiple games growing close to characters like Gat, Shaundi, and Pierce, but this reboot was throwing all of that away. While the series may have gone a bit off-the-rails with Saints Row 4, fans still wanted to follow these iconic characters in this wild open-world franchise. However, Volition had other plans, and it went all in on this reboot.
The trailers and gameplay videos did not do much to get the Saints Row community excited. The franchise was known for its wacky humor and out-of-this-world scenarios, but the trailers failed to show any of that. It looked like every other open-world title, and seemed like it lacked the charm of the franchise. As the release date neared, the community was still not on board with the project.
Once Saints Row finally hit store shelves, players' worst fears were realized. The game was a broken and buggy mess that was sometimes unplayable, and the story was nothing compared to the wackiness of its predecessors. The characters were bland, the world was largely boring, and the game just lacked what made the other ones so special. The Saints Row character creator was still as strong as ever, but the rest of the game was not on the same level.
Saints Row was met with mixed to negative reviews from critics, and the community continued to show little interest in this reboot. It would end up becoming a critical and commercial failure, and may have killed any hope for more Saints Row adventures. However, it seems like the studio is not quite done with the game as DLC looms on the horizon. That DLC could go a long way in fixing many of the game's pitfalls, but it may be too late.
Saints Row's upcoming DLC will need to do a lot if it wants any chance at winning the community back. A lot of players were not interested in the game when it was announced, and the release state turned most of them away in droves. There is just no interest in this reboot, and it will be hard for the DLC to actually make people want to give it a shot.
The DLC will be adding to Saints Row considerably with new Santo Ileso districts, story elements, activities, and cosmetics, as well as complete overhauls of various systems. It seems like it has the potential to fix a lot of the problems with the game, but players may not care. The brand has been tarnished by this reboot, and the DLC will likely not do enough to revive it. Maybe it will surprise the community, but there is a strong chance it will just be forgotten.
Saints Row is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
