If I was being reductive, I’d say it’s Saints Row by way ofWatch Dogs 2.
I mean that thematically because there are a lot of technically literally new things.
Your story is similar to the original Saints Row, but this time you’re actually founding the Saints.
The B-plot is the map clearance, and that will take up far more of your time.
The surroundings are like the famous orange deserts of Arizona and Utah.
The fun things are the special abilities to trigger in combat, like healing or dropping a smoke grenade.
It all pulls together as a fun, but mostly frictionless experience.
I wouldn’t say the game, on its suggested difficulty setting, is at all hard.
But the more you play, the more you notice a tension in Saints Row.
Build a shady waste disposal, race across town with toxic waste.
Build a shady food truck business, steal rival food trucks.
Your laundromat is a front for crime scene cleaning!
There’s a Professor Genki-like death match island.
Even your mates have that kind of checklist feeling: one of them is nerdy.
One of them is a Strong Female Character.
One of them should make reference to being bisexual a lot, ‘cos it’s 2022.
He then pivots back into joking about not wearing a shirt, because that’s his thing.
It’s not exactly Saints Row, but it’s not exactly its own thing either.
But that’s not the world we live in.
