Taking the series to ludicrously crazy new heights back in 2011, Saints Row: The Third is remembered by many as both the best entry in the series and potentially one of the most fun sandbox games in the history of the genre. Luckily for fans of the wacky game, it has just hit the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the brand new Saints Row: The Third Remastered package, which brings all the title's DLC and some brand new visuals to current generation consoles.
Naturally, a lot of fans are curious whether the iconic third entry in the tale of the 3rd Street Saints's remaster will bring the larger-than-life open-world crime game back with a bang. After all, while Saints Row The Third was a major success when it dropped during the last generation, there's every chance that its older visuals and aged gameplay could make it a disappointing experience to revisit.
Fortunately, reviews have recently dropped for Saints Row: The Third Remastered, so fans looking to get some new information on the revamp of the iconic game are in luck. So, what are critics saying about the modern touch up of Saints Row's most heralded entry?
GOGconnected (Haley Perry)
"Saints Row is unrealistic in the best way possible, and what it lacks in substance it makes up for in outrageous antics and a priceless, middle-school sense of humor. It’s an absolute riot, and it never seems to draw its boundaries. Steelport is an adult playground for blood, gore and sex, and there’s no consequence for the violence and chaos you can induce. Almost everything about the remaster is fantastic, from the catchy soundtrack to the buttery smooth combat."
Score: 9 / 10
IGN (Ryan McCaffrey)
"If you’re going to deliver a remaster of a game that’s only nine years old, it’s got to look better than this – especially if it’s at the end of a console generation and not up to what the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro are capable of. We’re staring down the barrel of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and their games will make this mediocre update age incredibly quickly. Still, the game that lurks underneath has fundamentally held up very well, and will still be a good time for new players even if it won’t live up to the rose-colored glasses view of the returning crew."
Score: 7 / 10
Attack of the Fanboy (Brandon Adams)
"Like that old Honda Civic you repainted and sold off this remaster shows its age in many ways, but at the end of the day it still runs the same as it did when it first came off the assembly line. I may have wanted more out of Saints Row: The Third Remastered, but it’s still as much a blast to play today as it was in 2011, and now it’s prettier to boot. I mean, we still get to shoot down a wildly more futurist version of the AWACS, a platform I personally fly on, which is always good for a grim laugh. Grumbles aside, what more could I ask for?"
Score: 3.5 / 5
PC Invasion (Jason Rodriguez)
"Flawed but fun, Saints Row: The Third Remastered brings back its ridiculously addictive formula to keep long-time fans and new players entertained for many hours. Sadly, it's a bit rough around the edges, and in no way comparable to a number of modern-day titles from the same genre."
Score: 7 / 10
Slant Magazine (Justin Clark)
"Mainly, having Saints Row: The Third looking like a current-gen experience truly hammers home that, yes, the Saints are much better off as puckish rogues. We already have plenty of po-faced games trying to give players the experience of being a crime boss ruling the underworld with an iron fist. Why should Saints Row try to be the 20th game to offer that experience when it can be the only experience allowing you, dressed as a Mexican wrestler wearing a clown’s face, to cruise through traffic at 100mph with a live tiger in the passenger seat?"
Score: 3.5 / 5
USgamer (Mike Williams)
"Saints Row: The Third time travels to 2020 with a solid remaster. This is the same game you remember from 2011, with all of the DLC and content packs along for the ride. Developer Sperasoft has redone some of the models, especially with regards to the vehicles, and added an all-new, more realistic lighting engine. Unfortunately, it still doesn't quite measure up to the original PC release, and all the bugs of the original are still here. Still, Saints Row: The Third is a wonderful experience despite all its flaws, and that remains true of this remaster release."
Score: 3 / 5
Rock Paper Shotgun (Alice Bell)
"It’s just the content, I suppose, that doesn’t charm me any more. It was like playing the FPS version of a top down ARPG like Diablo or Wolcen. Yeah, I’ll shoot the waves of oncoming enemies. No, I don’t particularly need to know why. I’ll do it again in another mission in a minute. Blah blah blah, strip club, blah blah blah, chop shop. Oh Saints Row. It is not you that have changed, but I."
Score: N/A
Polygon (Dave Tach)
"Saints Row: The Third Remastered does a trillion stupid things, and everything is deliberately over the top, but it’s so much fun that I never dwell on the parts that might otherwise make me uncomfortable, because it is fully, beautifully committed to its absurdity. It punches up, it punches down, and it punches every which way except at me, because me? I’m cool."
Score: N/A
In summary, it seems that, while Saints Row: The Third Remastered doesn't particularly do anything new with its spruce of the iconic 2011 classic, the game that it offers is still a huge dose of cheesy fun. While many do suggest that the visuals aren't touched up enough to make the game fit in 2020 and that the same technical faults persist, there's a reason that Saints Row: The Third made such an impact upon its debut, and it seems this re-release still offers exactly what made it such a classic.
Saints Row: The Third Remastered is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.