The next year of gaming is shaping up to be an incredible year, with many highly anticipated AAA games scheduled to launch. From titles like God of War: Ragnarok to Horizon Forbidden West and Starfield, 2022 seems to have something for everyone. One particular title, Elden Ring, has been a long time coming and was recently delayed by a month to release alongside the Saints Row reboot.

Over any other month in 2022, February is currently the most crowded, with many big-hitters scheduled to release in close proximity. Games like Horizon Forbidden West, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Elden Ring, and Saints Row reboot will launch within the same week, and while every game poses some threat to one another, it's Saints Row that is currently in the most bizarre situation.

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How the Elden Ring Delay Makes Things Worse for Saints Row

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Destiny 2 fans were the first to express their concerns when FromSoftware announced Elden Ring's delay. It was in regards to Destiny 2's upcoming expansion, The Witch Queen, which is all set to release on February 22, 2022, just three days before Elden Ring launches. Suffice it to say, Bungie believes that The Witch Queen can stand on her own against Elden Ring, which wouldn't be surprising as Destiny 2 is currently one of the most popular live-service games around. It goes the same for Horizon Forbidden West, which is the next big PlayStation exclusive to launch. Saints Row reboot, although a long time in the making, is a different story altogether.

Saints Row reboot has fallen off the radar since its announcement at this year's Gamescom. The reveal trailer for the fifth mainline installment in the Saints Row franchise wasn't received well by veteran fans, with many complaining about the tonal shift and the addition of new Saints. The Saints Row reboot is indeed a double-edged sword as it tries to cater to both the veteran fans and the newcomers. Unfortunately, the gameplay trailers revealed so far paints a picture of a game that feels far off from Saints Row 3, the entry that helped Saints Row form its own distinct identity over other crime syndicate games.

Right now, the Saints Row reboot is very reminiscent of the identity that the series has struggled with all its life, which is being a "GTA clone." The latter Saints Row titles shook things up with its sophomoric humor that breathed through the games' art style, writing, missions, and weapons. Saints Row has featured some of the whackiest and silliest weapons ever in video games which lend themselves to the series' uniqueness. Sadly though, the Saints Row reboot seems to stray away from the traditional experience for a more grounded crime syndicate open-world game.

It's too early to predict how the overall package would turn out to be though the initial impressions of the Saints Row reboot are bound to have some influence on its sales come launch. In case of a secluded release, Saints Row reboot could have easily gotten enough space for it to breathe and flourish at its own pace, though releasing in such a crowded window of games, all of which have massively distinct personalities from one another, could take away its shot at redemption.

The upcoming Saints Row reboot could still have a successful launch among its contenders, but a lot of it comes down to how it caters to the veteran Saints Row fans, which at the moment, it does not. On the other hand, Elden Ring fans are beyond excited to dive into the game, and so are The Witch Queen and Horizon Forbidden West fans. Meanwhile, gamers that are not hardcore fans of any particular games releasing in February may flock around the ones that have the best reviews, where Saints Row yet again faces a brutal competition.

Saints Row releases February 25, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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