At Gamescom Opening Night Live, fans will get their first glimpse at the new Saints Row game. Gamescom further confirms something fans have believed for a long time, and that is the game will serve as a reboot of the franchise. In Gamescom’s teaser for Saints Row, the phrase “rebooting” can be seen in the background.
This may leave some disappointed that the game isn’t Saints Row 5, but the good news is, tonally, the franchise can’t really go back. It used to be a GTA-competitor of sorts, with the first game emphasizing the Third Street Saints. From there, though, Saints Row becomes a whackier thrill ride. In fact, it’s for that reason that rebooting the franchise seems like the obvious answer.
Saints Row – The Story So Far
While there are a lot of minor happenings, there is a rather simple throughline for the franchise (if somewhat illogical). The Saints Row protagonist becomes the boss of the Saints gang, does tons of crimes that make Grand Theft Auto’s heists look like child’s play, is somehow elected President of the United States, enters into an Alien-oriented Matrix of sorts, and becomes Emperor of an Alien civilization that dominates the entire galaxy.
The ending to Saints Row 4 either sees the player moving to take over an alien planet to call home or discovering the Zin Empire’s research into time travel to, presumably, go back in time and prevent the destruction of Earth. Throw in Gatt out of Hell, which focuses on Johnny Gat and elements of Heaven and Hell, and just short of proper time travel, it seems the franchise has gotten bigger and bigger to the point that a proper Saints Row 5 doesn’t seem possible from a narrative standpoint.
Rebooting the Saints Row Franchise
Sure, Saints Row 5 could focus on time travel like some Avengers: Endgame heist, but that risks running through similar events and would have a strange impact on the franchise. No, a complete reboot makes perfect sense, no matter how far back it goes or exactly how it changes things. The primary characters like Boss, Johnny Gat, and Shaundi can still be involved, as well as much of the supporting cast as well.
How or when this reboot takes place is a big question, but if it returns to its gang-based video game roots, then it is still reasonable that the wackiness that has come to define the franchise still remains. The core components of Saints Row have never been the city or even the Saints as a gang, but all the antics the Boss and friends manage to pull out of nowhere. As long as Saints Row pushes up, includes the primary characters, and throws in a ton of insanity, the Saints Row reboot seems like it can only be a good thing.
A Saints Row reboot is in development.