After a big gameplay reveal we’re here to let you know that the new Saints Row is every bit the classic Saints we know and adore. With added wingsuit. And with insane levels of character, vehicle, weapon, and crew customisation, on top of the return of classic modes like Mayhem, it’s shaping up to be the long overdue (and supercharged) Saints Row game we’ve been waiting for.

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Next-Level Customisation For Your Character, Vehicles, and HQ

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Saints Row: The Third still stands as one of the best games for character customisation and letting you have fun with it. The level of customisation options in the Saints Row reboot kind of makes that game look like something from the Atari 2600 era of gaming. To say that there are countless options available would be an understatement, as this is all about expression. Diamond encrusted teeth? Sure. Half a face in clown make-up? Why not? Overweight with green skin and a simple linen outfit? Shrek-tastic. You can even oil up your character for that shiny look and feel. And it doesn’t stop there as you’ll also get to choose from eight different voices/voice actors, plus the ability to shape the look and feel of your crew and HQ as you become The Boss. Also, vehicles and weapons. From cosmetic changes and skins the likes of which we rarely see, through to simply choosing to be the gang leader that drives around in a food truck.

Our Latest Saints Row Preview

Volition might be rebooting the long-running Saints Row this year, but it’s doing so with a mind toward the chaotic energy and fun that has been at the core of Saints for many years. With its release around the corner we had the chance to sit down with the team to discuss everything from the new wingsuit, the evolution of the series, and what fans and newcomers can expect.

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I’m a big fan of Saints Row and the fun and insanity of the series. One thing that immediately stood out was seeing the wingsuit in action, seeing you being able to bounce off pedestrians, to car surf. How did this evolve and come about as a new traversal mechanic?

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Brian Traficante: It's funny, originally there it was about allowing the player to leap from car to car, down the highway. We have a mission where that is one of the key mechanics within the mission. But doing that for a full open-world was going to be too much technically. So we backed out and that led to different traversal ideas like wingsuits. But we didn't want the two of those [driving and flying] to exist separately. The thing we learned from Saints Row 4 was that once you got all those superpowers, nobody drove a car. We kind of negated all this work that was put into the vehicle system. We didn't want the wingsuit to become that.

What the designers nailed was the idea of not treating them separately, but as one traversal mechanic. Exploring ideas like, ‘Why can't I just land on the roof of a car?’ ‘Now that I'm on the roof, can I get in?’ ‘Can I get back out onto the roof?’ And you can, you can get back out. The car will continue at some speed so you can leap off again. And then that led into other mechanisms that we didn't foresee, like the ejector seat which gets you in the air and connects these two systems together. There's also launchers throughout the city that shoot you into the air. Players can also get up in helicopters. We wanted to take traversal to the next level and keep people constantly moving, because that's the chaotic action and energy we aim for.

Our Full Saints Row Interview

With an original release date set for February 25, 2022, the development team at Volition have announced that the spiritual reboot Saints Row is now on track for August 23, 2022. Reasoning and all that good stuff after the jump.

Okay, so you can probably guess what's up - more time to polish, improve features. Volition notes that fundamental changes to the game isn't on the cards.

"Our priority is to create the best Saints Row game yet and, if we released on the original date, it wouldn’t be up to the standards we’ve set ourselves, and that you’re expecting and deserve," writes Volition's Jim Boone. "The team just need more time to do our vision justice; we’re doing some fine tuning and there won’t be much change in the game outside of overall quality and polish."

"This will be the biggest and best Saints Row game ever and, in order to achieve our goal, we’ve settled upon a generous, yet essential amount of time to realise our ambitions," he adds.

Naturally, for a game of this size and scope the impact of COVID and working from home has affected progress -- which is something we've seen impact just about every major release over the past year or so.

"We underestimated the impact COVID would have on our schedule, although everyone adapted very quickly to the working from home arrangement and continued to be incredibly productive," Jim says. "However, due to the size and scope of our new Saints Row, it’s become apparent that to create the best game possible, we need to give our team longer to perfect their craft."

As per our recent preview, which was based on hands-off campaign footage presented by Volition, the new Saints Row is shaping up to be a blast.

As per our in-depth preview we got a chance to check out extended gameplay from the upcoming Saints Row reboot from Volition ahead its debut during the Gamescom Opening Night Live stream. Where, with CG trailer in tow, it got a mixed reaction from fans citing the new look cast as a step in the wrong direction.

So much so that the original trailer has a pretty even split when it comes to likes and dislikes, with the official Saints Row Twitter account responding to some people noting that the new look Saints Row isn't changing.

We are not backing down on this game. We get it, it’s new and it’s a shock reaction to a reboot like no other. The gif was supposed to convey that.

— Saints Row (@SaintsRow) August 26, 2021

That gif in question was a "hater gonna hate" reaction. Of course without gameplay it's hard to get a feel for a game based solely on a pre-rendered trailer. And with that a Welcome to Santo Ileso Trailer has dropped showcasing just that. A look at the new cast in-game, alongside the gangs players will be facing in the vibrant new open world location based on the American Southwest.

Check it out.

Deep Silver and Volition have unveiled the Welcome To Santo Ileso Trailer, lifting the lid on the developer’s ambitious vision for the evolution of the notorious Saints Row franchise.

Along with a veritable wealth of new information from the creative minds at Volition, the latest trailer offers an exclusive first look at stunning gameplay moments, showcasing the exciting new world of Saints Row. It also stars US acting talent Bryce Charles – the voice of the game’s default Boss – and establishes the rival gangs, fresh tone and new characters, which make up the biggest and best Saints Row playground yet.

For more on Saints Row -- Check Out Our Full Preview.

The all-digital Gamescom 2021 is happening this week and one of the potential major announcements is set to be a reboot of sorts for Saints Row. The open-world sandbox action game that began as a riff on GTA that somehow ended up with the world being destroyed and you being kidnapped by aliens and then taken to an alien planet. You were also the President of the United States when that happened.

With last year's Saints Row The Third Remastered showcasing an "over-the-top open-world action game quite unlike any other" in what we dubbed "the series at its best" -- this is definitely great news. And something corroborated by this graffiti art appearing on the official Saints Row website and Geoff "Opening Night Live" Keighley's own Twitter account.

5 days until @gamescom #OpeningNightLive on Wednesday.

We are “Bossing” it with our announcements this year 👀 https://t.co/osudHTCxj1

See you live, Wednesday at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET / 7 pm BST / 8 pm CEST at https://t.co/FjoDbKD0sN pic.twitter.com/6zE974HW0Q

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) August 20, 2021

As per previous reports original Saints developer Volition is at the helm, so it'll be interesting to see what aspects are rebooted and what feel very much like a spiritual sequel. That is on the account of the fourth game basically blowing up the universe and not leaving any real room for any sort of traditional follow-up.

Gamescom's Opening Night Live is set to stream Thursday, August 26 @ 4:00am AEST.