Saint’s Row is a series with an interesting history. It began as a game that tried to be GTA but wasn’t, before trying to go for more unique ideas in its sequel before finding its footing as an offbeat game with Saint’s Row The Third. Saint’s Row IV takes the offbeat nature even further and goes into all out parody that is removed from its roots while still playing homage to them. You are now the president of the United States of America, with your gang assisting you, when aliens invade and begin taking over the Earth. Placed into a virtual reality, you are forced to find a way to take down the aliens and set things right.
I was worried about how Saint’s Row IV would play on Switch, since the previous entry had some issues when it first launched on the system. The issues were later resolved with a patch that made it much better, and it seems the developers learned from their mistakes as Saint’s Row IV is a good port, but not perfect. The game runs at a fixed 30 fps with downgraded visuals, but the gameplay is completely intact. This is an open world game where you can do anything, and the possibilities just get more interesting as the game continues. This is less open world GTA, and more open world super power simulator. You will be able to do a lot of incredible things, and will find that weapons will get more and more outlandish, such as the dubstep gun. This may upset some who want the GTA style, but honestly this is a great alternative to that series. It is refreshing to see a game series that learned not to take itself seriously and excel because of that.
There are the occasional issues that pop up, like graphical bugs that resolve themselves just as quickly as they appear, and some areas simply have lighting that is far too poor. Still, the overall package is remarkably well handled, and even the downgraded visuals are not really that big of an issue since they still look fine as is. There are so many customization options to unlock for your character and gear as you progress through the game, and you will find yourself just wandering around at time finding new ways to amuse yourself. You will soon unlock super powers as well, in addition to alien weapons to use. This changes the basic nature of the game, but makes it far more enjoyable in many ways. You get to feel like a Super Hero who is saving the planet, and the new weapons and gear are extremely fun to play around with.
The catch to this, is that the game takes a while to get going. You do not unlock the super powers till at least an hour or so in, and you are very underpowered at first. This can be discouraging to some players, but everything gets better once you unlock the powers. The game does fall into some trappings of the era it was originally released in, such as dated humor and derivative combat, but manages to have enough charm to get past those issues. All 25 pieces of DLC are here, including the story expansions and items like the previously mentioned dubstep gun ( which is another piece that dates the game a bit), and you will definitely find something to enjoy, if you stick with it.
Bottom line: Saint’s Row IV: Re-Elected is a vast improvement over the previous entry for Switch and a very unique game in its own right. I recommend checking this out, as you will not find another game like it.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided