Title: Saints Row IV: Re-Elected
Developer: Volition
Publisher: Deep Silver
Genre: Action-Adventure
Available On: PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch
Official Site: DeepSilver/Saints-Row-IV
Release Date: January 20, 2015 (Xbox One, PC, PS4) March 27, 2020 (Switch)
Version Tested: Switch
Who would have thought Saints Row IV was seven years old? Maybe it’s actually more evident than I’m giving it credit for after all. This is a game that took some serious risks, as far as just making a whacked-out storyline that no one could have seen coming. Remember when Saints Row was a Grand Theft Auto clone?
Remember when they went to the “whacky” well once too often and created Agents of Mayhem? Considering how judicious THQ Nordic has been when it comes to games like Saints Row IV, people had high hopes for Agents of Mayhem. The fact that it has been years and years since we’ve gotten a Saints Row game hasn’t helped. At least now we’ve got it on the Nintendo Switch.
If it sounds like I’m treating the release of a very old game on a new platform as kind of an afterthought, just know I’m following the developers‘ lead. It doesn’t feel like releasing this game on the Switch was much more than a way to wring just a little more cash out of the gaming community. It just might work when all is said and done. There’s something to be said for a game that has some graphics issues landing on this console.
This also isn’t necessarily a game that cries out for hour upon hour of playing. Being available on a console where you can pick it up, blow up a few view buildings, shoot a few aliens and then put it back down might be best. There’s fun to be had in this game, even as old as it is, thanks to the way it was made. Even if quite a bit of the title now feels really, really dated.
You Get a Glitch, and You Get a Glitch, and You Get a Glitch…
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Saints Row IV port to the Nintendo Switch is that the devs still haven’t ironed out the glitching and blinking out that has plagued the title since the beginning. That means the game has been around for seven years now, and there’s still something wrong with the code.
Granted, the devs likely didn’t do a whole lot more than literally port it over to a Switch. But it seems like they could have fixed things like the very first scene of the game showing one of my teammates acting as though he was holding a gun, but there was nothing in his hands. That’s the kind of glitch that just isn’t acceptable for big, well-known games in 2020.
When Re-Elected was released on the Xbox One and the PS4, the same kinds of problems were talked about. The game was supposed to be a remastered version of Saints Row IV, complete with all the DLC the original game had. Even that remastered version of the game is quite old now. With a new game supposedly set to be announced this year, the company’s attention is focused on the new and not the old. Still, it is disappointing to see the same old problems still cropping up.
Appearance Made For A Nintendo Switch
Saints Row IV never managed to look all that great, even when it was released on the Xbox One and the PS4. That failing might actually have been positive in the long run, because now the low graphical quality is just sort of expected. When playing this game on the big screen, it looks even worse than it did before. That’s thanks to the Switch’s failings all on its own.
The good news is, when you look at the game on the small screen it looks ok. It also plays ok too. It’s possible this is precisely the kind of AAA game that exists for the Switch. It’s older and doesn’t look all that great. There are issues here and there with the coding that is quite a bit easier to take when you’re working with a console you already know is not quite as good as what we’re talking about on the other consoles.
There is still plenty to like about the game at its core. While the jokes are somewhat outdated, there’s still something to be said for the back, and forth that takes place between the aliens’ leader and the main character. Blowing up everything you come into contact with and not caring even if a little bit if bystanders get hurt because they are real bystanders is a nice touch. Being able to run super fast and that being explained away by the fact that you’re in a computer simulation is a nice touch as well. It always has been and always will be.
Verdict: The bottom line for Saints Row IV Re-Elected is that everything you’d expect to find in the game is there. It has some real charm, but what made it very charming and a bit ahead of its time is no longer anywhere close to ahead of its time. It feels rather dated, as a matter of fact, especially when it comes to the jokes. When thinking about just how long ago the jokes and dialogue and whatnot were written, that can be excused. The fact it still has glitches and a graphical appearance that is also quite dated is a real problem with this much time to fix it.
Saints Row IV: Re-Elected On The Nintendo Switch Review
It’s still a ton of fun to unleash all kinds of powers
I still absolutely love the character creator.
The humor is very, very dated
Glitches everywhere.
