When it comes to Saints Row, the game that did it for me was Saints Row: The Third. It wasn't just this over-the-top sandbox that reminds me a heck of a whole lot of Grand Theft Auto, it was the cast of characters. I couldn't wait to progress and see what the crew was planning next, they had a Pimp on the team who spoke with auto-tunes.
Come on, just... come on! Johnny Gat, and even the other members of Saints Row. This is the squad that I enjoyed... and my head turned when I heard the announcement of a Saints Row reboot. I was excited. I thought that we would get a new story with more depth... that included more of the origin stories that brought the team we know and love... together.
Instead, this is the trailer that dropped.
Now that you've seen that, I want to start off by saying that I don't hate the game. At the time of this post... I have not played the game, it could be awesome and I will probably end up playing it, but there was a hard sigh because of the change in the cast.
Tomb Raider didn't ditch Lara Croft, why? The game wouldn't be the same without her, so apply that to the new Saints Row reboot. Don't ditch an awesome cast, they could have worked new wonders with the originals.
On the flip side, I have seen posts where people are calling the game... woke, and I have to say... that word is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo played out because it has gone from being used as a specific reason to being used for everything else that doesn't even apply. Like with this Saints Row reboot, what makes it... woke? Nothing in my eyes, it just feels like they modernized the cast of characters while trying to make sure they still have a pop of purple in their outfits. They're a group centered around organized crime and chaos, nothing about that is... woke.
So all I can say is let's see how things... play out. If it's good, it's good, if not... we may see them take the route of Capcom and... make their way back to the previous cast. I can't lie, when I saw the new cast I was like a dad walking in on their baby standing over a new gaming laptop... and it's broken. I wanted to yell... what did you do?! Overall, I won't completely dump on the game, it's mainly the cast as stated above... but I may grow to enjoy them (while looking for the first DLC that brings the old cast in for some nostalgic fun).