Source: Volition Games / Saints Row
Saints Row is going all-in with the customization for the soft reboot, and it will play a vital role in helping you build your version of the 3rd Street Saints from the ground up.
Wednesday (Apr.20), Saints Row developer Volition and publisher Deep Silver held a presentation hosted by actress Mica Burton primarily focused on the upcoming game’s deep customization system. Saints Row as a franchise set itself apart from other games in its genre like Grand Theft Auto thanks to its over-the-top action and wackiness, and we are happy to report that will continue to be the case with the new Saints Row.
Players will be thrown into the fictional metropolis of Santo Ileso, located in the American Southwest, where the action will take place in the desert, suburban neighborhoods, and city vistas. We got a glimpse of those locations thanks to Saints Row’s Senior Environmental Artist, Tim Wasson, accidentally uploading screenshots of the game’s new open-world on his ArtStation page, clearly, something that the game’s developers will explore in another presentation.
In the Ultimate Customization presentation, Saints Row heavenly encourages players to #beyourownboss by utilizing the customization feature that will allow you to go deep when creating your character. In Saints Row, you can edit every part of your character, from their skin tone, hair, eyes, teeth, body frame, and even their private parts. If you’re a player who doesn’t really like to spend too much time creating characters, Associate UX Designer Kenzie Lindgren revealed there would be eight different presets you can build off from or just start the game with.
Keeping the focus on the hair, when it comes to creating Black avatars in games, the options in the hair department are always lacking. During the pretaped presentation, associate UI Artist Danielle Benthien said, “there are plenty of hairstyles to choose from,” we shall see. You can also go deep into determining your character’s facial features by adding all kinds of scars, eye contacts, teeth, and more. Players can even add prosthetics to their created character, a nice touch on the inclusivity.
Source: Volition Games / Saints Row
Saints Row will also allow you to dress your player however you want, thanks to an expansive collection of clothing items that will enable you to truly design a unique-looking character.
Source: Volition Games / Saints Row
Weapons will also be fully customizable, allowing players to change the color of any part of the guns, add decals and stickers or change how the weapon looks. For example, you can put a rocket launcher into a guitar case. If you have seen the movie Desperado you would be pretty familiar with that idea. You can even turn pistols into foam fingers. There will be tons of other ridiculous weaponry at your disposal for you to cause mayhem with.
Source: Volition Games / Saints Row
Saints Row will feature over 80 vehicles for players to collect, ranging from cars, monster trucks, motorcycles, hoverboards, boats, jet skis, helicopters, and jets which are also fully customizable. We learned you could install ejector seats during the presentation to thrust the driver into the air, allowing them to glide using their wingsuit. You can add other cool features to your vehicles like nitro boosts, wings, crab steering, and other story-related upgrades the developers promised to reveal later.
Another fantastic addition to the game is the ability to make your crew all show up on the scene in the same customized whip to help your 3rd Street Saints stand out from the other crews.
Source: Volition Games / Saints Row
And finally, all crews need a headquarters, so, of course, in Saints Row, you will also have the ability to customize how your base will look. Just like with your look, weapons, and cars, customization of your HQ is fully expansive, allowing players to build something to their liking.
HQ will not only be a place for you to hang out safely, and change your clothes plus browse your car and weapon collections. It’s where you will plan your heists and other missions that will help build up your gang’s reputation.
Source: Volition Games / Saints Row
It definitely sounds like Volition and Deep Silver have been making great use of their time after deciding to delay Saints Row’s launch and have polished the game up for the better. Initial responses to the game’s announcement were on the lukewarm side but based on what we have seen so far, Saints Row is looking like it could be one of the biggest releases of the year.
Saints Row officially drops on 8/23/22, barring anymore more delays. Keep it locked on Hip-Hop Wired for more news about the upcoming game, and peep the full customization trailer below.
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Photo: Volition Games / Saints Row