Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell is a weird game. And I’m not just saying that because it’s about two members of a street gang going to hell to rescue their boss before he or she is forced to marry Satan’s daughter. Because that’s super-weird, don’t get me wrong.
Other than that, Gat is an expansion to 2013’s Saints Row IV that doesn’t require you to own the main game but doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you haven’t played it. It has a six- to eight-hour story with an additional dozen or so hours of open-world gameplay. Whether you’re new to the series or not, you’re in for its special brand of relentless fun.
The Saints Row franchise is an open-world series that is essentially Grand Theft Auto, but fun. The games have gotten increasingly ridiculous, culminating in the fourth game leaving our heroes hanging out on a time-traveling alien mothership after extraterrestrial invaders destroy Earth. Gat Out of Hell, out now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, picks up there with a surprise birthday party, a Ouija board and an emergency rescue mission to the underworld.
Like in the main game, your characters have superpowers they can use to jack up enemies and travel quickly and efficiently across the large, open map. The main addition this time around is a pair of wings that are a welcome upgrade to Saints Row IV’s gliding. Flying also opens up more options with how to deal with the endless waves of Satan’s minions that stand between you and your purloined boss. You can hover and hurl elemental attacks, deliver a crushing ground slam from stories above, or get away super-quickly if you have better things to do.
Speaking of which, in addition to the whole “save your boss from becoming Satan’s in-law” plot, Gat Out of Hell provides a bunch of free-roaming activities. You can do some flight-based time trials, save souls from further damnation, complete challenges to unlock additional weapons or simply steal an audience and run things over.
And yes, that last one is a structured minigame.
Gat’s only major problem comes from the fact that, as a standalone game, it requires a bit of Saints knowledge to completely make sense.
Flying around hell on feathery wings and meeting William Shakespeare and Vlad the Impaler are funny enough, but the game contains references going all the way back to the beginning of the series. For example, one optional quest has you repeatedly hunting down a character named Dex, who has appeared or received mention in two other games; if you haven’t played those, you have no idea why it’s funny that you keep killing him.
Whether you’re in on every joke or not, however, Gat Out of Hell is a hilarious, crazy, open-world title that’s worth a buy even if you’re new to the series. Just don’t expect it to make complete sense. Although to be honest, it was probably never going to make complete sense because it’s a game about wise-cracking gang members murdering demons by using magical powers and guns attached to recliners.
 Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell by Volition ($19.99)The good: It’s a genuinely funny and well-made game that will keep you laughing and playing for hours. The bad: Not very Saints Row newbie-friendly, and some major events only get described instead of shown in a cutscene. The verdict: With so much to do and so many options for messing around, it’s one of the most entertaining uses of $20 you’re likely to find this year. |
