Saints Row®: The Third™ Remastered Review Summary

Improved graphics and visuals: The game features significant graphical improvements, including higher resolution, better textures, and enhanced visual effects. Players appreciate the visual upgrades and the overall better visual presentation.

Fun and engaging gameplay: The game is praised for its fun and dynamic gameplay, offering an enjoyable and engaging experience. Players find the gameplay to be entertaining and chaotic, with a mix of humor and absurdity.

Inclusion of all DLCs: The game includes all previously released DLCs, making the 100% completion feel more substantial. Players appreciate the additional content and the inclusion of all DLCs from the original game.

Great co-op gameplay: The game offers a great cooperative gameplay experience, with a well-functioning co-op mode that players enjoy. The co-op gameplay is praised for being fun and engaging.

Extensive customization options: The game provides extensive customization options, allowing players to customize various aspects of the game. Players appreciate the freedom and immersive customization options available.

Excessive bugs reported: Players frequently report encountering numerous bugs, ranging from minor glitches to significant issues that disrupt gameplay. These bugs are noted to be more prevalent than in the original version.

Co-op mode problems: Cooperative mode is reported to be buggy and unstable, with frequent crashes and desynchronization issues. Players also experience connection issues and disconnects.

Performance and frame issues: The game suffers from various performance issues, including FPS drops, frame pacing problems, and micro-stutters. These issues are widespread and affect the overall gameplay experience.

Audio and visual glitches: Players have reported numerous audio glitches, including issues with vehicle sounds and general sound problems. Visual bugs are also commonly mentioned.

Missing and worse content: The remaster is criticized for having worse clothing options, soundtrack, and missing DLCs. Some players feel that certain aspects of the game have been downgraded compared to the original.

Chaotic and fun gameplay: Gameplay focuses on chaotic mayhem and zany fun, with missions that are both fun and crazy, emphasizing destruction and exaggerated actions.

Driving mechanics and vehicle variety: The game features driving mechanics and a variety of vehicles, including cars, with different AI behaviors and handling.

Character customization and models: The game offers extensive character customization options and improved character models, including a character editor.

Variety of missions: The game includes numerous missions with a variety of challenges and activities, providing a diverse gameplay experience.

Humorous and interesting plot: The game has an interesting and humorous plot, with an absurd and comedic tone throughout the story.

Graphics and visual issues: There are various graphics-related issues, including problems with graphics settings, lighting, and visual artifacts.

Improved performance in remaster: The remastered version is noted for better performance and improved graphics compared to the original.

FPS and frame issues: Players report unstable FPS, frame drops, and frame pacing issues, affecting the smoothness of the game.

Audio glitches and issues: Various audio glitches and sound issues, including bugs and delays, affect the gameplay experience.

Optimization problems: There are mixed reports on optimization, with some players experiencing poor optimization and performance issues, while others find it well-optimized.

Buy on sale: Many players recommend purchasing the game during a sale or discount period to get the best value for money.

Consider the original version: Several reviews suggest that players might prefer the original version of the game over the remastered version, either for cost reasons or personal preference.

Highly recommended game: A significant number of players highly recommend the game, indicating it is a worthwhile purchase, especially for fans of open-world games.

Recommended for specific player types: The game is particularly recommended for fans of absurd, chaotic, and humorous games, as well as those who enjoy sandbox-style gameplay.

Recommended for multiplayer: The game is recommended for its cooperative play mode, suggesting it is enjoyable to play with friends.

Community fair range: $3.00 - $10.00.

Game completion: 43.0h.

Story completion: 16.5h.

Session length: 3.0h.

The game is highly enjoyable and fun, particularly in co-op mode, despite significant bugs and connectivity issues. The chaotic nature of the game and playing with friends are key drivers of fun.

Friction: Bugs and technical issues; Connectivity problems in co-op mode.

Unlock drivers: Chaotic and ridiculous gameplay; Playing with friends in co-op mode.

Co-op Enthusiast: Cooperative multiplayer focused. Motivation: Fun and entertainment with friends. Stance: sale.

Original Version Purist: Single-player or cooperative, with a focus on the original game's strengths. Motivation: Nostalgia and preference for the original experience. Stance: no buy.

Completionist Achiever: Thorough and persistent, often replaying missions and activities to ensure full completion. Motivation: Achieving 100% completion and unlocking all achievements. Stance: deep sale.

Performance varies significantly across hardware cohorts, with lower VRAM systems experiencing more crashes and optimization issues, while higher VRAM systems report a mix of positive experiences and technical problems.

Windows <8GB VRAM: negative. Users report frequent crashes and optimization issues, requiring manual fixes for stable performance.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: mixed. Experiences vary with some users enjoying good performance and others facing crashes and bugs.

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience of the game reveals several significant issues. The most impactful problems include the lack of official Chinese language support and frequent crashes when using language patches, as well as general stability issues with frequent crashes and bugs. Graphical and audio issues, such as cutscenes locked at 30fps and audio desynchronization, also detract from the overall experience. While some users have reported positive experiences with controller support and performance, others have noted issues with aim assist and overall control.

Linux and Proton: The game generally runs well on Steam Deck OLED, indicating good compatibility with Linux-based SteamOS. However, there are some performance issues such as cutscenes locked at 30fps and audio desynchronization that require manual tweaks to fix. These issues suggest that while the game is playable, some tinkering is required for the best experience.

Monetization: The user reviews for this game highlight several key issues. Many players feel that the game is a cash grab, suggesting that the developers may have prioritized profit over quality. There are also significant complaints about the handling of DLC and additional content, with users feeling that the game does not deliver on promised extras. Technical issues such as bugs and crashes are frequently mentioned, further detracting from the game's quality. Overall, the sentiment is that the game is overpriced and does not live up to expectations set by previous iterations in the series.