Almost a decade after its first release, Saints Row: The Third is being remastered and making its PlayStation 4 and Xbox One debut on 22nd May – it’s also coming to PC, of course. More than a simple upscaling of the game, this is a deep graphical overhaul for modern hardware.
You might be sick and tired of game remasters, but this is a fairly in depth one. The entire game is being given a fresh lick of paint, with every weapon being remodelled, cars being redesigned, much higher detail character models, and more modern graphical effects.
The lighting in particular is being a complete overhaul, with global illumination and the game slathered in crepuscular “god” rays, with full HDR support. There’s a cleaner form of motion blur, better looking explosions that have environmental lighting, and they’re throwing puddles and other reflective surfaces into the game as well.
Perhaps the one disappointment is that they’re sticking with 30fps, even on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, instead of allowing for 60fps play.
If the graphics are getting a major overhaul, then developer Spearsoft are ensuring that the rest of the game is being maintained. There’s no re-recorded audio for the characters, and all of the licensed music and radio stations remain the same in the remaster – a notoriously tricky licensing minefield to navigate. You also have all of the DLC expansions released for the game bundled in.
If there’s one big gameplay change, it’s in the density of traffic that you’ll find cruising the streets, as the current generation consoles can handle the odd traffic jam here and there.
if you’re a Saints Row fan, the third game in the series was an undoubted high point in the series, fully embracing the silliness of a street gang managing to go mainstream. Arguably the sequels then took this too far, with Saints Row 4 reusing the Steelport map, combining it with a number of super powers in an alien simulation.
So, are you looking forward to a Saints Row remaster like this?
Source: press release