History YMMV / SaintsRow2022

* PresumedFlop: It became a CreatorKiller that put Creator/{{Volition}} out of business, but it was not a complete financial disaster like people made it out to be. Its sales by September 2023 is estimated [[https://www.vgchartz.com/article/460993/report-saints-row-2022-sold-17-million-units/ 1.7 millions]], which is disappointing but not too terrible. Volition's closure more has to do with the restructuring in 2022 at Embracer Group, Deep Silver's parent company, which resulted in a massive layoff of subsidiaries; the game's untimely mediocre reception meant Volition got the short end of the stick.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Or in this case, a perfectly good ''Sidequest''.

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: With the plot just being reused clichés with typical character tropes and predictable story beats, the gameplay itself (while not without some bugs) is still very solid. The Side Hustles, Ventures, and especially the customization being the game's cream of the crop and, whenever it's working as intended, the co-op is still as fun as you'd expect in a ''Saints Row'' title.

%% Please do not add Author's Saving Throw until after the release.
%% Please do not add any Broken Base, Base Breaking Characters, Contested Sequel or Overshadowed By Controversy entries until at least six months (February 23rd, 2023) after the release date.

* EvilIsCool: While most of the villains in the game come off as [[GenericDoomsdayVillain painfully]] [[FlatCharacter bland,]] The Nahualli proved to be one of the better received characters even among detractors of the game. This is thanks to his [[AffablyEvil suave and professional demeanor]] that proves to be a badass killing machine only The Boss is able to rival. His main mark against his character is that [[spoiler: His reasoning for betraying the gang was seen as poor and his anti-climatic boss as mentioned above.]]

* MisaimedMarketing: The game's CG debut trailer focuses heavily on the new cast and the zanier side of the setting, which as TaintedByThePreview below shows is by far the most controversial part of the game. A 15-minute gameplay video was shown behind closed doors just before the public reveal and provided a much more crowd-pleasing idea of what the game would be like by focusing on the game's unique environment and range of new features, but it was never publicly released; a leak of the video did make it out, and the reaction to it was ''much'' more positive than that of the official CG trailer.

* EvilIsCool: While most of the villains in the game come off as [[GenericDoomsdayVillain painfully]] [[FlatCharacter bland,]] The Nahualli proved to be one of the better received characters even among detractors of the game, thanks to his [[[AffablyEvil suave and professional demeanor]] that proves to be a badass killing machine only The Boss is able to rival. His main mark against his character is that [[spoiler: His reasoning for betraying the gang and his anti-climatic boss fight where a poor way to end the game.]]

* UncertainAudience: One of the goals of the reboot was strike to balance between the more down-to-earth nature of the first two games and the DenserAndWackier tone of the third and fourth ones, but it largely failed to appeal to either side of the established fandom. Fans who preferred the tone of the first two games criticized the reboot for still largely retaining the zanier tone taken by the later games while still arguably having even fewer serious moments. On the other hand, the side of the fanbase that liked the third and fourth games felt that the reboot toned down the cartoonish aspects so much that it came off as bland in comparison. Then, of course, both sides loathed the game for not having any returning characters in favor of a new cast that caught the hearts of a few in the fanbase.

* UncertainAudience: One of the goals of the reboot was strike to balance between the more down-to-earth nature of the first two games and the DenserAndWackier tone of the third and fourth ones. Fans who preferred the tone of the first two games criticized the reboot for still largely retaining the zanier tone taken by the later games while still arguably having even fewer serious moments. On the other hand, the side of the fanbase that liked the third and fourth games felt that the reboot toned down the cartoonish aspects so much that it came off as bland in comparison. Then, of course, both sides loathed the game for not having any returning characters in favor of a new cast that caught the hearts of a few in the fanbase.

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: With the plot just being reused cliches with typical character tropes and predictable story beats, the gameplay itself (while not without some bugs) is still very solid. The Side Hustles, Ventures, and especially the customization being the game's cream of the crop and, whenever it's working as intended, the co-op is still as fun as you'd expect in a ''Saints Row'' title.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Although the game intended to [[RevisitingTheRoots revisit the series' roots]] following the DenserAndWackier direction taken by ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird The Third]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV IV]]'', it ended up being a tough sell. Longtime fans were put off by a continuity reboot that focused on a younger college-aged cast turning to crime to pay off student debt with absolutely no returning characters, not even Johnny Gat, which the developers had no reason not to bring back, while non-fans found the story and writing to be clichéd and underdeveloped, along with the numerous performance optimization issues on PC and consoles. The game's divisive reviewer reception and almost universally negative player reception led to Volition being sold to Gearbox Software before it shut down a year after the release.

* CriticalDissonance: Mixed or three (out of five) stars review from professional reviewers who felt that the game is an average, serviceable, "check-the-checkboxes" open world action game with nothing groundbreaking in it, but almost universally negative player reception due to no returning characters and poor writing even compared to any of the pre-reboot games. Even those who were new or unfamiliar to the series felt that the content is stale and the game is overpriced, on top of the bugs and performance issues.

* MisaimedMarketing: The game's CG debut trailer focuses heavily on the new cast and the zanier side of the setting, which as TaintedByThePreview below shows is by far the most controversial part of the game. A 15-minute gameplay video was shown behind closed doors just before the public reveal and provided a much more crowd-pleasing idea of what the game will be like by focusing on the game's unique environment and range of new features, but for whatever reason it was never publicly released; a leak of the video did make it out, and the reaction to it was ''much'' more positive than that of the official CG trailer.
* ObviousBeta: The game launched in an extremely buggy state:

** To say that the reaction to the CG trailer was cold would be a ''massive'' understatement. The reveal trailer was met with strong backlash from the fandom almost immediately after it went live. Some of their criticisms include [[ReplacementScrappy the main cast being replaced]] by new characters (with many comparing their appearances to {{Hipster}}s), the zaniness of the later games being kept (though nowhere near as absurd as ''IV'' or ''Gat Out of Hell''), [[TamerAndChaster the game's humor being far less vulgar]], and fan expectations for a "Saints Row 5" not being met. In addition, the PC version was confirmed to be another timed exclusive for the Epic Games Store, which is still a hot button issue for gamers even three years after its introduction.

* {{Narm}}: "Neenah's Car" (see Tearjerker below), out of context, is widely seen to be a poor attempt at drama, especially compared to how a character lost his loved one in [[Videogame/SaintsRow2 one of the previous games]]. It didn't help that the act of revenge later is made unnecessarily convoluted by having to steal the enemy car and then modifying it as the Boss sees fit, which is far from dramatic.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Although the game intended to [[RevisitingTheRoots revisit the series' roots]] following the DenserAndWackier direction taken by ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird The Third]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV IV]]'', it ended up being a tough sell. Longtime fans were put off by a continuity reboot that focused on a younger college-aged cast turning to crime to pay off student debt with absolutely no returning characters, not even Johnny Gat, which the developers having no reason not to make him return, while non-fans found the story and writing to be clichéd and underdeveloped, along with the numerous performance optimization issues on PC and consoles. The game's divisive reviewer reception and almost universally negative player reception led to Volition being given to Gearbox Software before it shut down a year after the release.

* {{Narm}}: "Neenah's Car" (see Tearjerker below), out of context, is widely seen to be a poor attempt on drama, especially compared to how a character lost his loved one in [[Videogame/SaintsRow2 one of the previous games]]. It didn't help that the act of revenge later is made unnecessarily convoluted by having to steal the enemy car and then modifying it as the Boss sees fit, which is far from dramatic.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Although the game intended to [[RevisitingTheRoots revisit the series' roots]] following the DenserAndWackier direction taken by ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird The Third]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV IV]]'', it ended up being a tough sell. Longtime fans were put off by a continuity reboot that focused on a younger college-aged cast turning to crime to pay off student debt with absolutely no returning characters, not even Johnny Gat, which the developers have no reason not to make him return, while non-fans found the story and writing to be clichéd and underdeveloped, along with the numerous performance optimization issues on PC and consoles. The game's divisive reviewer reception and almost universally negative player reception led to Volition being given to Gearbox Software before it shut down a year after the release.

* HarsherInHindsight: The story’s emphasis on empire-building with a good amount of business lingo thrown around gets thrown into an ironically pitiful light, as the game’s [[CreatorKiller lackluster reception]] would prove to be a key factor as to why its developer Volition would shut its doors in 2023.

* GeniusBonus: Overlaps with BilingualBonus as well, "Santo Ileso" means "Unscathed/Unhurt Saint" in Spanish. Seems rather appropriate considering this is a fresh start in a new continuity for the Saints.
** Additionally these Saints aren't driven by fear or vengeance. They just want to make ends meet and enjoy the good things in life. The original saints had various problems and grudges that drove them to be gangbangers. Here they just happened to be some skilled individuals who also happen to lack a certain amount of morals surrounded by people who few would weep for if they happened to die.

* UncertainAudience: Among all the game-breaking bugs, the dated gameplay, and the questionable writing. The game’s uneven tone is often cited as one of its biggest problems.
** One of the goals of the reboot was an attempt to balance the more down-to-earth nature of The first two games, and the wackier tone taken for the third and fourth games. In a way, it did succeed in uniting the fanbase, but not in the way Volition and its publisher likely intended. Fans who preferred the tone of the first two games criticized the reboot for still largely retaining the zanier tone taken by the later games while still arguably having even fewer serious moments. On the other hand, the side of the fanbase that preferred the approach the third and fourth games took, felt that the reboot toned down the cartoonish aspect so much that it came off as bland in comparison. Then, of course, both sides loathed the game for not having any returning characters in favor of a new cast that caught the hearts of a few in the fanbase.

* HarsherInHindsight: The story’s emphasis on empire-building with a good amount of business lingo thrown around, gets thrown into an ironically pitiful light, as the game’s lackluster reception would prove to be a key factor as to why its developer Volition would shut its doors in 2023.

* HarsherInHindsight: The story’s emphasis on empire-building with a good amount of business lingo thrown around all gets thrown into an ironically pitiful light, as the game’s lackluster reception would prove to be a key factor as to why Creator/Volition would shut its doors in 2023.

* HarsherInHindsight: The story’s emphasis on empire-building with a good amount of business lingo thrown around all gets thrown into an ironically pitiful light, as the game’s lackluster reception would prove to be a key factor as to why [[Creator/Volition Volition]] would shut its doors in 2023.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Although the game intended to [[RevisitingTheRoots revisit the series' roots]] following the DenserAndWackier direction taken by ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird The Third]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV IV]]'', it ended up being a tough sell. Longtime fans were put off by a continuity reboot that focused on a younger college-aged cast turning to crime to pay off student debt with absolutely no returning characters, not even Johnny Gat, which the developers have no reason not to make him return, while non-fans found the story and writing to be clichéd and underdeveloped. The game's divisive reviewer reception and almost universally negative player reception led to Volition being given to Gearbox Software before it shut down a year after the release.