Parents' Guide to

Saints Row

By Dwayne Jenkins, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Fun yet mature shooter is a worthy reboot to beloved series.

Game Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PlayStation 5 , PlayStation 4 , Google Stadia , Windows 2022
Saints Row Cover

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

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age 11+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Dave L.
Dave L. Adult
March 4, 2023
age 11+

For well behaved 11 year olds

Saints row is a great game where you can play with your freinds there is absolutely nothing bad with this game, this is because at the start of the game your child decides if there is nudity swearing or blood. The violence is minimal and for parents this game is nothing like GTA. To sum up I believe a 11 year old that knows not to repeat any words this game is fine.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
1 person found this helpful.
KMC9287
KMC9287 Parent of 12 and 15-year-old
October 14, 2022
age 11+
This game is very good and is quite fun as me and my 11 year play it. It has lots of violence and alcohol but a mature 11 year old should be able to play it. If your kid has played games like Skyrim they should be able to handle it.

This title has:

Easy to play/use
See all 2 parent reviews

What’s It About?

In SAINTS ROW, you've just been hired at Marshall Defense Industries, Santo Ileso's premier private military company. Congratulations! It's your first day, and things ... aren't quite going as well as they should. Soon, you find yourself in a desperate situation, and it's almost time to pay your rent. You and your four roommates -- two of whom may or may not be associated with Santo Ileso's criminal element -- have been struggling to maintain the group's apartment for quite some time, and with your Marshall prospects not exactly panning out, something must be done. After two of your friends find themselves on the outs with some important people, a solution slowly forms. Creation. Retribution. Takeover. The Saints. It's time to take your life back, and you'll build a criminal empire of your own. Threats, drugs, murder: There's nothing you won't do to elevate the Saints and own the city. But be careful. Not everyone will just stand aside and let you take what they believe is theirs, and it's best to watch your back. It would be a shame if a knife somehow found its way in there.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (6 ):

One of the hardest things for any longstanding franchise that tries to make a comeback after a break is recapturing the magic that made people fall in love with it in the first place. Saints Row tactfully toes the line between the grounded grit of the first two games in the franchise and the wild insanity of the third and fourth games. One of the best parts of this reboot is its focus on the characters and their relationships. Certain missions have players learning more about their friends, their hobbies, and their likes and dislikes -- adding some needed personality and breaking up the monotony of the typical "go here and shoot these people" structure of these sorts of games. Additionally, it's refreshing that the game has something to say about consumerism and capitalism in its own fun, satirical way. Without spoiling too much, it provides a release to a product-obsessed world that sees working-class people as tools for larger corporations and individuals with money and power. Both the story and the characters do exactly what they need to keep players interested and engaged from start to finish.

Of course, Saints Row wouldn't be Saints Row without its trademark humor and zany weapons. Most of the dialogue, from conversations between characters to background lines from random pedestrians, will have players laughing. On top of the main story, there's also the control that players have over placing businesses and hustles around the city, slowly spreading their influence by completing entertaining side missions and activities that offer unique benefits such as cars, clothes, weapons, and other goodies. If Saints Row has one flaw that holds it back, it's the glitches and bugs that may arise. From missing lines of dialogue, to characters popping in and out of existence, to needing to restart a mission as a result of an objective refusing to clear, Saints Row isn't without its technical faults. But when you pull the curtain back on the experience as a whole, especially as a worthy Saints Row experience, this reboot has everything a fan of the series could want from a new entry, creating something that's both familiar, yet fresh and inventive.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in video games. Is the impact of the violence in Saints Row affected by the over-the-top nature of it? Can violence be used to convey a deeper message in a story? Or does violence always override whatever bigger intentions a story may have? Can video games make a solid effort at satire? Or is satire too nuanced of a concept to correctly achieve in this medium? Why, or why not?

  • When working on one project after another, what's the best way to go about tackling the newer project? Do you stick with what worked before and try to build upon it, or is it better to take risks and go in a different direction? What are the pros and cons of both options?

Game Details

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