Steam Users Can Finally Play Controversial New Game

A controversial game from last year has finally come to Steam.

By Tyler Fischer

Steam users can finally play one of 2022's most controversial games as its exclusivity on Epic Games Store has finally come to an end this week. That said, whether Steam users will actually want to play it, is whole nother story. Meanwhile, if you're on Steam Deck, you don't even need to wrestle with this dilemma because the game is not currently playable on Steam Deck, or at least its Steam listing makes no mention of the Steam Deck. What it does reveal though is that the game is 67 percent off to accompany its Steam release. This deal only lasts until August 31, and discounts the game from $59.99 to $19.79. 

As for the mystery game in question, it comes the way of developer Volition and publisher Deep Silver. If you're familiar with the former, you'll know it's best known for the Saints Row series, something it used to be able to hang its hat on, but this isn't the case so much anymore. Last year, Volition rebooted the series, under the same name, and it did not go well.

From the moment it was revealed, Saints Row was met with backlash. The reveal trailer was flooded with dislikes and social media slammed the reboot for not just being cringe and uninspired, but for being very different in tone and presentation than the first few games in the series, which fans are desperate to get back to. Saints Row has always been zany, but it used to be a bit more grounded and more about (parodying) gang culture. As the series went on, it got more and more away from both of these things. With the reboot, it was an opportunity for Volition to get back to the roots of the series, but it did not seize this opportunity. In fact, it doesn't even seem like it attempted to seize this opportunity, but rather went in the opposite direction of it. 

So far, and at the moment of writing this, the game boasts a "Mixed" Steam User Review score, with only 60 percent of 445 user reviews being positive. And this lines up with the game's 61 on Metacritic, though on Metacritic the user reviews are much lower. 

"Who is this game even made for," reads one of these Steam reviews. "For the saints row fans, this is a not recommended. For open world fans, this is a not recommended. For random destruction and chaos, this is a not recommended. For great story and characters, this is a not recommended. For gameplay and progression, this is a not recommended."

"Ultimately, Saints Row may not be the grand return to the franchise that fans were hoping for, but that doesn't mean it's not worth giving a look," reads our review of the game. "Despite a poorly-paced story with average characters, it still has a ton of content and a sandbox that is ripe for hours of co-op fun. Even if you're playing solo, building a criminal empire is empowering and elevates Saints Row beyond being yet another open-world crime game. If it didn't take some steps back or feel buggy and dated, this game would get a more glowing recommendation, but unfortunately, it doesn't hit all of its marks."

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