Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell Review

If you're a fan of the Saints Row game series, Gat out of Hell is going to feel a lot like coming home. If you've just played Saints Row IV this past weekend – while it was free on Steam – you're going to feel like you're playing the next chapter in the same game. That's what Gat out of Hell is, after all – not a brand new title, but the second part of a saga started back when Earth was invaded by Zinyak in the year 2013. Now it's time to turn those computer-generated superpowers in on themselves and head down to Satan's pits, a place where instead of digital nonsense, you'll be working with good ol' analog killing goodness: blood, lava, and heavenly (or hellbound) magic.

The series could have gone two places after Saints Row IV was done. We could have been taken back in time to face off against the ancestors of the 3rd Street Saints – that's one way to move forward. The other was to move to another plane of reality – here to hell.

To bring you into the underworld, the developers behind Gat out of Hell have recreated Steelport – sort of – making it into a set of boroughs dedicated to pain and anguish.

Citizens are replaced by husks, gang members (or Zin) are replaced by hell's minions. It's just like Saints Row IV in another dimension.

Another example of this "alternate dimension" take on Steelport is in the various challenges you'll undertake.

You're not Trail Blazing here, nor are you Cyber Blazing – here you're Hellblazing.

Once again you get the choice between using the wild guns of your enemies or the more traditional guns of your own gang.

This time that doesn't mean using energy blasters, it means using fire blasters – or as the first next-level weapon we found showed us – heavenly bursts of energy collected from the souls of the damned.

There's also a very big hammer to be had.

The first bigtime weapon we found was the Arc of the Covenant. Very similar in aesthetics to the arc as seen in Indiana Jones, this weapon sits on your back like a power pack from Ghostbusters. It may as well be, too, since loading it up means sucking up your enemies at close range.

Flying like a superhero in Saints Row IV is replaced here by flying with angelic wings set aflame by the powers of death. Flying with wings is NOT as easy as flying in SRIV – but the rewards in learning how to fly are far greater.

If you've found another game that makes a human avatar flying with angel's wings more enjoyable, we'd like to hear about it.

The storyline in this game is new and enjoyable, very obviously coming from the same people – or some very similar minds – as Saints Row IV. You're sent to hell to collect the President – the character you were in the previous game – who has been kidnapped by Satan to marry his daughter Jezebel.

Set the game to easy mode and you'll be able to rip through it in a week. Set it to hard, and you'll have weeks of gameplay ahead of you.

Above you'll see 15 minutes of gameplay about 25% of the way through the game. You can play as Gat or Kinzie, switchable in your home base once you start your game session.

The big difference between this game and past Saints Row titles is the lack of customization options you're offered. This title is all about gameplay, not so much about dressing up.

Is Saints Row: Gat out of Hell worth it on its own? For the $19.99 USD it'll cost you right out the gate, yes, this game is worth that price all day long.

If you just played Saints Row IV and are sick to death of it, don't expect to get jolted to a whole new place by Gat out of Hell. They're effectively the same basic game, this second chapter turned around to offer a different perspective on a very similar basic take on the game engine.

If you're moving to PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, just wait. I'll be extending this review with our impressions of the Saints Row IV: Re-Elected and Saints Row: Gat out of Hell pack very, very soon.

BONUS: the following gallery is a set of SPOILERS for those of you who wish to see how the game "ends". DO NOT click any of the following thumbnails if you do not want to see the paths this game, in classic Saints Row fashion, allows you to choose from.