10 Beloved Franchises That Haven't Been Good In A WHILE

As awesome as the first two Saints Row were, the crime sandbox saga initially struggled to distinguish itself as anything but a GTA clone. If Volition didn't do something drastic, their brand could've got lost in the shuffle.

With that in mind, the creators made a ballsy move for Saints Row The Third, leaning into wacky humour, meta-jokes, and Looney Tunes action. Rather than facing off against generic criminals, the threequel allowed you to pummel zombies, shoot vehicles out of a catapult car, and brainwash enemies with octopuses.

Saints Row IV leaned into the zaniness further, letting you team up with Aerosmith, open black holes, and kill people with dubstep.

Saints Row should also be commended for being among the few IPs to become noticeably better and more popular after it jumped the shark.

But it was only a matter of time before Saints Row faltered. The franchise only fumbled once, but it was a doozy. 2022's Saints Row has bland missions, tired humour, uncompelling characters, and a plethora of game-crashing bugs. Looking back, you have to feel bad for Saints Row purists since they waited almost a decade for a game that's barely functional. 

This single entry tarnished Saints Row's reputation so badly, the creators need to go all out with the successor to redeem themselves.