Saints Row: The Third (2011)
Saints Row: The Third is a 2011 shooter video game made by Volition and Square Enix.
The Saints are no longer a street gang. They are a global brand with energy drinks and action figures, and when a robbery goes sideways in the city of Steelport, they find themselves at war with the Syndicate, a criminal conglomerate that controls three rival operations. Saints Row: The Third commits fully to absurdist excess: tanks fall from planes, a professor of genki hosts a murderous game show, and the city is plastered with your gang's logo by the end. It is a game that finds a consistent comedic register and holds it start to finish.
Quick answers
What is Saints Row: The Third about?
The Saints are no longer a street gang. They are a global brand with energy drinks and action figures, and when a robbery goes sideways in the city of Steelport, they find themselves at war with the Syndicate, a criminal conglomerate that controls three rival operations. Saints Row: The Third commits fully to absurdist excess: tanks fall from planes, a professor of genki hosts a murderous game show, and the city is plastered with your gang's logo by the end. It is a game that finds a consistent comedic register and holds it start to finish.
When was Saints Row: The Third released?
Saints Row: The Third was released on 15 November 2011.
Who made Saints Row: The Third?
Saints Row: The Third was made by Volition, Square Enix and Deep Silver.
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Saints Row: The Third in our writing
- Companion guide: Street Gangs
A few thoughts on Saints Row: The Third
Greatest Boss of Japan plays in a similar spirit of criminal hierarchy turned spectacle, though from a very different cultural angle. Both treat organized crime as an inherently theatrical institution.
Comedy that goes gleefully over the top and never looks back
Saints Row: The Third commits fully to its own absurdity, tanks falling from planes, a professor of genki running a murderous game show, and holds that register from the first mission to the last. Gintama swings as hard between slapstick and swordplay, Dr. Slump and Crayon Shin-chan build entire worlds out of gleeful nonsense, and The Simpsons has spent decades proving satire can stay silly and sharp at once.
Musicians who treat absurdity as an art form
Saints Row: The Third never plays its excess straight, it leans into every ridiculous set-piece with total commitment, which is exactly the spirit Frank Zappa built a career on. Apostrophe and Sheik Yerbouti turn musical virtuosity into a punchline, Tenacious D treats arena rock as one long bit, and Straight Outta Lynwood proves a genre can be mocked and loved in the same three minutes.