Saints Row is a series that originally started off as an alternative to Grand Theft Auto. It was gritty, aimed for a sense of realism, and was all about gang warfare in a city. It had slightly silly weapons, but it was mostly played straight. However, as the series went on, it became more and more outlandish.
While the second game in the series kept much of the first game’s tone, things started to become intensely silly when Saints Row: The Third was released in 2011. This saw the game put its tongue firmly in its cheek, and essentially had it become a parody of what it was up until that point. Then things got even more ridiculous in Saints Row IV, at which point the series became one of the best co-op superhero games going.
We’re on the precipice of another new Saints Row game, and you might be wondering how it all fits together.
All the Saints Row games in order
The Saints Row timeline is actually pretty easy to follow along with, at least up until this year’s entry. We’ll go into more details in each of the sections, but generally speaking, if you’re playing these games in the order they were released, then you’re following along with the story as The Boss intended.
Saints Row – 2006
While there’s no specific date listed, it’s probably fair to assume that it was set around the same time the game was released, so the mid-00s. This game was our first introduction to the city of Stilwater which is in the midst of a war between various gangs. You play as an unnamed custom character who gets saved by the 3rd Street Saints, and your aim is to make it through the story to help the Saints rise to the top and take out the other gangs.
Saints Row 2 – 2008
The second game in the series has you playing the same character, but you’re now known as The Boss. Having been so integral to the success of the 3rd Street Saints, you were basically plopped at the top, but you ended up in a coma for a period of time. The story itself is set around five years after the first game, and sees you coming back onto the streets to help the Saints once again prove their mettle, but this time against three new gangs.
Saints Row: The Third – 2011
While there’s no specific time frame for the third entry, it’s presumably set at least a year after the second game, because the Saints have become popular enough to effectively be their own franchise and have become celebrities. You once again take control of The Boss, but this time find yourself and the gang in Steelport fighting off three more gangs who make up an organisation called the Syndicate. You once again have to take down the baddies and rise to the top, but at least it’s in a new city. This is also where the gameplay started to become absurd, so it’s widely regarded as one of the best games in the series.
Buy Saints Row: The Third here.
Saints Row IV – 2013
Saints Row IV is set roughly five years after the third game, and this time The Boss has wound up as the President of the United States. If it sounds silly then just wait, it’s not even the half of it. Having only just started settling into the office and having made a few key decisions about which problems to solve, you promptly get abducted by aliens. You and the gang then all get put into a simulated version of Steelport, but all end up gaining superpowers and eventually escaping. It’s wild and is the connoisseur’s choice for the best game in the series, and running around with a mate is a riot.
Saints Row: Gat out of Hell – 2015
Gat out of Hell is technically an expansion to Saints Row IV, but it’s standalone, so we’re counting it here. This game has you taking control of either Johnny Gat or Kinzie Kensington who have decided to travel to hell to try and rescue The Boss, who’s been abducted by Satan. This is where the series gets slightly more convoluted. Technically speaking, your choices at the end of the game dictate what happens here, including one where Earth is recreated which leads to a tangentially related game called Agents of Mayhem, which was a flop, so we’re not writing about it.
Saints Row – 2022
Now we’re all up to date, does that mean that Saints Row (2022), which is different to Saints Row (2006), is going to be set after all of this chaos? No. Saints Row (2022) is actually a reboot of the series which will be set in a new location called Santo Ileso which is controlled by three different gangs, and you have to try and work them all over and try and take over. It looks to be a lot more grounded again, but hopefully, it retains some of the humour that’s made the series so enjoyable thus far. We will miss the superpowers though, make no mistake.
