Ultimately, the best way to look at Saints Row The Third Remastered is as the best version of a 2011 video game. There are things that haven't held up, certainly, and some visual elements are definitely outdated. But for all its warts, both in the ideological and technical sense, The Third represents a better era for gaming. An era before the line between games-as-a-service and single-player experiences were blurred. An era before Ubisoft singlehandedly made open-world games less interesting. An era before Borderlands would set the standard for video game comedy with its egregious blend of yelling humor and memes.

Saints Row: The Third Remastered is from another time. In a time where most games are super serious and epic, it's sort of refreshing. During my playthrough, I was often amazed by the variation in gameplay. If you've played the original a lot, there's not a lot to experience here except better graphics. But for a lot of fun in an open world game, this visit to Steelport still comes recommended.

Saints Row: The Third Remastered, continues to entertain us as much as it did a decade ago. A title that is far from being monotonous and boring. On the other hand, the game maintains its essence and arguments intact with graphic and visual touches according to the time.

If you've never played Saints Row: The Third then this is the case. The absences and most of the shortcomings of the original title remain and today they can't be justified.

It’s still a good time rolling through the city in this Remastered take. Even with the performance issues I experienced, which did hamper the experience sometimes, I found myself having a fair amount of fun being the wackiest criminal I could be. In its current state, it’s not the most polished version of the game, despite being better looking than its original version. But the gameplay here is fun enough to forgive that to some degree. If you’re looking for something outside Los Santos and would rather hit people with a dick bat, this isn’t a bad way to spend some time indoors.

Saints Row: The Third was a sacred moment in time where lunatics reimagined the animus of an open-world crime game. It enabled players to thunderously lead a prestigious gang of miscreants and also turn themselves into a toilet. Eight years later Saints Row: The Third Remastered’s glut of Content is more difficult to digest, but its outrageous ambience is still so sweet.

Saints Row: The Third Remastered can coast on some its nostalgic value. Its multitude of upgrade systems provide the necessary carrots to fulfill a true Saints-like power fantasy and its visuals do look better than ever. And while its humor just barely gets out alive, the other parts of the game — like the incessant, anger-inducing ragdolling, banal side mission design, and lack of new content — aren’t as funny. It’s a dildo bat that still has some heft behind its swing, but it’s gone pretty flaccid in the ensuing nine years.