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[Unk Adams]

At one point Volition Games used to give us classics like this:

To stuff no on wanted or asked for that predictably flopped and copies quickly ended up in $5 bargain bins:

To games where the art style clearly looks like a cheap rip-off of another property (Fortnite):

On social media they also appear to be disrespecting their loyal fanbase by not responding to their complaints about how they "rebooted" a series by changing everything they liked about it in the first place. I remember in old interviews in gaming magazines they seemed like actual human beings giving interviews and responding to questions instead of just corporate robots. They also seem very out of touch when explaining the reason for the new direction in a "fellow kids", clueless boardroom type of way.

So what causes a previously good company to go downhill like this and to not care about their fans at all? You can say it's about money, but with Agents of Mayhem getting a poor reception and flopping hard that doesn't seem to be the case. Were their earlier efforts a fluke? Did they lose their talent over time? Too many new people at the company?

What other examples can you think of where previously good gaming company's products suffered a steep decline in quality?

 

[Dream-Knife]

Rareware comes to mind with a steep decline in quality, but I have not played Sea of Thieves, which people seem to enjoy.

Doesn't EA and Activision do this all the time and walk away with impunity?

 

[IntentionalPun]

We have like 2 threads discussing this already lol

 

[M1chl]

We have like 2 threads discussing this already lol

In this case we need more of them.
Since I am hurt by all of this

 

[IntentionalPun]

In this case we need more of them.
Since I am hurt by all of this

I'm sorry you are hurt friend <3

 

[Loke]

Can't even believe these are the same devs that gave us this masterpiece.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

It's bound to be new folk. The type the Twitter mod rally behined, the wokey type. We seen it in every type of media in the last few years. Guaranteed.

 

[intbal]

Red Faction credits

Agents of Mayhem credits

These are not the same people. All the old Volition devs are gone.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

What dev studio WOULDN'T want to chase that money?
I have to imagine the conversion rate of pulling in new players that think it looks like fortnite (no idea if this is true...but that seems to be the narrative making the rounds) compared to the players that played "Saints Row: The old stuff" would be massive.

Everyone seems to think that studios get to make whatever game they want.....

 

[Kimahri]

So as someone who hasn't played a Volition game since Saints Row 2, what is so bad about this new one? I saw the trailer and was meh, but I was meh since 3,so I don't quite get the reaction.

Also, that picture looks like Fortnite only if everything south of Call of Duty looks like Pixar to you.

Also #2 devs should follow their vision, not butthurt crybabies. That only leads to shitty games, and I say that with zero stakes in whether or not this will be good.

 

[MrSec84]

TBH the game looks alright too me, like a light hearted open world Action game, we also haven't seen a tonne of actual gameplay, but what has been shown looks pretty polished too me.
I didn't get around to playing Agents of Mayhem, but that also looked alright and TBH while it's not a Volition title, Crackdown 3 was pretty fun for what it was.

I'll most likely pick up the game later in the year when it's dropped in price a bit, but then because I'm on a pretty limited income at the moment I don't tend to go out of my way to pay full price for many games nowadays.
I would like to know how big the map is, what variety gameplay there is and does it look fun in regular gameplay showings once the game starts getting more revealed about it.

I think it's really too soon to say that it looks bad.

 

[trikster40]

I really, reeealy wanted to like Agents of Mayhem, but no co-op? The structure was horrible, the city was mostly vertical, and it was just…meh.

 

[KungFucius]

I'm in the minority. I liked the crazy in Saints Row. I'd prefer a sequel that was even more bonkers. Agents of Mayhem was hugely disappointing to me. This new SR title is something I will try if I can get a free copy in a few years, but I am surely not going to play it over the dozen other late winter / spring 2022 games. That is, of course, unless it gets a lot of buzz and people say it is good.

 

[elliot5]

Saints Row reboot looks like some cartoony fortnite garbage!!! /s

please... how about you just let the game come out first..

 

[Fare thee well]

If altering IPs and franchises always stirs such hornets' nests, why not make new IPs and ideas. Don't invoke 'Saint's Row' maybe? It seems like people would give less of a shit if it was just some new game. You always have to do this dance with fans, passing a torch, nodding to the old and new, blah blah blah. Idk, maybe the company and others love the drama. Maybe that's just the status quo now

 

[Banjo64]

Rareware comes to mind with a steep decline in quality, but I have not played Sea of Thieves, which people seem to enjoy.

Doesn't EA and Activision do this all the time and walk away with impunity?

Rare aren’t as good as their N64 heyday, however Viva Piñata (and it’s sequel Trouble in Paradise), Kameo and Nuts and Bolts are all quality games.

To OP, the awnser is that it’s not the companies making these games, but the staff members.

Once enough time has passed and enough key personnel leave, you are either left with another talented team or a bunch of hacks.

Some companies get their recruitment all wrong and the quality and ethos goes right out of the window.

 

[Elbow Identity Shallow]

I don't know, it surprises me that people cared about their games so much. I always felt that the Red Faction and Saints Row games were average at best and I honestly don't think it would bother me if they never released another game. There are clearly more people who care about their games than I would have suspected though.

 

[Stuart360]

A lot of these studios in decline also trended toward wokeness too over recent years.
Funny that. I suppose thats what happens when you make games to appease a volatile and vocal minority over trying to make a great game.

 

[kiphalfton]

Can't even believe these are the same devs that gave us this masterpiece.

I like to call it the "dream team". It's when you have the right people staffed during a certain period of time. However, it doesn't last forever and people start leaving. Even if a development studio can somehow reel back in some of the talent that left, it will never be the same. Or if a new studio opens that has mostly the same people, it still probably won't be the same caliber. That's life.

So yeah it may be the same development company, but it's in name only.

 

[FrozenFlame]

What dev studio WOULDN'T want to chase that money?
I have to imagine the conversion rate of pulling in new players that think it looks like fortnite (no idea if this is true...but that seems to be the narrative making the rounds) compared to the players that played "Saints Row: The old stuff" would be massive.

Everyone seems to think that studios get to make whatever game they want.....

Ironically, I've seen more cases of trend chasers falling than actually succeeding, so, we'll see how this will pay off...

 

[GhostOfTsu]

Agents of Mayhem with all DLC included is on sale for $5 on PS Plus

 

[PhantomFox94]

I’ve learned in the past few days that the Saints Row fandom is pure shit.

 

[The Alien]

I enjoyed Red Faction just fine. It was a serviceable game.

However Saints Row always felt like a GTA rip-off that aimed for the pre-teen pimple-faced, Mountain Dew drinking fanbase.

Now the people that brought you a giant purple dildo as a weapon are gonna look down upon the very people that buy their games? Could give zero shits or fucks.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

It looks more like a cross between Sunset Overdrive, Watch Dogs 2 and Crackdown to me, the lighting, colour palette.

 

[radewagon]

Nah. Volition is great. They are the kind of mid-tier developer that we need more of. Neat games that don't need to be the next big thing.

And hot take, yo. Agents of Mayhem is a little repetitive but the amount of variety afforded by the large cast is pretty great. I think people were expecting a very different title but the one they released is a good time. It's a strange spoof of the G.I. Joe universe and it's good clean fun if you just shut off your brain and lean into it.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Nah. Volition is great. They are the kind of mid-tier developer that we need more of. Neat games that don't need to be the next big thing.

And hot take, yo. Agents of Mayhem is a little repetitive but the amount of variety afforded by the large cast is pretty great. I think people were expecting a very different title but the one they released is a good time. It's a strange spoof of the G.I. Joe universe and it's good clean fun if you just shut off your brain and lean into it.

At the time I thought they would of done a decent job at making a Kick-Ass game to tie in with one of the movies.

 

[bender]

please... how about you just let the game come out first..

Stop being reasonable.

 

[ManaByte]

but I have not played Sea of Thieves

 

[bender]

Sea of Thieves wishes it could be Viva Pinata.

 

[TLZ]

Saints Row reboot looks like some cartoony fortnite garbage!!! /s

please... how about you just let the game come out first..

You can't just take that out of context to prove your point. Sure 3 and 4 went over the top with silliness, but the characters were still good. That's what made the game for me. When you replace them with these new shitty characters, no thanks. It becomes a different game.

 

[LOLCats]

We have like 2 threads discussing this already lol

We're upset and angry, yes its a game, but its our thing.

also the Cloud must listen!

 

[elliot5]

You can't just take that out of context to prove your point. Sure 3 and 4 went over the top with silliness, but the characters were still good. That's what made the game for me. When you replace them with these new shitty characters, no thanks. It becomes a different game.

?????????????

You haven't even seen how the game plays out. I thought Watch Dogs 2 characters looked dumb as hell, but it was actually pretty good.

 

[bender]

We're upset and angry, yes its a game, but its our thing.

also the Cloud must listen!

Replace heart with Johnny Gat.

 

[TLZ]

?????????????

You haven't even seen how the game plays out. I thought Watch Dogs 2 characters looked dumb as hell, but it was actually pretty good.

I've seen what I've seen from the trailer, which gives a pretty good indication of what it is, in addition to their press release. So I have a pretty good idea what to expect, as that's the point of them showing and telling us what it is. Got the message, and it doesn't float my boat.

 

[Phunkydiabetic]

All of this over what amounts to a cgi trailer and a few minutes of gameplay. Never change gamers.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Can't even believe these are the same devs that gave us this masterpiece.

To be fair, the people working on PC games back then like Freespace vs. Saints Row games are totally different. Also, 20+ years apart. Totally different employees and mindsets involved.

 

[TexMex]

Grow up.

 

[Bulletbrain]

What makes any company good are the people. The "company" is a reflection of those people: their creativity, passion, capability. The products and services we get to enjoy are also a reflection of those people. We always have to remember that people move, teams change, and a company is never static.

 

[Verchod]

Steep decline in quality?!

You played this new game of theirs have you?
Just because you don't like the look of it, doesn't mean it's poor.

And, they've never really made a Top tier product so I wouldn't say it was a steep decline either.

 

[Sorcerer]

I always wonder what the moment was like when Volition, who were making RPG's with pretty serious themes, decided that they would make a nutty/absurd take on GTA. I always wished Volition would take another stab at rpg's, enjoyed the Summoner series as flawed as it might be...but I guess one follows the money.

 

[zeorhymer]

What ever happened with "entice the customer?" Nothing enticing about the trailer. It's not the game speaking for itself, but a VO and the devs.

 

[Darlingcognito]

I'm glad they stuck to it. I'll be there day one.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I like to call it the "dream team". It's when you have the right people staffed during a certain period of time. However, it doesn't last forever and people start leaving. Even if a development studio can somehow reel back in some of the talent that left, it will never be the same. Or if a new studio opens that has mostly the same people, it still probably won't be the same caliber. That's life.

So yeah it may be the same development company, but it's in name only.

This is literally what happened to BIoware

 

[R6Rider]

Many of the complaints are valid, but the ones about the color palette are not. Did they not play the previous titles?

 

[Wrath of the Toomics]

Volition learning the wrong lessons from BioWere

 

[Fredrik]

A lot of these studios in decline also trended toward wokeness too over recent years.
Funny that. I suppose thats what happens when you make games to appease a volatile and vocal minority over trying to make a great game.

Isn’t this mostly an american thing? I don’t think this is a thing in Europe or Asia, to me it seems like there is some politics going on in the US that the rest of the world can barely relate to, it’s so over the top.

 

[AGRacing]

Descent : Freespace and Red Faction were incredible.

But I'm 41 and I'm told their new stuff is fantastic and I'm just a moron for seeing it as uninspired shovelware.

 

[GuinGuin]

I didn't see anything in the trailer that was more "woke" than the old games. It just had a dumb Zoomer aesthetic because that is who is making games these days.

 

[laynelane]

Isn’t this mostly an american thing? I don’t think this is a thing in Europe or Asia, to me it seems like there is some politics going on in the US that the rest of the world can barely relate to, it’s so over the top.

It's been slowly making its way over to where I live in Canada. Not so much the vitriol, but it's not uncommon to be asked my preferred pronouns and what I identify as where I am. Plus employee nametags will have that information and signs about respecting identity in certain stores. I'm not sure about other areas in Canada, though, and I wonder what it's like elsewhere in the world.

 

[kiphalfton]

We're upset and angry, yes its a game, but its our thing.

also the Cloud must listen!

People here keep acting like this whole Saint's Row thing is being blown out of proportion. However, what I think they fail to understand is that whenever you invest a lot of time into something, whatever it may be, you can't help but form an attachment to it. If that thing gets fucked up, you're gonna get pissed.

Since more and more games are having this BS shoehorned in, I think a lot of people see the writing on the wall and are afraid their favorite game series may be up next (if it hasn't already met this fate).

My question is why can't these devs just create new series? Yes name recognition drives sales, but what's worse a new IP failing or a long-running series name being tarnished and never being able to make use of it again in the future?