Famed GTA like series Saints Row is back (to a degree) in an all-new spinoff series that takes it’s zaniness & insanity to heart. Taking place within the same universe of it’s predecessor, Agents of Mayhem puts players in control of both brand new and familiar faces as they unleash chaos as agents of M.A.Y.H.E.M against their oppressors L.E.G.I.O.N looking to shut them down.

Agents of Mayhem is a 2017 open-world action adventure game, it is developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver, it is available for PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.

Editor’s Note: A PS4 review copy for Agents of Mayhem was provided by Deep Silver. 

Bringing mayhem one character out of twelve at a time.

Agents of Mayhem is a bit of a strange one it’s based within the same universe of predecessor Saints Row, a well-beloved Deep Silver franchise akin to Grand Theft Auto (though it thankfully deters from this over crowded comparison in latter games). The issue here is Agents of Mayhem isn’t all that similar to it’s sister game, and while that’s ok in the grand scheme of things, it could definitely turn off past audiences of the aforementioned predecessor.

Your first three agents: Hollywood (middle), Fortune (left), and Hardtack (right).

THE GOOD: While Agents of Mayhem already has an established source material of sorts, it does it’s best to seem like a totally different world, and for what its efforts are worth, it definitely succeeds. There are no gangs, turf wars, or any of the like here. Instead it’s one organization vs the other; M.A.Y.H.E.M & L.E.G.I.O.N. Mayhem of course being the good guys with Legion being the bad. You can choose a team of three characters out of a grand total of twelve who have their own special abilities and weapons (as well as voice overs which is great). Agents of Mayhem wants you to feel like you’re playing a classic Saturday Morning cartoon (if it was rated TV-MA) and the presentation of it feels genuine enough to bring a few smiles of appreciation.

An open-world that’s a little too open with space.

Core gameplay feels like third-person shooters that go for that Overwatch type of style which is fine in of itself. The story is told through fully animated and fully voiced cut scenes & are rather enjoyable and some of the boss fights can be pretty fun.

Mayhem gets animated.

THE BAD: While the distance from Saints Row is one of Agents of Mayhem’s biggest pros it can also be one of the biggest cons. There’s a certain loss of magic with the lack of cartoony, over-the-top violence which made Saints Row so special in the new game, however this wasn’t really ever advertised as a Saints Row title until around the time of the Johnny Gat DLC getting announced, so it’s fair play really. There are times when the gameplay also feels rather repetitive in some cases, but this is a minor annoyance above all else.

Not quite the Saints Row you remember, and that’s ok.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: While only a first effort at attempting to once again change the Saints Row formula, Agents of Mayhem is an above average affair into further expanding the already established franchise. The Saturday morning cartoon vibe and fun yet repetitive gameplay is enough to hold off fans of the source material until the eventual follow-up entry.