Saints Row 4: Enter the Dominatrix Review

Volition's Saints Row 4 arrived at the tail-end of summer, and was a fun, super-power-filled romp through Steelport. This week, the first bit of planned downloadable content arrived in the form of Enter the Dominatrix. Originally slated to be an add-on for Saints Row 3, many of the ideas from Enter the Dominatrix were adopted for use in the full release of Saints Row 4. As such, Enter the Dominatrix feels more like deleted scenes that weren't quite ready to make the final cut. After playing the hour-long DLC, it's painfully clear why.

Taking part outside of the core game, Enter the Dominatrix's five missions are told from the perspective of Saints Row 4's cast. The Boss, Shaundi, Kinzie and the rest are appearing on a talk show to give an account of the axed content. There are even a few appearances from characters like Donnie, who only appears in Enter the Dominatrix and is shocked to find out he was not in the final version of Saints Row 4. As a framing device, it's serviceable, but as a result, the narrative (what little of it there is), doesn't really carry any weight.

Rather than having an actual story to progress through, you'll re-enact scenes as the cast remembers them. Early, you'll dispatch of Zinyak, the main antagonist of the game proper, and it's then the computer develops a physical manifestation of its intelligence in the Dominatrix. Basic plot points are given quickly, and you're then thrown right into a fight of some sort. Most missions require you to run from one point of the map to another in order to save one of the other Saints, and then battle some BDSM goons or the Dominatrix herself. It's all very "been there, done that," and Volition knows it.

During some of the interviews, the Saints will joke about gaming tropes like escort missions and repeatedly fighting off the same foes over and over again. Of course, since Enter the Dominatrix is actually guilty of those very same things, the satire falls more than a bit flat. In fact, it feels more like Volition is poking fun at us for being suckered into picking up the discarded content. When you add in the fact the cut scenes are merely story boards, or even re-enactments featuring action figures, the sting really starts to set in. And, despite claims from the characters the ending was too crazy, even for Saints Row, even that moment was too eerily similar to stuff we've seen before from the franchise.

That's not to say there aren't some humorous moments. It's just that those laughs are far outnumbered by groans. There's a reason this content didn't make it into the final game, and Volition's admission that these were deleted segments doesn't make them any more fun to play. Yes, you get new weapons, vehicles and costumes. Yes, you get new Crew members to call up for help. None of that is worth the price of entry. Die-hard Saints Row fans might find something to enjoy here if they look hard enough, but Enter the Dominatrix should have stayed on the cutting room floor.

This review was based on a downloadable copy of Saints Row 4: Enter the Dominatrix purchased for review.