It's a shell of a game, it looks like an early prototype that was rushed out the door. And that's probably exactly what it is, it's an attempt at a quick cash grab using an old popular IP. If you enjoy it, that's fine, but let's not keep collectively lowering our acceptable standards.

Disclaimer: I also had a lot of fun with this game but I got it for free with a graphics card.

Part of it was getting rid of the old beloved characters. Shaundi, Pierce, etc. were well loved among fans and sorely missed when the game out. People found the new characters boring and generic, but I don't know if that criticism survived past the release stage.

It also released with quite a few game breaking bugs which had to be ironed out. Par for the course with big budget games these days, frankly.

As a fan of SR3 and SR4, I missed the zaniness of those entries, but that wasn't a common feeling among fans of SR2.

A lot of people hated it for how "woke" it apparently was by having... people of color in it? Commentary about racism and feminism or something? I don't know, it's been a while since I played so I can't recall any instances in particular of it being "woke" enough to offend people who care about that. As a woke SJW myself, I felt it was pretty good on that front without being overbearing.

Sanitized crap compared to the originals. The fun and excess were part of the joke, and all of that was removed.

I haven't played the new one, but I'm also a heretic who enjoyed Agents of Mayhem quite a lot. I've almost 100%'d it.

I also played SR:4 and Gat Outta Hell. Loved 4, never quite finished Gat Outta Hell.

My main gripe with the new Saints Row? It was a FortniteLauncher™ exclusive. I won't buy it until it's on a deep deep sale on Steam. I chose Linux, and they support my choice. Exclusives aren't good for an open market, and I hate what Epic has done so brazenly to young audiences with predatory monetization, intentionally addictive systems, and dark patterns.

Haven't played that one yet, but I went into Cyberpunk 2077 with extremely low expectations based on what people online said. Ended up one of my favorite games I've ever played.

Weird question, but why did you buy a game expecting to hate it?

Did you play the original? Most complaints I saw seemed to focus on that comparison. Itself in a vacuum, it sounded like it was fine.

A lot of reviews and comments (in general, not here) went with a very surface level "critique" about the game without diving into what failed compared to previous titles.

For me personally, the new game missed a lot of what made the previous games special writing wise - characters are barely that, story is way more contrived and bland. Gameplay and activities are nowhere near what we had before as well. It's just a weaker game with a nicer coat of paint.

I know that might be a tough sell, but I feel like this video by Tehsnakerer gives a really good look into what went wrong while avoiding (and even calling out) some of the most common complaints. It's a good watch but it's also 2.5h long and not everyone has time or interest in that. If that's the case I might write a short summary when I have some time.

That said I already had some problems with SR3 and 4, doesn't mean I'm going to try and force people to hate them. If you had fun with the new one that's the important part.

It's OK but nothing spectacular. The further you get into it, the more repetitive the missions get though.

People mostly didn't like the story I think. Personally it was my favorite game since the 2nd one due to the day night cycle and the expansive world.