Saints Row: The Third Remastered is free on the Epic Games Store alongside Automachef

Expect some bugs

To play off of yesterday’s reveal of Saints Row (2022), a reboot with a fresh cast in a fictional new Southwestern US city, Deep Silver is giving out Saints Row: The Third Remastered for free on the Epic Games Store. The remaster joins this week’s other, already-confirmed freebie: the factory-building puzzle game Automachef.

If you want ’em, both games are claimable until September 2, 2021.

Even if it falls short of Saints Row 2, or at least my memory of Saints Row 2 being earnest and interesting to explore and take in, I liked the third game fine at the time — it’s ridiculous, in good and bad ways, and it’s action-packed if that’s what you’re after.

That said, Saints Row: The Third is one of those games I don’t feel like I need or want to return to, you know? If you’re in the mood for zany open-world criminal antics, this remaster is packed with content, and the textures and lighting are noticeably upgraded.

Preferences aside, a quick look at the Steam user reception to Saints Row: The Third Remastered doesn’t inspire much confidence. Some of it is general saltiness, but there are technical issues (audio problems, performance woes, an inconsistent frame rate), to the point where some folks prefer the original version. Never a good sign for a remaster.

As for Automachef, it’s as enjoyable as it looks — if, in fact, this premise looks enjoyable to you. It’s a game about building a food-producing factory one laser-focused machine at a time, as efficiently as possible, and while a lot of these supply-chain games can feel intimidating to break into, this one really isn’t too bad. If I can scrape by, you can too!

Next week’s free release, Yoku’s Island Express, runs from September 2–9. Do not sleep on this game. Sorry, that sounded like a threat. Kindly, do not skip this warmhearted metroidvania game with super fun pinball platforming mechanics.

It’s got a heart of gold, I tell ya.