Agents of Mayhem Critic Reviews

It's not easy to still find ways to innovate in the open-world space, but Voltion has managed to stay on the pulse of the genre well enough over the past few years. Agents of Mayhem is another strong entry in the developer's fan-favorite library, and has just as many memorable characters and moments as the best Saints Row titles. There are times where it feels like a bit of a grind, but even those elements are outmatched by Agents' charm. Saving the world has never been this vulgar or felt this good, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

A refined, fun and surprising spin-off that you don’t have to miss.

Agents of Mayhem may not be the best open world action game but it is full of awesome gameplay, satisfying exploration, and diverse characters that help keep the experience fresh. In the end, Volition tried something new and it definitely paid off.

The Saints Row vibe is strong, but Volition's latest is still a brilliantly bonkers blast-fest.

Few would consider the combat in the various Saints Row games particularly memorable, so it’s surprising to discover that the frantic, fast paced battles and excellent agent switching gameplay end up being the true heroes of Agents of Mayhem. While it’s disappointing that the open world feels surplus to requirements at times, it’s the 80s cartoon atmosphere and absorbing upgrade system that also help ensure that this is more than just a Saints Row spin-off.

Agents of Mayhem is cheesy, rarely funny, and generally ridiculous, but I was eager to play for long periods of time. The action is frenetic and fun, with room for strategy using all the characters’ assorted abilities. Even if Seoul ends up being a bland backdrop, I enjoyed being in the world and causing explosions in at every opportunity.

Hero-swapping tactics add a unique edge to third-person combat, while humor and heart elevate Agents of Mayhem's typical world-saving fundamentals to memorable heights.

I expected to come out of Agents of Mayhem wishing that Volition simply made Saints Row V instead. But now? Now I’m looking forward to what other trouble this budding agency can get itself into, and that’s saying something.

Quotation forthcoming.

The team behind Saints Row showcase their balls of steel by taking the plunge into the deep end and taking you along for the rough and ready ride that is Agents of Mayhem.

It's not as funny and polished as most of the Saints Row games, but Agents of Mayhem is still a lot of uncomplicated fun.

Agents of Mayhem lacks some inventiveness and the level design is often uninspired. It's basic in the gameplay dynamics, but nonetheless can be pretty fun. Don't expect anything too fancy, or rich, content-wise: if you loved Saints Row, this is the perfect filler before the beginning of the new gaming season.

From a creative standpoint, Agents of Mayhem is great. Its world stands on its own, looks good, and is hilariously written well… for the most part. Playing around with the agents’ special abilities can even be fun, but many missions felt repetitive and dull.

The last effort of Volition, of course, does not invent anything, resulting in a very canonical and direct action / shooter, an unusual mix between Just Cause, Battleborn and Crackdown.

Agents of Mayhem is an interesting experiment, but with short legs. While on one hand we have twelve agents all different and fun to use in fast-paced and dynamic gameplay mechanics, on the other hand we have a gameplay experience ruined mostly for the repetition of missions background and the copious presence of bugs and glitches ready to make you start a great run over again.

After finishing the game, I was brought right back into the world with all my leveled up agents, able to replay any mission I wanted to progress in anything I hadn’t finished. Ultimately I had a great time becoming an agent; I laughed, I shoot a bunch of baddies, and I grew to love the Agents of Mayhem. There is quite a bit of content here and this won’t blow anyone away as far as mission design or open world games goes, but I couldn’t stop smiling, laughing, and playing until it was finished, regardless of its flaws.

Agents of Mayhem retains the essence and fantastic sense of humor of Saints Row and adds fresh characters, a new story and several new mechanics to the formula.

Though Agents of Mayhem has a slow start, the game gets very entertaining along the way, thanks to the non stop action, variation in characters and controls. The story and the jokes are pretty lame though.

Agents of Mayhem is a good action game with a tremendous generic feeling. Although it is fun to play, sadly it doesn't have anything that makes it shine like other games, even less like those like of the Saints Row series. If you play it you could have a really good time; just don't expect anything outstanding.

Agents of Mayhem is a game with very good ideas and quite enjoyable, but it can't avoid feeling repetitive. Also, its recommended difficulty is ridiculously low, and it makes the game feel more boring than it actually is. Make sure you play it on harder levels so it forces you to use the three-character team mechanics.