At first glance, Volition’s Agents of Mayhem looks like a spin-off that didn’t spin far away enough from its older brother, Saints Row. While the two definitely share more than a few strands of the same DNA (both are open-world shooters from a third-person perspective that don’t really give a damn about realism), Agents of Mayhem is a more measured, less dildo-heavy venture.
Owing a lot to Hollywood’s superhero boom (one of its character even has an Iron Man skin), Agents of Mayhem is out today and with the embargo lifted, reviews have been pouring in. It was never going to be a critical darling, but AoM has been receiving decent enough scores already. The opinions are mixed, ranging from average to good, though a few of the verdicts so far mention that it retains a lot of the fun factor from the SR series.
Here’s what the Agents of Mayhem reviews have been saying so far:
IGN – Jon Ryan – 7.1/10
[Full Review]“A broad and goofy arsenal of unique weapons and gadgets and the ability to switch characters on the fly to access complementary abilities offers some solid combat and good mindless fun, but due to some unpolished writing and repetitive environments and enemy types, it doesn’t fully live up to its heroic potential.”
Polygon – Justin McElroy – 5.5/10
[Full Review]“Agents of Mayhem heaps theoretical fun on you. Characters, powers, upgrades, tons of missions — it’s desperate to for the player to just have fun. It’s a noble impulse, but one that it’s depressingly incapable of consistently delivering on.”
Kotaku – Mike Fahey – No Score
[Full Review]“Agents of Mayhem is many things, but mostly it’s what happens when the development studio responsible for one of the raunchiest game series dials back the dildos and gives its heroes a little more maturity and humanity. It’s something special. Like Uranus.”
Dualshockers – Tomas Franzese – 7.5
[Full Review]“If the world of Agents of Mayhem intrigues you, I would recommend diving into it — just know that under the hood, its missions and open world aren’t as creative as the rest of the game.”
Destructoid – Nick Valdez – 7/10
[Full Review]“Enjoying Agents of Mayhem is sort of like watching a cartoon you used to love without the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia or the naivete of youth. You’ll get more of a kick laughing at it, rather than with, but there’s a smile on your face either way.”
Push Square – Alex Stinton – 8/10
[Full Review]“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.”
God Is A Geek – Mick Fraser – 8/10
[Full Review]“The side missions do become a little pale after a while, and the campaign missions outside the multi-stage boss fights are pretty formulaic, but the action, humour, diverse roster, and sheer amount of game on offer are enough to offset such complaints. It may not be a modern masterpiece, but Volition’s latest knows exactly what it wants to be and exactly how to be it.”
Want more mayhem? Check out all fifty of Agent of Mayhem’s PS4 trophies.
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