Rama’s Mayhem ability allows her to fire a single plague-inducing arrow at a target, causing them to explode (yes, that’s definitely how diseases work), spreading the malady to anyone caught in the blast radius. She’s quick, her bow deals heaps of damage, and she is by far the best-written character I came across during my two hours with the game. It isn’t long before I find my favourite: Rama, a stoic archer from India.

On their own, each hero is quite plain, but because you get to take three of them into missions, switching between each one with the press of a button, it feels like you’re controlling one hero with a wide range of abilities.

At least the fight itself is frantic and engaging, with each hero’s triple-jump ability coming in handy as barrages of rockets rain down in intervals.Ĭombat in general is solid, actually, with each character fulfilling a distinct role in skirmishes – there are also some impressive Mayhem abilities available once you’ve dealt a sufficient amount of damage. Poisonous gases on the surface of Uranus, Uranus is huge, Uranus makes me uncomfortable – at best it’ll elicit a titter, at worst it’s downright loathsome. One boss encounter I came across takes place in a planetarium, where the ongoing back-and-forth between my three heroes and the villain centres on the planet Uranus – obviously. It’s no surprise to find Saints Row’s Gat among the playable heroes, alongside Kingpin and Yeti, annoying and unnecessary reminders that Agents of Mayhem is actually a Saints Row spin-off rather than its own entity.

However, once it’s over, you’re dumped straight back to the purple-tinged, fleur-de-lis-stamped world of arse jokes and cringe-inducing stereotypes. The aesthetic rolls together the bold colours, bloom lighting, and anime influences of modern Saturday morning cartoons. A lot of love has been poured into the numerous animated cutscenes that bookend missions, and introduce its myriad heroes and villains.

The tonal clash at the heart of Agents of Mayhem mars what could otherwise be a charming open-world hero shooter. Agents of Mayhem has the lot, not to mention a few of its own neat ideas, but it’s too busy trying to squeeze in alongside Saints Row – its crass progenitor – for any of the game’s better qualities to properly shine.Įnjoy yourself a bit of gaming freedom? Check out our list of the best sandbox games on PC. You know what’s pretty popular in gaming right now? Heroes, abilities, animated tie-ins, and vibrant, cartoony visuals.

Fleur de lis saints row