Two years later, Saints Row 2 doubled down on customization and fixed its predecessors issues. It wasn’t perfect - apart from a few scant lines, the protagonist was conspicuously silent, and you could only play as a male character - but it was a huge milestone leading to more open-ended character creation.
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In the mid-2000s, open-world crime games traditionally put you in the shoes of a predetermined character, but Saints Row let you craft your own member of the Third Street Saints and change their appearance whenever via the in-game surgeon. This is all indicative of a series that, despite growing pains, pushed the boundaries of how we can present ourselves within the digital world. Now, in 2022, long-time series developer Volition has released a Saints Row reboot, with a wide variety of gender non-conforming customization options. With unparalleled customization for its time, the Saints Row series paved the way for future inclusive character creators and, on a more personal note, helped me figure out my own gender identity. It was an open-world crime playground, fair enough, but it had plenty of features to call its own.
![saints row 4 unique character creation ideas saints row 4 unique character creation ideas](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BkAD_-zqn1g/hqdefault.jpg)
When the original Saints Row launched in 2006, many were quick to label the game a Grand Theft Auto clone.