Volition – We call Saints Row’s art style ‘exaggereal’

With the news that Saints Row The Third Remastered is coming in May, we got to hear stories about the creation of the original game from Art Director Frank Marquart. He said that the art team at Volition called the style of Saints Row “exaggereal.” This term was meant to help people understand the mix of “exaggerated, over the top expression with just enough of reality to keep it grounded.”

As Saints Row The Third Remastered has had a significant visual overhaul, Marquart said that the real part of ‘exaggereal’ “is certainly much, much stronger.” He also said that having exaggerated visuals helps to make the realism stand out.

Saints Row The Third Remastered

Nikolay Stoyanov, Lead Art Director on the remaster said that “exaggereal was very important for the remaster.”

When we started working on the environments, we put all those realistic looking PBR (physics based rendering) assets in the game and of course they look more realistic and natural.

However, the game has its own voice and style that was very important. We had to put that back on the top and recalibrate and repallete the while title so it fit both PBR and the heritage of Saints Row.

Stoyanov added that in order to make the PBR assets work with the ‘exaggereal’ art style, some values had to be pushed beyond realism and their true/actual values.

Saints Row The Third Remastered will launch for PC, PS4 and Xbox One on May 22, 2020.

Leo Stevenson
Leo Stevensonhttps://powerup-gaming.com/
I've been playing games for the past 27 years and have been writing for almost as long. Combining two passions in the way I'm able is a true privilege. PowerUp! is a labour of love and one I am so excited to share.

━ more like this

Doom: The Dark Ages Review (PS5 Pro) | Ultra-Nightmarishly Good

I did something stupid with this review. Though I only had six days to clock, assess, and pen this article, I attempted Doom: The...

DOOM: The Dark Ages Guide – How Many missions are there in DOOM: The Dark Ages?

DOOM: The Dark Ages isn't far off now. You can read our review right now if you'd like to know our thoughts on it,...

Check out the official trailer for The Conjuring: Last Rites, coming to cinemas 4 September 2025

Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. have today relased the official teaser trailer for The Conjuring: Last Rites. The ninth entry in a franchise that...

Live-action Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie will hit Aussie cinemas in September

Universal Pictures has today released the official trailer for Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie. Based on the Dreamworks Animation series, Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie is...

Adults is a new comedy series coming to Disney+ on 29 May, trailer released

Disney+ has today released the official trailer for the new comedy series Adults. Created by Ben Kronengold & Rebecca Shaw, the eight-episode series will...