Enter the Dominatrix
A self-referential DLC exploring an alternate Zin invasion story.
Saints Row IV: Enter the Dominatrix is a downloadable content pack for the 2013 video game Saints Row IV. It presents an alternate story of the alien Zin invasion, with dialogue that frequently breaks the fourth wall and a self-referential style. The pack originated as downloadable content for Saints Row: The Third, was announced on April Fool's Day 2012, later cancelled, and then incorporated into Saints Row IV before the remaining ideas were released as this story pack.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Volition
- Publisher
- Deep Silver
- Series
- Saints Row
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows
- PlayStation 3
- PlayStation 4
- Xbox 360
- Xbox One
- Linux
- Nintendo Switch
- Genre
- Action-adventure
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The 3rd Street Saints and Zinyak sit for an interview about deleted scenes from Enter the Dominatrix, framing the story. The narrative is full of retcons, plot holes, and over-the-top moments, and the Saints admit this freely. The director's cut is set one year after the non-canon ending of Saints Row: The Third, though Shaundi is still alive for no clear reason. The Saints control Steelport, and Pierce Washington became mayor after Mayor Burt Reynolds died.
Zinyak's Zin forces invade, and the Saints fight back, but Josh Birk dies 'tragically' while battling a giant cyclops. The Boss eventually kills Zinyak. After that, the Dominatrix, a rogue Zin AI, takes over the remaining Zin forces and traps the Saints in a simulation of Steelport she controls. The Saints gather allies to fight her, and she summons a giant soda can named Paul to cause chaos.
The Saints build a spaceship, fly inside Paul, and destroy its brain, which weakens the Dominatrix. The Boss defeats her, and Pierce arrives with talking velociraptors. They lead the Saints to their king, Cirano, who helps them leave the simulation and grants each Saint a wish.
Development
THQ initially presented Enter the Dominatrix as a joke for April Fools' Day in 2012, announcing it as a standalone expansion for Saints Row: The Third. The following month, the company confirmed it was actually in development. The story involved the alien commander Zinyak trapping the Saints' leader inside a simulation of Steelport called The Dominatrix to stop them from interfering with his planetary takeover. The expansion was also meant to give the player character superpowers.
By June, THQ decided to fold the project into a full sequel, then known as The Next Great Sequel in the Saints Row Franchise, planned for a 2013 release. After that sequel became Saints Row IV, the parts of the expansion that didn't make it into the main game were released as downloadable content for the new title. Volition developed it, Deep Silver published it, and it came out on October 22, 2013. The next DLC pack after it was How the Saints Saved Christmas.
High Voltage Software later ported Saints Row IV and all its DLC, including Enter the Dominatrix, to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, which launched in North America on January 20, 2015, and worldwide three days later. A Linux version followed later that year.
Reception
Enter the Dominatrix received mixed or average reviews, according to Metacritic. Chris Schilling of Eurogamer described it as a fascinating case study in game evolution due to its development history. Eric Patterson of Electronic Gaming Monthly noted that the DLC's development reversed the typical industry view of downloadable content as cut retail material, and he found it fascinating that a developer would intentionally let players experience shelved content.
Mikel Reparaz of Official Xbox Magazine remarked that it was fun to see what could have been. Schilling called the release's self-referential nature a very postmodern conceit that worked despite parodying The Matrix and satirizing game mechanics. He thought the satire was weak but the writing genuinely funny, and felt the repeated Dominatrix fight scenes should not have seemed so low budget. He recommended the pack to those who enjoy wry gags about creaky gaming tropes with the occasional belly laugh.
Patterson observed that players seeking value for money would be disappointed by the lack of content, especially if they had finished the main game, but he was interested in the behind-the-scenes aspects and encouraged other developers to use them more often.
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