Here’s a Saints Row game that you can never play, because it was canceled in 2010

By Will Fulton October 14, 2014

check cancelled saints row brawler 2010 cooler thecooler02 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The digital archaeologists of Unseen 64 have unearthed details of a canceled brawler spin-off to the Saints Row series that was being developed for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2010, Saints Row: The Cooler. Unlike the other entires in the series, The Cooler would not have been an open-world game, but rather a motion-controlled fighting game, utilizing the Kinect and PlayStation Move for throwing punches and kicks.

The title apparently referred to a nickname of the main character, a low level bouncer working his way up from the slums into classier venues and punching so many dudes along the way. During fights the perspective would switch to first person, displaying your enemies head-on as you timed your blows and blocks. Ancillary mini-games like poker tournaments and a light, RPG like economy and progression would have added variety, but this was generally a much more linear affair than the other Saints Row games.

Related: What could have been: check out the cancelled Super Mario Spikers

Publisher THQ cancelled the project in 2010 when it was about 60% complete, citing “quality concerns.” The game had never been publicly announced. Some of its animations and the motion-controlled fighting framework was transferred over to UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System.

You can check out a few surviving images from development and imagine what could have been over at Unseen 64.

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Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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