Saints Row IV: Enter the Dominatrix is a downloadable content pack for the 2013 open-world game Saints Row IV. It delivers an alternate story of the alien Zin invasion, heavy fourth-wall breaks, and self-referential jokes about its own production history—originally planned as DLC for Saints Row: The Third, partly absorbed into the sequel, then released as leftover “what could have been” content. It launched October 22, 2013 to mixed or average reviews. Critics especially liked the pack’s treatment of its own development; Eurogamer’s Chris Schilling called that a “very postmodern conceit.” For BDSM-curious gamers, the title villain is literally named the Dominatrix, missions include a BDSM chariot race and a sex-club furry cage sequence, and the tone is campy parody rather than serious SM erotica.
Gameplay: Hijacked Simulation and Unfinished Footage
Enter the Dominatrix tells an alternate Zin-invasion story in which the simulation of Steelport is hijacked by a rogue AI called the Dominatrix. Story advances through cutscene clips framed as “unseen footage” recovered by television journalist Jane Valderama—“what could have been.” Some scenes end in concept art or videos of Volition employees acting out drama, giving the pack an intentionally unfinished feel. Characters from Saints Row: The Third who did not return in the sequel reappear. The player fights the Dominatrix—visualized as a cross between Maleficent and a sex worker—several times. Other missions include using telekinesis to cage furries at a sex club and a BDSM chariot race. There are five missions total. New weapons include a heavy minigun, flamethrower, and grenade launcher; new vehicles and AI support characters (“homies”) join the roster. Up to two players can play cooperatively. The pack constantly acknowledges plot holes and incongruence with the main Saints Row timeline—characters call out the retcons as they happen.
Plot: Interview Framing, Zin Invasion, Paul the Soda Can
Events are narrated as if the 3rd Street Saints and Zinyak (voiced by JB Blanc) are being interviewed about deleted scenes from Enter the Dominatrix, so the narrative is full of retcons, holes, and over-the-top beats the Saints openly mock. The “director’s cut” is set one year after the non-canon ending of Saints Row: The Third, though lieutenant Shaundi (Danielle Nicolet) is inexplicably still alive. The Saints still rule Steelport; Pierce Washington (Arif S. Kinchen) is mayor after Mayor Burt Reynolds’ death. Zin forces invade; the Saints fight back; Josh Birk (Andrew Bowen) is “tragically” killed fighting a giant cyclops. The Boss—voiced by a large cast including Troy Baker, Kenn Michael, Robin Atkin Downes, Laura Bailey, Diane Michelle, Sumalee Montano, or Nolan North depending on customization—faces and kills Zinyak. The Zin rogue AI Dominatrix then takes command, pulls the Saints into a simulation of Steelport under her control, and eventually summons a giant soda can named Paul. The Saints build a spaceship, enter Paul, destroy its brain, and weaken the Dominatrix. After the Boss kills her, Pierce arrives with talking velociraptor backup who take the crew to their king, Cirano. Cirano helps them escape the simulation and grants each a wish. The tone is deliberate nonsense stacked on BDSM-coded villain branding.
Development: April Fools Joke to Sequel Leftovers
THQ announced an Enter the Dominatrix standalone expansion for Saints Row: The Third as an April Fool’s joke in 2012, then confirmed it the next month. The original pitch had alien commander Zinyak imprisoning the Saints’ leader in the Dominatrix simulation of Steelport to stop interference during planetary conquest; superpowers for the player character were also planned. In June, THQ said the expansion would be folded into a full 2013 sequel (working title essentially “the next great Saints Row sequel”). Content that did not make it into Saints Row IV returned as this DLC, developed by Volition, published by Deep Silver, released October 22, 2013. It was followed by the “How the Saints Saved Christmas” pack. High Voltage Software later ported the full game and DLC to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as Saints Row 4: Re-Elected (North America January 20, 2015; worldwide three days later). A Linux port was planned for 2015.
Reception
Metacritic aggregated “mixed or average” scores. Chris Schilling (Eurogamer), citing development history, called the pack “a fascinating case study in how games evolve” and praised the self-referential “postmodern conceit,” even while arguing the Matrix parody and game-mechanics satire were uneven; he found the writing “genuinely funny,” disliked repeated low-budget Dominatrix fights, and recommended it for players who enjoy wry gags about creaky gaming tropes. Eric Patterson (Electronic Gaming Monthly) noted how industry DLC is often content cut from retail and sold back, while Enter the Dominatrix flips that story—shelved content intentionally offered to fans—and called that “fascinating,” though he warned cost-benefit seekers and completionists of the main game might find the mission load thin. Official Xbox Magazine’s Mikel Reparaz enjoyed seeing what “could have been.”
BDSM Angle Without Taking It Seriously
Enter the Dominatrix is not a serious map of D/s practice. It is open-world comedy that weaponizes “Dominatrix,” sex-club missions, and a BDSM chariot race as brandable absurdity inside a franchise already built on excess. For media histories of BDSM in games, it still counts: a AAA comedy villain literally named the Dominatrix, sold as DLC about unfinished SM-flavored sci-fi. Related: BDSM in video games, parody of Matrix-style control fantasies, and how mainstream titles borrow kink vocabulary for spectacle. Play it for meta jokes and short co-op missions; do not mistake Paul the soda can for kink education.
