Saros is likely to be PlayStation’s first blockbuster of 2026, however it additionally seems like a direct reply to the extra padded adventures at the moment flooding the gaming house. It is quick and brutal, however gamers aren’t anticipated to be caught on Carcosa for too lengthy. It is a extra refined and accessible roguelite third-person shooter… but additionally one with much less chunk.
Developer Housemarque isn’t any stranger to picking an arcade-y rhythm and fewer typical construction over cinematic or sandbox approaches, and Saros may very well be a sequel to 2021’s Returnal, if it weren’t for the utterly completely different setting. There is a human protagonist caught on a seemingly doomed, faraway world making an attempt to interrupt a time loop. There are many sci-fi weapons to play with. There’s an enormous thriller on the middle of the journey… the listing goes on.
An enormous “downside” with Returnal was that a shockingly low number of players finished it even years after its launch. Roguelite video games are historically laborious, however Returnal took issues a bit additional, as you did not get many everlasting upgrades the extra you performed.
Every run was additionally remarkably lengthy, even with the added shortcuts. A few of Returnal’s post-launch updates – such because the addition of co-op – softened the ruthless odyssey a bit, however it was a really demanding roguelite that did not get simpler the extra you failed.
Come again stronger
Saros takes a sledgehammer to that strategy virtually from the get-go. In any case, “come back stronger” is the sport’s tagline. It is Housemarque instantly telling gamers this one is safer to strategy. This is not essentially a foul factor; the most important fashionable roguelites – like Supergiant’s Hades – are stuffed to the brim with meta development. I do not assume it harms Saros an excessive amount of that it may be performed like a extra standard shooter if you’d like a cohesive story with spicy gameplay… however do not have the time or endurance to bang your head towards a boss for days or even weeks.
On Carcosa, a planet usually bathed within the mild of ominous eclipses, the Soltari megacorp (you’ll be able to’t have a correct sci-fi horror story with out a kind of) is in search of the Lucenite useful resource. Its potential purposes are by no means fully clear, however Soltari simply consumes all it touches. “That is ours now, we’ll work out what it does later.”
Within the precise sport, the Lucenite permits predominant character Arjun Devraj — a gruff and decided Soltari enforcer performed by Midnight Mass’ Rahul Kohli — to grow to be stronger via swimsuit upgrades at Echelon IV’s (the final of 4 teams despatched to the planet) base of operations.
The upgrades are utilized with a typical talent tree that reinforces Arjun’s stats and (hardly ever) provides new talents like having a “second likelihood” after falling in fight the primary time. That is all positive, and consistent with different roguelites’ college of design. Push previous the second space boss, although, and you may additionally get an additional layer of assist with boosts that may closely reshape the general expertise.
From large injury upgrades to finish well being regeneration earlier than bosses, these buffs provide you with a sizeable benefit in change for some minor negatives, like shedding extra Lucenite when dying or accumulating extra corruption, which lowers your max well being when hit by sure enemy assaults.
That is the form of “modifiers bundle” that is often delivered after you beat the sport, the way in which it was supposed to be performed, as soon as. Right here, it is a weirdly timed crutch that makes all the pieces after the primary two biomes simpler, which is an odd selection that dilutes a lot of what the sport goes for and even the story construction. Whereas not partaking with it is an choice, the sport would not inform gamers it is principally a misplaced issue choices menu.
A story of two video games
Okay, however let’s assume Saros is ideally meant to be overwhelmed in only a handful of seamless runs, touchdown nearer to a conventional third-person shooter than a grueling roguelite. The development methods in place would help such a imaginative and prescient.
Sadly, the sport’s plot — an in any other case intriguing cosmic horror story with psychological thriller components — will get in the way in which of the roguelite format that, issue complaints apart, labored nice in Returnal. By making an attempt to marry up the classical storytelling of different PlayStation blockbusters with Housemarque’s in-house fashion of retro-ish, direct enjoyable, Saros usually finally ends up as misplaced because the Echelon IV crew.
Till you hit the credit, Saros is principally damaged up into little items tied to the story development. Even in case you really feel such as you’re performing nicely sufficient and wish to push onwards, you will be pressured to return to The Passage (the bottom of operations) to take a seat and watch cutscenes that typically aren’t close to the extent of high quality anticipated from first-party PlayStation studios (pre-rendered ones excluded).
Kohli proves to be an awesome lead who can present each restrained emotion and uncooked anger as required, however Saros’s best attract is Carcosa’s sun-bathed, hellish environments and the carnage that brings them alive with a dance of lasers, plasma beams, and whatnot.
Whereas hitting Act 3 — basically the sport’s epilogue — permits gamers to do longer runs with the credit rolled, the last word closing boss requires a return to base since they’re in a distinct space, successfully ending the common runs and resetting the temporal development (artifacts, higher weapons, etcetera) discovered throughout them.
It is one more odd selection that underlines how the sport is at odds with itself, not less than structurally. Updates may add extra to the expertise and supply alternate options, however because it stands, Saros fails to search out its footing as a extremely replayable, run-based journey. Shockingly, even the extent chunks and weapon choice are poorer and far more predictable than in Returnal; variance is minimal, and it isn’t lengthy earlier than you acknowledge map patterns each couple of bite-sized runs or so.
Nonetheless, most of those negatives do not matter a lot once you’re within the warmth of the motion, dashing via partitions of colourful power orbs, blocking and parrying extra harmful assaults, and unleashing hell on twisted, virtually demonic monstrosities that reply to a King in Yellow (Ambrose Bierce and Robert W. Chambers are required studying right here) who could or could not behind the reality-bending disaster afflicting Carcosa.
The kings of sci-fi motion return(al)
I am certain there will not be a big-budget motion sport this 12 months that performs in addition to Saros. That is the one half the place Housemarque totally delivered a straight improve over its previous video games.
In fact, Saros can also be one more beautiful showcase of the PS5’s extra distinctive options. The worn-down majesty of the environments is beautiful, and it by no means feels cluttered or obscures the motion. Likewise, the bullet hell motion is pure chaos, however by some means additionally extremely readable; it jogs my memory of Doom: The Dark Ages‘ more frenetic battles, but taken up to eleven.
Split-second defensive and offensive decisions are informed by the system’s 3D spatial audio, which is put to great use by Housemarque alongside the DualSense’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Returnal was a remarkable showcase of what the PS5 could do in the right hands, and Saros’ overall feeling and presentation has the studio telling everyone else to step their game up. Oh, and a special shoutout to Sam Slater’s absolute banger of an original soundtrack.
It is a disgrace Saros’ roguelite effort is so half-hearted, however that is what occurs once you attempt to please everybody.
Whereas not tremendous elegant, the story and characters are attractive sufficient, Kohli convinces as a tormented motion hero, and Carcosa’s mythology will linger in my reminiscence for some time. These components elevate the really unbelievable moment-to-moment gameplay and persistently thrilling boss battles, daring to ask whether or not roguelite video games may very well be extra. Whether or not they can pose the massive questions.
It simply hasn’t totally come collectively this time round, however that is nonetheless a suggestion for sci-fi motion sport followers… only one with just a few massive caveats. Hopefully, Housemarque leveled up on this run, and their subsequent one will likely be higher.
Saros is offered now for buy on PS5.
A PS5 overview code for Saros was supplied by Sony.
