Saros Review

Despite facing lofty competition, Returnal was handily my favourite game of 2021. The tight gunplay and movement, insane production values, and eerie atmosphere coalesced into a very specific experience I didn’t know I needed. Coming into Saros, the bullet-hell follow-up from developer Housemarque, I knew there would be a floor to my enjoyment thanks to what came before. With that said, my primary concern was that it would be too familiar and end up feeling like a sequel rather than the next step in what the Finnish-based studio has been perfecting throughout its existence. Thankfully, after many runs and many deaths, those fears have been completely put to rest.

Coveting the monetary potential of a newly discovered mineral known as Lucenite, megacorporation Soltari did what any profit-first conglomeration would do: claim it. Deposits of this new energy source were found to be rich on the seemingly desolate planet of Carcosa, prompting Soltari to send three separate Echelon contingents to survey, excavate, and colonise the big spinning rock. While Echelon teams I-III were known to have landed, they soon ceased all contact with Soltari, disappearing entirely.

Echelon IV is then dispatched to Carcosa, tasked with finding and reclaiming company assets, otherwise known as the hundreds of missing people, that made up the previous Echelon missions. An Enforcer with Echelon IV, Arjun Devraj (played by Rahul Kohli), has personal stakes in the directive, with someone tied to his past seemingly among the missing. Far from uninhabited, Arjun and the small number of remaining members of Echelon IV attempt to make sense of an ever-changing alien planet that conceals nefarious secrets and offers all too tempting propositions of power.

Carcosa is a threatening, mysterious, yet beautiful alien world  

Those returning from Returnal will feel those same reactionary muscles flex back into life during their first few runs in Saros. Aided by Soltari technology, Arjun is nimble, able to sprint at high speeds, jump high, and dash across short distances and through blue orbs. All these abilities were present and excellent in Returnal, but the responsiveness and fluidity of motion have been tightened and polished here, resulting in some of the most satisfying traversal I’ve experienced in any game, not just the roguelite genre.

Persistent upgrades like a tether and jump pads will further increase Arjun’s movement capabilities as you make your way through Carcosa’s various biomes, but it’s the introduction of the Soltari Shield that truly pushes encounters to the next level. Holding R1 will deploy the Soltari Shield, blocking all incoming blue orbs and absorbing their power. This stored energy can then be redirected back at your enemy in the form of a powerful counterattack. While the shield is a defensive tool, its offensive capabilities incentivise aggression and reward those who risk damage by throwing themselves into the fire.

But it’s not just blue orbs you’ll need to account for. As Arjun makes his way across Carcosa, enemies will become stronger, faster, and more deadly. Yellow projectiles deal damage while also inflicting corruption by blotting out parts of your Integrity (health) that can’t be regained. Yellow can be dodged and absorbed by the shield (at the cost of corruption), but red attacks must be dodged…initially. As the story progresses, Arjun gains the ability to parry and redirect red attacks, adding yet another string to the combat bow. Later biomes will see enemies utilise each of these colours, demanding the player stay focused to avoid death. Housemarque has opted to drop the hell and label Saros a bullet ballet, and it’s hard to argue against that decision. Each encounter is a violent dance of colours that may seem overwhelming at first, but with the perfectly-tuned tools at your disposal, you’ll soon be rhythmically diving in and out of combat with grace and precision.

Despite the chaos of combat, everything on screen remains remarkably readable 

Avoiding damage will only get you so far, though. As an Enforcer, Devraj is no stranger to a gun, and he’ll have access to both Soltari ordinance and Carcosan weapons of unknown origin. Punchy pistols, high-fire auto rifles, and wide-spread shotguns make up the bulk of Saros’ early offensive offerings, with more exotic weapons like crossbows and razor launchers introduced later in the piece. Each weapon offers a soft lock to assist with damage dealing in the chaos, with recoil and incredible haptic feedback letting you know how powerful these weapons are.

In addition to a regular mode, each weapon comes equipped with a secondary fire that’s enabled by holding the left trigger halfway, aided wonderfully by the DualSense’s adaptive triggers. While I found my go-to gun and stuck with it in Returnal, each weapon strewn across Carcosa has purpose and feels equally viable as the others. Experimentation is everything, and mixing and matching primary weapons and ultimate abilities when you find them within a run can result in some truly fantastic and devastating combinations.

The true depths of Saros’ difficulty can only be reached with the triggering of an Eclipse. Whether required to progress or activated at will through the use of a rather handsy pedestal, the world-changing Eclipse ratchets up enemy aggression and damage capabilities, introduces new attack patterns, and tacks on a debuff to all otherwise empowering Artefacts found through a level. No risk is without a reward, though, as the Eclipse also heightens Lucenite yield and inserts far more powerful weapons into the loot pool. The Eclipse also injects an audiovisual overhaul across the entire planet, transforming it into a heavy-metal hellscape that matches the ferocity of the situation. It’s an added challenge I seldom overlook, and it consistently raises the stakes and tension, all while offering subtle visual storytelling that becomes more important the further you progress.

The Eclispse is terrifying, but the reward is worth the risk

No matter how well-equipped you are, you’ll eventually succumb to a volley of multi-coloured barrage. Death, however, isn’t as much a punishment as it is an opportunity. Dying will send Arjun back to The Passage, a makeshift base inhabited by the remnants of Echelon IV. Here, Arjun can interact with his fellow survivors, witnessing as each of them deals with their own descent into yellow-tinged madness. Most importantly, The Passage is where Saros’ “Come back stronger” tagline is realised.

Lucenite collected on each run is persistent and used to unlock new abilities through an extensive skill tree. Incremental upgrades to health, power, and resources gain see Arjun slowly become more capable, but the skill tree also offers major skills that alter how you’ll approach a run. The most impactful of the lot is a second chance that sees Devraj rise from an otherwise fatal blow, gifted with another attempt at success. Permanent progression is meaningful in Saros, ensuring that every run you complete, successful or otherwise, has a purpose. Difficulty is still a core pillar of the experience, so grinding won’t be an option, as the skill tree is gated at certain junctures, requiring you to defeat a biome’s boss before you continue.

Rather than retread Returnal’s gauntlet framework, Saros opts for shorter, more focused roguelite runs. A given run in any biome clocks in at roughly 20 minutes, and you’ll be given the option to return to The Passage upon completion. This helps each run feel more succinct and, in combination with progression, eliminates the horrific low that hits when you come within an inch of success, only to be dealt a killing blow.

The World Dial and Armour Matrix make Saros more approachable and highly replayable 

It may sound like Saros is without teeth, but Housemarque’s trademark difficulty is very much intact. Whether you’re finding gameplay too difficult, too forgiving, or too intense, you’re given the ability to tailor your experience with Carcosan Modifiers. This menu allows you to add modifiers that can help or hinder, depending on your mood. Together with the World Dial, which lets you instantly teleport to any previously discovered biome, Saros offers a level of replayability and bespoke difficulty that I can’t praise enough.

The aforementioned bosses won’t go down without a fight either. While I won’t spoil the number of biomes Carcosa is hiding, you can expect to go toe to toe with several skill-checking bosses during the story. An incredible combination of spectacle and finely tuned challenge, these beautifully brutal encounters are some of the most engaging fights in recent memory. One, which you’ll face late into a playthrough, stands as my new favourite boss in gaming, both in terms of audio-visual excellence and mechanical prowess.

While bosses are foreboding and memorable, it’s Carcosa itself that steals the show. Filled with remnants of a long-forgotten race of beings, each swamp, desolate city, and underground facility is teeming with intrigue. Unbelievably beautiful art direction is enhanced by stunning fidelity and flawless technical execution that befits a first-party title. Instant loading, awe-inspiring soundscapes aided by the PS5’s special spatial? audio, and truly masterful use of the DualSense’s oft-forgotten feature set remind me why platform exclusives were once lauded. Saros is a technical and artistic masterpiece that we’d be lucky to see the likes of again.

Much of Carcosa’s cryptic history is hinted at through Saros’ incredible level and art design

Modelled after and voiced by the devilishly handsome Rahul Kohli, Arjun is a troubled and emotionally stunted protagonist who carries secrets of his own. Kohli’s performance is excellent, bestowing Devraj with an ever-present weight of expectation and duty, while conveying an obsession with repenting for past sins. He’s joined by an ensemble of equally well-performed members of Echelon IV, each with their own alluded to aspirations and flaws. Having voices to bounce off allows Saros’ narrative room to move and grow naturally through conversation and confrontation, as well as through text channels and audio diaries.

Saros wears its cosmic horror narrative inspirations on its many-armed sleeves, weaving a cautionary tale of desire, corruption, power, and greed. Told more directly than that of Selene’s story of grief and forgiveness, I found myself becoming enraptured with each revelation, desperate to uncover the answers to questions bumbling away on the surface. Well-directed cutscenes are a spectacle unto themselves, often featuring some of the game’s most striking iconography and poignant character moments. It’s ever so slightly unfortunate that the facial work during in-game dialogue doesn’t always capture the emotion of the exceptional voice work. It’s minor, and it’s ultimately forgivable, but it’s a tiny missed opportunity.

Final Thoughts

Saros stands on the shoulders of a giant in Returnal, but it does so with the confidence that it’s a meaningful evolution, not a facsimile. Fundamental systems are mastered, and new additions like the Soltari Shield completely reframe the action, while permanent progression and more focused roguelite runs ensure that every moment spent on Carcosa is in service to the player. While self-admittedly a gameplay-first studio, Housemarque has also managed to construct an intriguing sci-fi horror narrative, told convincingly by a talented voice cast and some of the finest art direction seen in the AAA space. The fact that all of this is bolstered by flawless technical performance and inspired use of exclusive hardware is nothing short of a masterstroke. Impressive in every facet, Saros is an unmissable experience that I’ll be returning to for many years to come.

Reviewed on PS5 // Review code supplied by publisher

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