All Features Confirmed for Saros So Far

Saros is now only a few weeks away from its release, and developer Housemarque’s next roguelite looks like one of its most compelling projects yet. Back in 2021, the developer introduced the first official PS5 exclusive with Returnal, and Saros aims to use its spiritual predecessor’s formula and take its gameplay to the next level.

Returnal offered a punishing, but well-balanced, bullet hell experience that still makes it stand out as one of the current gen’s strongest exclusives. Saros is taking the same route, but some of its confirmed features might actually make the game more accessible in comparison. The story takes place on a mysterious planet called Carcosa that is caught in a never-ending cycle of change. A strange solar eclipse looming overhead affects the stability of the planet, and protagonist Arjun has to investigate to search for missing crew while also unraveling the threads behind this planet’s bizarre nature. Games developed by Housemarque have a unique approach to gameplay, and Saros could be one of its most inventive titles.

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Saros Embraces the Cycle of Death and Rebirth

During Arjun’s journey, death is inevitable. With each death comes rebirth, though, and the world evolves every time Arjun rises from the grave. Returnal players will be quite familiar with this. It may seem like a recycled concept, but Saros‘ world of Carcosa is teasing a vastly different setting that sets out to make its ever-changing world feel new. The ominous Eclipse helps reshape the world, and it can open new paths and routes for Arjun to take. Carcosa is just as much of a shapeshifting maze as it is a strange planet that helps Saros‘ main story unfold in a unique way.

Saros’ Mantra is “Come Back Stronger”

This phrase is truly the heart of Saros‘ gameplay. It’s also where the game makes its biggest departure from Returnal. There are a few upgrades that players get to keep in Returnal, but for the most part, protagonist Selene starts every run with a blank slate. This makes it a particularly grueling game for the first few hours, but Saros may have found a better balance with one of its main features.

Saros‘s permanent progression means Arjun gets to keep a lot of the upgrades that he comes across. Before every run, players can even customize Arjun’s loadout. This allows for a lot more weapon exploration. He literally “comes back stronger” with every single death, which makes Saros a more approachable roguelite than Returnal. Just because the progression is more forgiving doesn’t mean that the game is any less of a challenge, though.

A defining feature in Saros is the “Second Chance” mechanic. This immediately revives Arjun after his first death during a run.

More of “Bullet Ballet” Than a Bullet Hell

Like Returnal, Saros seeks to be a careful balancing act that requires players to really hone in on their coordination and spatial awareness. A barrage of flashy projectile attacks can quickly take up the screen, which can be overwhelming. Saros tasks players with balancing shooting, parrying, using Arjun’s shield, and utilizing quick movement to get the upper hand in combat. Returnal requires the same attention to detail from players, but once enemy patterns are memorized, every encounter feels more like a satisfying dance than an overpowering rain of bullets. Being dubbed a “bullet ballet” by Housemarque is a great way to describe how the game’s combat should be approached. Saros isn’t a Returnal sequel, but the way it turns intense combat into a methodical feast for the eyes is one of the main aspects that keep the two intertwined.

Saros is Promising to Be Another Strong Showcase of the PS5’s DualSense Controller

One of the best moments in Returnal is when players get to first feel just how in-depth Housemarque went with the DualSense. This time around, Saros is teasing just as much controller-focused immersion. How Saros uses the PS5’s features is an important aspect in how satisfying the gameplay actually turns out to be.

PS5 Features That Saros Takes Full Advantage Of

DualSense haptic feedback
3D headphone audio to help players sense enemies before they’re seen
Adaptive triggers to make weapons feel more immersive
Near-instant loading

How Saros‘s features compare to Returnal won’t be fully clear until the game is officially here, but this combination has the chance to one-up Housemarque’s last game when it comes to overall immersion and showcasing the PS5’s many unique strengths. Because of a lot of games from the past few years being released for both the last gen and current gen consoles, the DualSense and PS5-specific features haven’t been able to shine as much as they could. Saros is clearly hoping to use nearly every PS5 feature to its full extent, and that’s exciting. Haptic feedback, rich sound design, and adaptive triggers aren’t just fun gameplay gimmicks. These things help make a game’s world feel truly alive, and it will be interesting to see what Carcosa has to offer when it comes to immersing a player’s senses.

Gamers May Want to Make Room for Saros’ Leaked File Size

This isn’t exactly fully confirmed by Housemarque or Sony, but it’s still worth mentioning just in case interested gamers’ PS5s are nearing their storage limit. According to the PlayStation Games Size Twitter account, the Saros file size is expected to be a whopping 83.440 GB. For comparison, Returnal‘s original file size was around 56GB. So, Saros could potentially boast a lot more content than the game that came before it. Housemarque has yet to reveal exactly how long Saros‘ story is expected to be for the average players, but Returnal‘s main story lasted around 20 hours. Completionists could expect to spend 65 hours or more with the game, so it’s going to be interesting to see how much longer a 100% run of Saros might take gamers.

The Wait for Saros is Almost Over

The official Saros release date is April 30, exactly five years after Returnal debuted. Housemarque’s new roguelite may not be as big of a heavy hitter as fellow Sony exclusives like Ghost of Yotei and God of War, but Saros‘ inventive use of the PS5’s hardware and compelling approach to gameplay has the ingredients to make it one of the year’s most surprising games.