After Spending 150 Hours in Returnal, Saros Needs to Nail These 2 Features

Saros is near the top of my must-play list this year. The game launches in a little over a month now, and I’m dying to see what Housemarque has up its sleeve next. Saros looks like it’s taking Returnal‘s formula and improving on it with some interesting tweaks. The biggest difference between the two is that Saros may actually reach a larger audience. A few gameplay changes might disappoint some Returnal fans, but I’m not too bothered by the more forgiving progression system and protagonist Arjun’s revive mechanic.

Returnal is probably one of my all-time favorite stories in gaming. The way it uses its roguelike elements to dive into Selene’s psyche and tell a story of being trapped in traumatic cycles isn’t just great writing. It’s a brilliant way to showcase how gameplay mechanics are important storytelling tools. Saros‘ story has some high expectations to live up to, but Housemarque is bound to bring something compelling and emotionally deep to players. Returnal‘s narrative is what first grabbed my attention when I started playing, but after around 150 hours in the game, there are two main gameplay features that I hope Saros nails just as well or improves: the use of haptic feedback and build variety.

Returnal is Still One of the Best Showcases of the DualSense’s Haptic Feedback Features

This year will mark six years since the PS5 first launched, and it still feels like a lot of developers have yet to fully embrace the DualSense’s capabilities. Of course, this is partially because the past few years have featured a lot of cross-gen games, but the PS5 finally seems to be hitting its stride.

Developers are finally moving on from the last generation of consoles, and that hopefully means a better use of the DualSense’s haptic feedback. Recent PS5 exclusives like Astro Bot, Death Stranding 2, and Ghost of Yotei made great use of the controller’s features, but Returnal was really ahead of its time. Both Returnal and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launched in 2021, and the two are still some of the best demonstrations of how versatile the DualSense is as an immersion tool.

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Saros Has the Opportunity to Show More of What the DualSense Can Do

Returnal makes it feel like your hands are experiencing their own version of surround sound, and it’s still just as wildly impressive five years later. Now that Housemarque has the experience of developing Returnal‘s haptic feedback and multiple years of working on Saros, that hopefully means the game is going to feature even better DualSense controls. Saros‘ confirmed features have already made it clear that Returnal‘s bullet-hell gameplay and use of roguelike staples as a storytelling tool are being used again, so that hopefully means that haptic feedback is getting a similar, hopefully even better, treatment.

Ways Returnal Makes Haptic Feedback Part of the Experience

Raindrops are felt through small vibrations.
Different ground textures produce varied feelings.
Weapons have their own unique vibration.
Moving around various environments feels distinct.
The Alt-Fire adaptive trigger makes gunplay more realistic.
Haptic feedback in cutscenes adds extra depth.

Returnal makes it feel like your hands are experiencing their own version of surround sound, and it’s still just as wildly impressive five years later.

Returnal Could Have Used More Build Variety, and Saros Can Finally Make That Happen

Returnal uses a lot of its roguelike elements perfectly, but I do think it could have benefited from greater build variety when it comes to each run. Run variety isn’t really part of Returnal, and Saros looks like it’s considering this. Saros is making a pretty significant change to how Returnal approaches dying. The latter was pretty tough in this regard because Selene would lose most of her upgrades after death. With Arjun, it seems like Housemarque is being more forgiving this time around, but hopefully not by too much. The tagline for Saros leading up to its release has been “Come back stronger.” This is playing directly into Saros‘ permanent progression system, and I’m really intrigued to see how much this makes the game feel different from Returnal.

Death is more about growth than basically starting from scratch in Saros, and this can potentially be really helpful for the build system. Of course, traditional roguelikes are all about starting runs over with a blank slate, but Saros‘ roguelite, static approach could require more methodical consideration about what upgrades are chosen. There is also the option to choose Arjun’s loadout before every run, so that alone already offers more build flexibility than Returnal.

Other Ways Saros’ Progression System Differs From Returnal’s

Carcosan Modifiers can be used to adjust difficulty.
The Second Chance mechanic allows for an instant revival instead of death.
An Eclipse can be triggered that affects enemies, weapons, and armor.

There is Still Time to Check Out Returnal Before Saros Gets Here

Funny enough, Saros is launching on Returnal‘s fifth anniversary on April 30. Since the former was originally supposed to launch this month, Housemarque pushing it back to that date is either an amusing coincidence or an exciting sign that Saros is destined to be just as strong a game as Returnal was. I’m crossing my fingers that it’s even better because Housemarque’s work deserves to reach a larger audience. Returnal wasn’t a financial failure by any means, but it definitely didn’t reach the number of players it should have. Returnal was one of the very first original PS5 exclusives, and it’s surprising this fact alone didn’t generate more hype.

Saros has the chance to be a different story, though. April is looking sparse when it comes to AAA titles, so hopefully it works in Saros‘ favor. Returnal isn’t just wildly underrated for its story and gameplay. It’s an underrated gem because it’s still a brilliant showcase of the PS5’s DualSense features when it should have been surpassed by now. The game still hasn’t really gotten the praise it deserves in that regard, and Saros will hopefully open the door to more gamers experiencing such great gameplay, storytelling, and well-crafted immersion.