SAROS

The narrative may not be as convincing as that of Returnal but Saros one-ups its predecessor in almost every facet. It’s a seat-of-the-pants thrill ride that escalates the spectacle with every chapter and will haunt your dreams with walls of coloured missiles.

Housemarque pulls it off again. Saros is a remarkably gripping roguelite that preserves the best elements of Returnal while improving on its weaker points. The combat is chaotic, but you never lose control and are less at the mercy of luck. A compelling mystery also unfolds along the way. Only the characters… well, who were they again?

As expected, SAROS stands out as a worthy spiritual successor to Returnal, and even more so. Far from resting on its laurels, Housemarque has successfully built upon the solid foundation of its previous title to deliver an epic adventure, enhanced by new features that make it accessible to a wider audience. While more accessible, SAROS remains a challenging yet exhilarating experience that delivers incredible thrills. This makes it a new must-have in the PS5 catalog, which once again boasts one of its best exclusives thanks to the Finnish studio.

Overall, Saros feels like a natural evolution of what Housemarque achieved with Returnal, but with enough ambition to try to surpass it. The game refines the genre and takes it to interesting and exciting new places through smart design choices that aim to balance challenge and accessibility without compromising its core essence.

Saros refines the Returnal formula into something sharper, faster, and far more approachable. By turning chaos into rhythm with its “bullet ballet” combat, introducing meaningful progression between runs, and delivering a more structured narrative, Housemarque removes much of the frustration without sacrificing intensity. While limited level variety and a surprisingly subdued soundtrack hold it back, the core experience remains thrilling — especially during its spectacular boss fights. For fans of Returnal and newcomers alike, Saros stands as one of the strongest PS5 exclusives to date.

Saros multiplies the Returnal formula with a brutal shooter and mechanics refined to perfection. Unfortunately, this excellence comes up against an uninspired and disjointed narrative that interrupts the rhythm. Even so, there is an addictive mechanical heart that keeps you coming back.

Saros is still a good game. I will never dislike a game that looks this good and plays this well. But the lessons that Housemarque learned from Returnal resulted in a game that is less than the sum of its parts.

Housemarque has done an outstanding job; it’s just that the game isn't to everyone's taste.thank you Housemarque️

god I hate rating this a 7. I cant help it. The combat and visual presentation are both 10, but the actual stages and writing are sub par to me. I had wished so much they wouldve approached storytelling for this like they did with Returnal with the less is more approach, but damnit did they **** the bed with telling this story. The non important characters do not do anything but stand around holding their arms. when they die you are actually happier than when they lived. nothing changes anything in this story. I still think about Returnal's story because it's enigmatic and you see the comparisons with Greek mythology. The music, too, I get shivers when I hear the subtle environment sounds. With Saros, man.. they went the opposite of subtle and in almost every way did it not work for me. The weapons just werent that great.. I mean I really do hate that I dont like this game. I love HM and will support that studio thru and thru, but this was just not made for me even though I respect taking another direction and not making a sequel, yet, to Returnal.

From a casual gamer's perspective, it's an average game—neither bad nor particularly good—that’s fine to pick up on disc when there’s a big sale, play, and then resell.

The best thing you can say about SAROS is that occasionally it feels almost exactly like playing Returnal. Unfortunately every way in which it differs is a clear step backwards from it's stand-out predecessor. SAROS delivers an abysmal, repetitive, half baked story steeped in sci-tropes with absolutely no depth, no development, and possibly worst of all - no one to root for. The gameplay remains solid but the biomes are generally less interesting than Returnal's and far, far less challenging. Lasers you can simply walk around litter maps filled with easily dispatched enemies. Boss fights offer little challenge and, with the exception of the final encounter, all of them are easier than even the first boss in Returnal. I came into SAROS with high hopes but walk away dumbfound at the myriad of poor design and narrative decisions on display. I had moments of joy during a few of my longer runs, but the poor writing, misreable plot, and lack of difficulty utterly disappointed. I give SAROS a 4 out of 10.

This game is trying hard to be something, but it doesnt really hit the mark in any meaningful way. They story is pretty meh. Graphics are nice. VA is decent. Gameplay is unmemorable. Skip it until it goes on sale.