Refining not only the gameplay but the difficulty of Returnal, Housemarque delivers a stunning new PS5 exclusive with Saros. In the center of this now stands Arjun Devraj, portrayed by gifted British actor Rahul Kohli.
Housemarque is a very special studio. From humble beginnings as an arcade studio in 1995, the Finnish team laid their groundwork then and there with their first title Stardust, later to come back in many iterations as Super Stardust and Super Stardust Ultra. With Dead Nation and Super Stardust Delta, Housemarque came into the bigger spotlight in times of the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, before global acclaim followed with Resogun, one of the starting titles for the PlayStation 4. It felt quite natural to many at the time when Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that they are buying up Housemarque only a month before their first third-person shooter Returnal dropped exclusively for PlayStation 5 in 2021.
Since its inception then, Housemarque stands for bullet hell shooters, and with Returnal, this expertise was brought into the third dimension. The game featured a pretty difficult roguelike structure with runs, in which players couldn’t even save in the beginning (this was later patched in). Stunning visuals and the challenging gameplay that mixed shooters and bullet hell with exploration made the game a great experience, and the PS5 as well as the PC version released later found many fans. Crucially, the game was also lauded for portraying a middle-aged women as a protagonist in the form of Selene Vassos. Despite all that, Returnal sold only 866,000 units in the first year on PlayStation 5.
For Saros then, making the target group wider is essential. Saros is a spiritual successor to Returnal, but takes place in its own, distinct universe. The gameplay however will feel quite familiar for Returnal players. Gone is the hardcore entrance into the game that forbids players from stopping their run mid-session and return later. Runs are also more different between play sessions: Not only do they naturally change from attempt to attempt like in any roguelike, but players can also adjust them through a skill system that always balances out beneficial with sinister changes to the world. A later twist in the story that was revealed in a trailer also changes the world further, adding cursed versions of enemies and equipment.
In the center of this now stands Arjun Devraj, portrayed by gifted British actor Rahul Kohli. The OST comes from double Grammy winner Sam Slater.
Saros releases on 30 April for PlayStation 5.
A tremendous evolution of Returnal with magnificient graphics, clever options and a great main character.
