PROLOGUE
I was first introduced to Housemarque with their 2021 release, RETURNAL. It was an INCREDIBLE game and an amazing early title for the PlayStation 5.
As a massive FromSoftware fan, I really appreciated Returnal's environmental storytelling and the way it slowly drip-fed you its narrative. The gameplay was fast, SUPER addicting, and I loved how you immediately gained full control of Selene without any bullshit slowdown or nerfed abilities. It was just DASH and BOOM right from the rip.
I also loved how masterfully Returnal incorporated the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller and 3D Pulse headset. To this day, I still think it has the best implementation of those features.
Safe to say, I LOVED Returnal. I platinumed it even in its early buggy state because I connected with the gameplay that much. So when Sony announced another Housemarque game, I was STOKED. I was a little confused that they weren't continuing the Returnal IP, but I was interested in seeing what they could do with a completely new world in SAROS.
HOW I PLAYED: I played SAROS on my launch-model PlayStation 5 Disc Edition after purchasing the game digitally through the PlayStation Store.
I used my 32-inch LG UltraGear display in Performance Mode and wore my 3D Pulse headset to take full advantage of the audio features included in this PlayStation exclusive.
INTRO — 3/5
Right from the opening sequence, I could tell Housemarque had a little more budget behind them. They clearly put more emphasis on areas that weren't as prominent in Returnal, particularly cutscenes and cinematic storytelling.
SAROS introduces our main character, Arjun, through a cinematic opening before getting you into the gameplay fairly quickly. You're dropped into this new alien world, and immediately the gameplay feels familiar but different from Returnal.
The introduction leads into a basic boss encounter where you're essentially meant to die.
It's a solid opening sequence, but I still think Returnal executed its introduction and atmosphere better.
CUTSCENES — 2/5
From a technical and graphical perspective, the cutscenes look AMAZING.
Unfortunately, I felt like the cutscenes and story portions were some of the worst parts of the entire game.
They frequently dragged, and the new NPCs were easily among my least favourite additions. I couldn't connect with any of them, and I genuinely didn't care about their stories or what they had to share.
The cutscenes look incredible, but looking incredible doesn't mean much when I couldn't give a shit about what was happening.
WORLD BUILDING — 3/5
SAROS retains some of the environmental storytelling that made Returnal so interesting. As you progress through Carcosa, you gradually uncover more about the world and its history.
However, SAROS relies much more heavily on NPC dialogue and cutscenes to explain its story rather than allowing the player to piece everything together.
I suspect this was an attempt to make the game more approachable for a mainstream gaming audience.
And honestly, I don't blame Housemarque for trying.
Despite how incredible Returnal was, it never seemed to connect with a particularly broad audience. Even after its PC release in 2023, I'm not sure it ever crossed one million copies sold. Which would be a travesty, considering it's one of my favourite non-FromSoftware games.
I just wish SAROS hadn't sacrificed so much of that environmental mystery in the process.
OVERALL STORY — 2/5
I'm not going to sugarcoat this.
SAROS has one of the most tame, bland, paint-by-numbers bullshit stories I've experienced in a while.
The ending's big "twist" was so painfully obvious that I saw it coming HOURS before I was anywhere near the final reveal.
I couldn't connect with Arjun whatsoever. He's another damaged, tortured protagonist regretting mistakes from his past and desperately searching for some form of retribution.
We've seen this character trope played out endlessly over the last eight years, and I found the whole thing a complete yawn fest.
I couldn't even tell you the names of the supporting NPCs because I literally couldn't care less about them. I felt like they added NOTHING to the experience.
I remember hearing an unconfirmed rumour that Housemarque had once been instructed to develop a live-service game during Sony's big push into that market. I have no idea whether that's true, but looking at the supporting cast, I couldn't help wondering whether these characters were originally intended to be playable.
That's purely speculation on my part, but it would explain some of the design choices.
I hate the NPC designs. None of these characters are memorable, and none of them made me want to interact with them.
This is a HUGE disappointment because Housemarque has already demonstrated that they're capable of telling fantastic stories.
Returnal had an amazing narrative with insane depth.
SAROS doesn't come close.
CHARACTER MODELS — 3/5
I've already mentioned how much I dislike the character designs, but even Arjun suffers from the same problem.
Everyone has this weird plastic, wax-face appearance that I find incredibly unappealing.
Maybe it's because I'm playing on my pitiful LAUNCH MODEL PlayStation 5 and don't have the "Absolute POWER" of the PlayStation 5 Pro and its revolutionary PISSER technology.
Yes, I know it's called PSSR. I'm calling it PISSER.
But seriously, I really hate this particular character design style that seems increasingly common across Sony-owned studios.
From a technical perspective, the fidelity is impressive. Armour textures look fantastic, the details are sharp, and the weapons look cool.
The technical quality is absolutely there. It's the actual character designs that I can't stand.
ENVIRONMENTS — 3/5
Carcosa is a cool-looking alien planet dominated by oranges, reds, and greys.
The Eclipse mechanic is a neat idea that changes the look and atmosphere of the world, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much more I preferred the environments in Returnal.
After the first biome, Carcosa starts looking like a lot of the same.
The environmental fidelity is excellent, and the scenery is noticeably sharper and more detailed than Housemarque's 2021 release.
But higher resolution doesn't automatically mean better art direction.
I genuinely think Housemarque missed the mark with SAROS's environmental design.
SPECIAL FX — 4/5
Housemarque continues to deliver some of the best particle effects in the industry.
I absolutely LOVE this style of bullet-hell gameplay that the studio has become known for.
SAROS introduces some additional combat mechanics, and the visual effects accompanying them are fantastic.
Some of the new Alt Fire effects are genuinely spectacular and an absolute joy to look at.
This is one area where Housemarque continues to demonstrate its technical expertise.
AMBIENCE — 3/5
SAROS has good ambient audio, but I wouldn't call it great.
Returnal's soundtrack was absolutely LEGENDARY, and I feel like Housemarque spent more time and resources improving the cinematics in SAROS than creating an equally memorable OST.
The atmosphere just doesn't hit the same way.
To this day, I still listen to Returnal's soundtrack on Spotify.
That's how fucking epic Returnal's music is.
SAROS has a perfectly serviceable soundtrack, but it pales in comparison. That's a big shame because this was something I was really looking forward to.
BOSS MUSIC — 3/5
The boss music is good, but not particularly memorable.
I'd still say it's better than most boss music you hear in games these days, but it's nowhere near the epic levels you get from FromSoftware or Final Fantasy.
Nothing here really stuck with me after the credits rolled.
SOUND DESIGN — 5/5
Now THIS is where SAROS absolutely delivers.
As a Sony exclusive, the sound design is top-level.
The game sounds AMAZING through the 3D Pulse headset, and the spatial audio implementation is every bit as impressive as it was in Returnal.
The voice acting can be a little dry at times, but I think that's more a consequence of the bland writing than the actual performances.
From a technical audio standpoint, Housemarque absolutely nailed it.
FRAME RATE — 4/5
Even on my peasant launch-model PlayStation 5, I was happy to see SAROS running at what appeared to be a locked 60 FPS in Performance Mode.
I didn't notice any major frame drops, even when the screen was filled with projectiles and particle effects.
There were moments when I suspected it might have dipped into the high 50s, but I didn't have my frame-rate tester out to confirm that.
Honestly, that's about all I could ask for.
The only thing holding this back from a perfect score is the lack of an unlocked frame-rate option. I would have loved the ability to experiment with a higher-quality graphics mode running at 40 FPS or above on supported displays.
I know SAROS has additional PISSER enhancements on the PS5 Pro, but I don't think features locked behind more expensive hardware should automatically be rewarded.
STABILITY — 5/5
SAROS was an extremely stable experience throughout my playthrough.
I encountered very few bugs or glitches, and the ones I did experience were minor.
Occasionally, Arjun would get stuck in environmental geometry or become trapped in a falling animation.
These moments were few and far between, though, and never became a major problem.
I suspect some of these collision issues might be related to Unreal Engine 5, but that's just my impression.
Overall, Housemarque delivered a polished experience.
CONTROLS — 4/5
If you've played Returnal, SAROS will immediately feel familiar.
Housemarque has made a few changes to the control configuration, though, and one adjustment I found particularly strange was moving Dash from Circle to R1.
That took some getting used to.
Outside of that, the controls are incredibly smooth and slick, just like Returnal.
The movement and combat still have that satisfying responsiveness Housemarque does so well.
MECHANICS — 3/5
SAROS introduces a new shield mechanic that initially confused me.
At first, I assumed using the shield would be completely optional.
That was until I realized you NEED to absorb enemy projectiles with it to charge your Alt Fire and output significant damage.
Once you understand that relationship, the shield becomes practically mandatory if you want to maximize your damage.
I really wish it were more of an optional defensive mechanic, with other meaningful ways to charge your Alt Fire.
There's also the new Eclipse mechanic, which changes the world environment, increases enemy encounters, and raises the overall difficulty. The trade-off is supposed to be better rewards and drops.
It's a neat concept, but once again, the game requires you to engage with it to progress.
I would have preferred more freedom in deciding when and how to activate these systems.
On the positive side, SAROS allows you to customize your weapon's Alt Fire and choose which weapon you start a run with.
I really appreciated those additions.
Unfortunately, I didn't find the selection of Alt Fire abilities nearly as interesting or varied as Returnal's.
PACING — 3/5
I thought SAROS had decent pacing overall.
Some of the story sequences dragged a little, but for the most part, I felt like the game respected my time.
You can finish the campaign in approximately 10 hours, which I think is the perfect length for this type of experience.
It's long enough to enjoy the combat systems without overstaying its welcome.
UI/UE — 3/5
The UI and user experience feel very familiar if you've played Returnal.
Unfortunately, I found SAROS's interface a little more... tacky.
I really don't like the bubbly HUD design. I think Housemarque could have gone with something much sleeker and cleaner.
That said, the menus are very easy to navigate, and I never had major problems finding the options I needed.
Functionally, everything works well. Aesthetically, it's just not my favourite.
BOSS QUALITY — 3/5
The bosses in SAROS are good, but nowhere near as memorable as the encounters in Returnal.
I know, I know. This is becoming a common theme in this review.
My favourite encounter was the Shepherd. I thought the environment and overall gameplay loop of that fight were the most enjoyable in the entire game.
The dragon boss, Architect, also had a fantastic arena, but I found some of its mechanics incredibly frustrating.
Visually, the bosses look great.
Unfortunately, their narrative importance is almost nonexistent to me.
It's hard to get excited about fighting some massive alien monstrosity when I genuinely don't give a shit who or what I'm fighting.
ENEMY VARIETY — 4/5
SAROS has a pretty good selection of enemies.
You'll encounter familiar mob types repeatedly, just like in Returnal, but the enemies generally fit their respective environments and biomes.
I never felt fatigued by the encounters or like I was constantly fighting the exact same enemies.
There was definitely room for more variety, but what Housemarque delivered was still pretty good.
GAMEPLAY VARIETY — 3/5
SAROS offers additional mechanics, weapon customization, progression systems, and collectibles, but I never felt the same desire to experiment and uncover everything that I had with Returnal.
When I played Returnal, I WANTED to find every collectible and earn the Platinum trophy.
With SAROS, I finished the campaign, shut the game off, and haven't booted it up since.
There are multiple endings and additional lore unlocks, but I just wasn't invested enough in the world or characters to pursue any of them.
REPLAYABILITY — 2/5
For me, SAROS was a once-and-done experience.
I really don't care about Arjun's story, and I was perfectly happy watching the additional endings on YouTube rather than replaying the game to unlock them.
To Housemarque's credit, SAROS does offer some interesting replayability options.
You can adjust gameplay modifiers to increase the difficulty if you're looking for an additional challenge, or make enemy encounters more manageable if you simply want to run through the game again and collect everything you missed.
I appreciate that flexibility.
The options are there if SAROS connects with you. Unfortunately, it just didn't connect with me.
Audio/Visual Cues: +0 — No additional qualifying option confirmed during my playthrough.Assist Modes: +1 — Optional assists include automatic reloading and other automated gameplay functions.
Being a Sony exclusive, SAROS continues the company's strong commitment to accessibility.
Good job, Housemarque.
.gif "SAROS OVERALL Score")
SAROS is a familiar experience, but it simply doesn't live up to Housemarque's previous game, Returnal.
I went into this game with such high hopes, and maybe those expectations are part of why I came away so disappointed.
The gameplay still has that fantastic Housemarque foundation, and some of the new mechanics are genuinely great additions. The technical improvements are obvious, from the sharper visuals and spectacular particle effects to the excellent 3D audio and stable performance.
But the story, environments, and characters just couldn't keep me engaged.
I think Housemarque made a deliberate effort to make SAROS more approachable to a broader audience. I can understand why they'd want to do that, especially after Returnal struggled to find the audience it deserved.
Unfortunately, I feel like that approach stripped away some of the very things that made Returnal so special.
The mysterious environmental storytelling was replaced with bland NPC interactions and predictable cinematic sequences. The unforgettable atmosphere and soundtrack were replaced with something far more conventional.
And while the combat remains enjoyable, I never felt that overwhelming desire to keep playing after the credits rolled.
SAROS is a technical leap for Housemarque, but in their attempt to make the game more accessible, I feel like they took away what made Returnal so great.
One of the biggest bummers of 2026.
Too bad...
PROS
✅ Excellent technical presentation, particle effects, and visual fidelity.✅ Fantastic 3D audio and sound design through the Pulse headset.✅ Smooth, responsive combat with some enjoyable new mechanics.✅ Stable 60 FPS Performance Mode and strong accessibility options. CONS❌ Bland, predictable story with forgettable characters and NPCs.❌ Uninspired art direction and environments that pale in comparison to Returnal.❌ Disappointing soundtrack and less memorable boss encounters.❌Limited personal replayability despite multiple endings and additional unlocks.
TLDR: 66/100 (FAIR)
SAROS delivers the slick combat, impressive particle effects, and excellent technical performance you'd expect from Housemarque, but it fails to capture the magic of Returnal. The bland story, forgettable characters, less interesting environments, and underwhelming soundtrack make this feel like a step backward creatively despite its technical improvements. There's still a good game here, especially for players who love bullet-hell combat, but for me, SAROS was a once-and-done experience that left me wishing I was playing Returnal instead. One of the biggest bummers of 2026.
0 Comments