Review

Returnal Returns

In the infancy of the PS5, a game known as Returnal launched. Housemarque developed this early exclusive title, a brutal unforgiving 3rd person shooter with rogue-like DNA. Returnal did not mess around it was hard. With it’s rogue-like gameplay loop it was a potential first rogues for Sony fans. It was a breath of fresh air in the triple a, mainstream gaming space. Now several years later Housemarque have returned with a spiritual successor Saros. Let’s see if its an evolution of the format or if it will be returning players back to Returnal!

As a spiritual successor Saros has a unique narrative, however it does have a few similar beats. The player assumes the role of Arjun Devraj, a Soltari Enforcer. Sent to the planet of Carcosa after three failed squads went to install mining colonies. You take control of Arjun days after arriving on Carcosa, surprisingly he has no memory of the previous days. Almost instantly Arjun discovers that Carcosa is the home to an ancient alien civilisation. The plot then goes multiple places from there.

The narrative is told in various ways, some of which I find far more effective than others. You have the classic lore dump notes and audio files, which are fine in fleshing out the world if you care to engage. The cutscenes and character dialog moments for me personally were a tad boring. Which is a shame as the voice acting is on point. However in games of this nature I want to get in my next run and start blasting enemies away. Saros does have a bit of environmental story telling, which one I’m a sucker for and two it really works in more gameplay driven games. For example rooms can have large gas like figures that change foreshadowing or revealing a bit of lore. Another moment I enjoyed featured a sequence in Arjun’s memories. As you play a distorted moment of his past, you may notice lots or bars and booze shops. Suggesting that our Arjun might like more than a little tipple. For a story that from the off is so steeped in mystery these moments fuel intrigue as well as adding lore for more engaged players.

The visuals in Saros are absolutely glorious. Every aspect of the visual design looks purposefully crafted and intended for this world. The pre-rendered glitchy moments of the solar eclipses are mind bogglingly pretty. The aliens and monsters have got a borderline cosmic horror design. Imposing figures that are difficult to describe with eldritch features and stone like textures. Killing basic enemies often causes them to explode red lovecraftian tentacles everywhere. Its a visual treat! The environments housing the beasties are often stunning. Special shoutout to the initial biome. The grey stones with red wildly moving fauna is a striking setting for your first fights. With the dilapidated temples featuring warped statues of potential future fights and their worshippers. The icing on an already pretty cake are the aforementioned solar eclipses. When occurring in game the skybox lights up in a warning shade of orange. The sound design really compliments the visuals. It’s swelling synth noises and stings really help the immersion. It has an almost retro future aesthetic that’s reminiscent of 80’s sci-fi. It all blends phenomenally and makes me wish I had a PS5 Pro to experience it in enhanced glory.

Moment to moment gameplay Saros heavily follows the rogue handbook. You start a run and are introduced to generated levels. While running and gunning your way through them you typically fall over treasures and gear. Likely meeting up with a boss that will kill you sending you back to step one. I adore this gameplay loop and have done for many years. I respect Housemarque for bringing this genre of game to the triple a, mainstream space. However I do think they miss the mark ever so slightly. Having good and bad runs of a rogue-like is par for the course. Having a lucky run where you stumble constantly through overpowered gear and weapons is a dream with a dopamine hit. This happens semi frequently in many lower budget or indie rogue-likes, Binding of Issac & Enter The Gungeon come to mind. In Saros this simply does not happen. The gear and weaponry comes off a little bland like its pandering to the mainstream market. It is debatable that this makes Saros way more skill dependent than its contemporaries. I just think the luck element adds a level of fun that is intrinsic to the genre. Despite my preference for the more zany and creative gear pools. The action, running, gunning and jumping is sublime.

The difficulty curve in Saros is also quiet bizzare. Most rogue-likes even Saros’ predecessor Returnal can be brutally challenging. Saros is no different, especially the first couple of hours. Saros is difficult to the point it could turn some people off. That being said Saros is certainly less punishing than its former Returnal. With progression in the form of a permanent skill tree, Arjun increases strength as you play. After progressing through part of the story through a few runs and some quite frankly brutal boss battles you unlock modifiers. In all intensive purposes its a customisable difficulty. Adding lots of modifiers that swing the scale in your favour, such as more damage, less damage taken etc. Alternately for the intense gamers you can stone wall yourself with modifiers that favour the creatures of Carcosa. It’s just bizarre to me you have to struggle through a fair amount before unlocking this feature. I think its a great feature to have, but more casual players will never get to point they can make Saros easier.

The prime selling point of Saros is how it utilises the Playstation Dual Sense. My god, Saros will make you fall in love with your controller all over again. The pulses that rattle in time to the music in the cutscene instantly pull you in. From there the different effects the Dual Sense throws at you make Saros a joy to play. Every weapon feels different while shooting. Each step is conveyed through haptics. Some of the latter game gadgets offer bizarre and fun feelings. It’s hard to fully describe how much this improves the game. Trust me, when you experience it you will wish all developers added this much interactivity with its controller usage.

Saros is an evolution of what Housemarque brought to the table with Returnal. If you loved Returnal it is highly likely you will feel the same about Saros. It keeps its sweaty single player action in a rogue-like package. It has quickly become on of my favourite Playstation games that I totally suck at!