Overwhelming clusters of projectiles, an Eclipse that drives everything to the edge, massive bosses – from the outset, Housemarque’s Saros offers a stressful experience. And make no mistake – despite the multiple save slots and new Soltari Shield for projectile “opportunities,” it’s still a challenging game. However, every time protagonist Arjun Devraj clears a biome and returns to The Passage, it’s Housemarque’s way of letting the player decompress.
For those who played Returnal, this is a pretty significant shift – instead of barrelling headlong into the next biome, you can take a breather. Prepare, both mentally and in terms of unlocking new upgrades.
“I want to get the player back into the action, but I think that even just speaking personally as a player of Returnal,” said lead game designer Abebe Tinari to GamesRadar. “There were times that after a multi-hour run, after dying, my hands were kind of shaking, you know? It was a bit difficult to kind of be like: OK, I’m gonna get right back into it.
“I appreciate having that beat to go back to The Passage, talk to some people, get a bit more of that story context, and that allows me just to get into the headspace of going back out there, right? That’s reinforced by the Armor Matrix to get a bit stronger, and then you feel like: Yeah, I’m ready for another run.”
Those shorter runs, which can take as long as 30 minutes, also enable these narrative beats, which aren’t unlike episodes of a TV show. Narrative designer Khalil Osaimi even affirmed to the publication that it was a major boon when laying out the narrative. “Yeah – pacing, and finding that line between gameplay and when do we want to introduce a story beat. There is the main [story]line to understand what’s going on, to evolve with Arjun as a character as his layers unravel. Then, right back to the high-octane action.”
It’s a solid balance, even if the hardcore Returnal fan in me will miss proceeding to the next biome and immediately becoming overwhelmed by new enemies. Still, with the heavier narrative focus that Saros promises and the all-star cast, it could deliver a rogue-lite experience akin to Hades 1 and 2.
Saros will become available on April 30th, exclusively for PS5. Check out some more extensive gameplay of the first biome, Shattered Rise, and the second, Ancient Depths. You can also learn more about how Housemarque made the Eclipse feel like an “escalation” in every possible way.
