Saros Reviews
SAROS takes what made Returnal such a epically awesome action game and turns the dial way up while simultaneously offering such a distinct and immersive game world that it'll haunt your dreams even long after the end credits roll. ☀️
Saros refines the punishing Returnal formula into a more accessible, biome-based roguelite experience. While the haptic feedback and combat systems feel fantastic, the overly vague, confusing narrative remains a divisive hurdle. It is a technically polished successor that successfully balances high difficulty with clever player-progression mechanics.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Ultimately, Saros comes to represent exactly what this review's title suggests: a studio's identity. Not because it attempts to safely replicate the *Returnal* formula, but because it showcases a Housemarque that is far more self-aware regarding its own strengths. The combat remains addictive, the atmosphere retains a hypnotic, comforting quality, and the blend of intense action and introspective storytelling achieves a level of maturity the studio hadn't quite reached before. Despite a few less inspired moments during progression and a certain structural familiarity that prevents the game from delivering the same initial shock as *Returnal*, Saros manages to establish itself as more than just a spiritual successor. There is evident confidence in every creative decision, as if Housemarque has finally struck the perfect balance between visual spectacle, gameplay, and narrative identity. And perhaps that is precisely what makes Saros so compelling. It is not a game concerned with reinventing everything that came before. It is a game crafted by a studio whose true identity is finally revealed.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
For fans of Housemarque, Saros feels like a natural evolution of everything they’ve been building toward over the last decade. And for newcomers, it’s an outstanding place to finally discover why the studio has become one of the most exciting developers working in action games today.
Saros is an example of a well-crafted sequel to a successful title—in this case, *Returnal*. It isn’t a mindless rehash, but a thoughtful expansion of what worked before. The game is more accessible to a wider audience, yet it doesn’t compromise or sacrifice any of its essence. It’s easy to succumb to its hypnotic charm, even if you’re initially skeptical of the roguelike genre. Saros is just as engaging an experience as major story-driven titles, but compared to many of them, it leaves a fresher impression.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Saros is a beautifully executed game. It is not just better than their previous game; it’s one of 2026’s best games so far. It looks gorgeous, it plays wonderfully, and its progression system is simple. The bosses, enemies, and gameplay design all work together so well. It is a game that you owe yourself to play. Housemarque delivered on something genuinely unique, and I will remember this game for years to come.
Saros is a great games that can compare to its predecessor, while not being better overall. A weak story and lower difficulty make it a less memorable experience, but the better maps, higher bullet rates and adrenalinic gameplay manage to make it one of the best Playstation exclusives ever.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Saros is the kind of game you'll remember for its best moments — the run where everything clicked, the boss fight finally conquered, the flow state only Housemarque bullet hells can create. The story doesn't land where it aims and the roguelite structure shows cracks, but the heart beats strong. Carcosa is worth facing again and again.
Review in Italian | Read full review
An excellent game by any measure, I’d recommend Saros to almost anyone even slightly interested.
SAROS is a fantastic experience from beginning to end. The narrative delivers a brilliant cosmic horror narrative with a great cast of characters, brilliant performances, a rich and intriguing world, and incredible representation thanks to a great South Asian protagonist. Further, the gameplay is a non-stop thrill ride throughout, that never feels too difficult despite the occasional spike in challenge. While there are some issues with the post-game and build options, this is a must-play for any PlayStation 5 owners and an early game of the year contender.
Overall, Saros is an incredible follow-up to Returnal, which should be heralded in its own right as one of the most robust and satisfying roguelite games on the market today.
Saros is Housemarque at its absolute peak, refining Returnal’s foundations into a richer, smarter, and more accessible bullet-hell shooter for the PlayStation 5.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Saros, like the lead protagonist Arjun, is flawed. It’s a lot of ways; it’s partially because of the team’s success. Somehow, Returnal remains largely uncopied, if at all, which is an absolute shame but means I can really only weigh this experience against its predecessor. In this vein, it falls short in plenty of ways. The moment when Selene escapes from her hell, only to be lowered into the ground and return on the other side, gives chills just thinking about it.
Saros presents itself as the natural evolution of the path Housemarque embarked upon with Returnal, and in many ways it successfully builds on that foundation with great maturity and insight. The combat system remains the game’s crowning achievement: fast-paced, multi-layered, and supported by a color-coded bullet system that transforms every encounter into a fast-paced exercise in reading and reacting.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Saros is a mechanically well-executed bullet hell shooter that unfortunately suffers a bit from a lack of variety in level design, weapons, and run-altering artifacts. Because dying and retrying is a core feature, this does lead to noticeable repetition over a playtime of 20–30 hours. However, the option to start in the current biome rather than always having to begin in the first one helps to mitigate this repetition. The core gameplay—3D bullet hell combat combined with dodging, blocking, and parrying—is consistently enjoyable. The Carcosa modifiers can be adjusted to personal preference, even if there is no intrinsic reward for increasing the difficulty. Still, the game manages to surprisingly well compensate for its repetitive structure in moment-to-moment play. Overall, Saros is a good game that ultimately falls a little short of its full potential.
Review in German | Read full review
Just as the moon covers the sun, with lost Carcosa awash with golden yellow, Saros eclipses all in its wake. Boasting a deep and synergistic core gameplay loop evoking Returnal, premium difficulty balancing options, emotionally-driven character writing, and the newest look cosmic horror has seen in decades, you wouldn’t be driven mad by playing this game; you’d be mad not to. Strange is the one who cannot fathom the greatness of Saros, but stranger still is lost Carcosa.
Saros is not only a worthy successor to Returnal (and arguably even surpasses it), but also the best game the studio has created to date — and one of the finest action titles of its generation.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
The experience of Saros is not necessarily perfect, as it repeats the same mistakes we've seen in recent PlayStation games by delivering a weaker story than its predecessor, in addition to some issues in the implementation of the roguelite system. Despite that, it is still an excellent action game, whether because of its new ideas and enemy encounters, or the great game feel due to the visual aspects and its relatively high production value.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
SAROS veers further away from the roguelike path with its focus on permanent progression and more accessible levels. While its story and characters didn’t draw me in, its visual style and sound design are excellent. Most importantly, it delivers out of this world gunplay that simultaneously feels stressful, stimulating, and satisfying.