There’s an accepted understanding that the Housemarque name brings with it an expectation of exceptional action. Great gunplay. A superbly tuned gameplay intensity by way of ultra-refined and overlapping mechanics and systems. And in just over a month, PS5 players can experience that pedigree first hand again with the Finnish studio’s latest, as a rescue crew tries to discover the fate of a human colony gone dark at the far reaches of the cosmos. Saros is sci-fi action with a cosmic horror twist.
Housemarque has shared a taste of what’s to come before in a scene-setting story trailer, and outlined the gameplay systems that’ll power your survival on the alien planet of Carcosa. We’ll play Enforcer Arjun, his combat prowess making him the perfect choice to scout out the terrain for the rescue crew. And we know on Carcosa, death is not the end. Arjun resurrects every time he falls, returning to the rescue crew’s home base to start his expedition anew. That resurrection is a common theme during our hands-on with a three hour slice of the game proper, which incorporates the game’s first two levels – the cliffside Shattered Rise and the claustrophobic Ancient Depths – and the brutal bosses that lie at their end.
To go alongside that session, we chatted to creative director Gregory Louden and art director Simone Silvestri to dig deeper into the systems at play.
Turning threats into opportunities
Saros’ core mechanics are extensive yet easy to memorise, tied as they are to different resistances of DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers, as well as L1 and R1 bumper taps and holds.
Soltari’s human-crafted tech covers your collectable handheld weapons such as Hand Cannons, Rifles and Shotguns. You’ll scavenge these as you explore, and while there are multiple variants, each with its own unique perk, they all have two fire types. Primary fire is mapped to a pull of R2, with an alt-fire mode unique to each weapon chosen through pulling L2 halfway down (a satisfying resistance in the adaptive trigger signifying activation), with a trigger of R2 to unleash.
The same tech covers a directional Dash on L1 (which negates most damage while performed), and a bubble-like Shield, the deployment of which is dependent on two things: R1 being held and there being enough power left to sustain it.
Sustaining your Shield’s Power level (note the deliberate capitalization) brings us to the risk/reward symbiosis between Soltari tech and alien Carcosan weaponry which partially defines Saros’ playstyle.
An early encounter with an alien artifact imbues Arjun’s arm with the ability to store and fire out Carocosan energy. This Power Weapon, as it’s named, is activated with a full pull of L2, and with the right aim, its blast can take down one or more smaller foes. But it requires energy. Energy that your Shield can pool by absorbing blue-colored enemy projectiles. And Housemarque’s beautiful bullet ballet is in full force in Saros, with hypnotic, deadly patterns firing your way with gusto. It means on Carcosa, charging towards danger is sometimes a smarter strategy than weaving out of its way.
“We wanted to make projectiles opportunities,” explains Louden, describing it as a shift away from the “obstacle course” of the studio’s previous title Returnal to something more akin to “a playground”. It’s a term that perfectly captures the flow state that results as you play: always moving, always interacting. Continually switching between projectile dodges and absorption, using melee to burst enemy shields, a blast of the Power Weapon to down enemy groups… every fight is a constant juggle of split-second decisions to how best to counter threats and turn the tide to your advantage. Very intense, very fun.
Embrace the eclipse as greater risk brings greater rewards
You’ll become familiar with a multi-armed device discovered in every area of Carcosa that when interacted with, initiates an eclipse that’s biome-specific. Outside the first activation to showcase what results when an eclipse washes over the world, these world-changing events will be an optional choice while exploring the planet, and provided you find the device, can be triggered at any time.
There’s an arresting visual shift to a level’s visual design as the corruption takes hold (which extends to the audioscape – worth sticking on a headset for!), and enemies now fire out additional projectile types – sickly yellow versions which if you’re struck by, lowers your max health ceiling. Increased risk? Certainly. But with it comes increased rewards, making it worth rolling the dice for a more dangerous world.
Lucenite, Carcosa’s collectable currency dropped by downed enemies and which are key to unlocking permanent upgrades to better survive its dangers, increase in value during eclipses. And while activating your Power Weapon cleanses you of corruption, once the eclipse is called you will have the ability to find corrupted versions of weaponry and artifacts, which have unique properties and perks active for the duration of an eclipse. And while undiscovered during our own hands-on, Housemarque alludes to tools also unique to an eclipse world-state that will aid your exploration.
It’s worth straying off the path
In Saros, a level’s layout will alter every time you return to it. “We have handcrafted levels, handcrafted art, handcrafted design, handcrafted combat encounters, and then we kind of connect them in a procedural matter,” says Silvestri. And each configuration is meticulously crafted by the studio. “We play our game a lot, and we keep playtesting to ensure that we have a really great flow across the experience.”
Every level has a golden path, a direct line to your main objective (tap down on D-Pad to scan the world and you’ll see a literal gold flag icon pinpointing your key objective’s general location). But levels are also pocketed with side paths. At the end of most lies rewards, though puzzles that require fast reflexes or having the right tool stand between you and your claim.
A horror ensemble
Sometimes you’ll stumble upon the remnants of colony camps with logs that’ll help you piece together what happened to those you’re here to rescue. The colony’s fate, and the nature of Carcosa, is a mystery you need to solve, but not alone. While Returnal excelled with solitary dread and a slow burn story, Saros proves group dynamics are as perfect a canvas to explore the horror genre and give an urgent propulsion to the story from its opening moments.
“We immediately knew we wanted more viewpoints,” says Louden of the importance of this not being a solo excursion. Crew relationships and individual motivations are fleshed out gradually as you return to the Passage, or as members radio in as you explore. But even from the off, you realise that companionship brings an increasing edge of uneasiness, not comfort. Be it from the crew, individually grappling with the sheer complexity of the operation and growing uneasy of Arjun due to his experiences, or the unsettling stoicism of Primary, the huge black box of a Soltari AI that when not unlocking upgrades on Arjun’s Armor Matrix, speaks on behalf of the company and its profit-focused operations on the planet. “It creates this pressure cooker of an experience, with multiple perspectives.”
Saros launches April 30 on PS5. Find out more about the game’s enemy design, how to create a beautiful bullet ballet pattern, and much more, in an extended interview with Housemarque on PlayStation Podcast, dropping this Friday.
