SAROS

SAROS is a third-person action shooter developed by Housemarque, the Finnish studio behind Returnal, and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It launched on 30 April 2026 as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, with PS5 Pro enhancements. Players control Arjun Devraj, a Soltari Enforcer played by Rahul Kohli, on Carcosa, a shifting planet under the shadow of an eclipse. This page is a sourced analysis: we have not played the game, and every observation below is attributed to its source.

Returnal's successor

According to Housemarque, SAROS is a new IP designed to build on Returnal's third-person action and mysterious storytelling without being a sequel. Arjun searches for answers in a lost off-world colony alongside the crew of the Echelon IV mission. The official PlayStation page adds that the eclipse gradually breeds paranoia within the group. The dark electronic soundtrack is by composer Sam Slater.

Gameplay: bullet ballet and permanent progression

The studio describes combat in which you parry, dodge and shield yourself amid swarms of projectiles, a legacy of its arcade games. The key difference from Returnal is permanent progression: the world changes after every death, but you keep resources and permanently upgrade your weapons and suit parts. A "second chance" feature revives you instantly the first time you die. On PS5, the official page highlights near-instant loading, 3D audio, DualSense haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, plus PSSR upscaling on PS5 Pro.

What critics liked

Reviews are largely positive. GameSpot (9/10) calls it a "phenomenal" game that improves on Returnal "in every conceivable way". Game Informer (9.3/10) says moving, shooting and improving is "an unequivocal joy". Tom's Guide (4.5/5) describes a "relentless, exciting and demanding" roguelite shooter that keeps you saying "one more run", and GamesRadar+ (4/5) praises "magnificent" late-game boss fights. For Eurogamer (4/5), it is "another top-tier action game" from Housemarque.

What critics criticised

The story draws the most criticism. IGN (7/10) points to an ambitious story the game "isn't always able to effectively tell", Eurogamer to a narrative that "often feels at odds" with the experience, and Game Informer admits it was not emotionally invested in the crew. Giant Bomb (3/5) is the harshest, finding that the lessons learned from Returnal produced a game that is "less than the sum of its parts". Tom's Guide also warns that the game "pulls very few punches".

The Zenith update and accessibility

On 19 October 2026, Housemarque released the free SAROS: Zenith update (patch 2.000.000). According to the studio and the PlayStation page, it adds Overlord Rush, a mode where you face the bosses back to back with online leaderboards, a New Game+ mode (named « Strates écliptiques » in the French version), and new accessibility options: high-contrast visuals, DualSense motion aiming and a setting to slow down game speed. These options partly address the concerns about difficulty.

Prices and languages

Prices checked on 10 November 2026 on the French PlayStation Store: the standard edition is €79.99, with no discount. The special digital edition (« Édition numérique spéciale » on the French store), which adds three armour sets inspired by Returnal, Ghost of Yōtei and God of War, is discounted to €69.29 instead of €89.99 until 21 November 2026, 00:59 Paris time, which makes it cheaper than the standard edition while the offer lasts. The upgrade from the standard edition costs €10. The game is fully voiced and subtitled in French and rated PEGI 12. No PC version is available on Steam at the time of writing.

Who is it for?

PS5 players who enjoyed Returnal or Housemarque's arcade games and want fast, demanding action, now with progression that makes every death count. Players mainly looking for a strong story may be less convinced, according to many reviews. Those worried about the difficulty can rely on the options added in the Zenith update.

Press review summary

The score shown at the top of this page is the press average calculated by TricknFix from three reviews of the PlayStation 5 version (the game is exclusive to that console), checked on 10 November 2026: Push Square (9/10, European standard PS5 version), GameSpot (9/10) and IGN (7/10), all published on 24 April 2026. It is not a review played by our team.