Review: With ‘Saros,' Housemarque balances the difficulty of its bullet-ballet gameplay
Housemarque built its reputation on bullet hell games, arcade shooters that demand precise control and quick-twitch reactions for success. The studio stood out with titles such as “Super Stardust HD” that rode the wave of success of “Geometry Wars,” but the Finnish developer showed that it had more to offer with the release of “Returnal.”
That game put the studio on the map by adapting the bullet hell gameplay into a third-person action shooter. The only issue was that the game was controller-breakingly difficult as players had to weave in and out of fire, jump over waves of projectiles and shoot back. Dying was discouraging as it sent players back without much sense of progress.
ENTERING ANOTHER WORLD
Housemarque’s follow-up title, “Saros,” brings that great gameplay back but with a better structure and design. Players take on the role of Arjun Devraj, an enforcer for the megacorporation called Soltari. It discovered a new substance called Lucenite on the planet Carcosa, and Soltari has sent several colony ships to extract the material.
Unfortunately, each time they sent a ship over, the company lost contact with the settlers. Arjun is part of Echelon IV, tasked with determining what happened to the colonists. His team discovers an ancient alien civilization once inhabited the planet, and over the course of the adventure, they discover that extracting Lucenite has a price.
What makes “Saros” different from the previous project is that Housemarque has adapted a structure similar to “Hades” for this action-heavy third-person shooter. The two titles share similar concepts. They both have lone heroes who venture from room to room and fight bosses at the end of each world. Both have players dealing with waves of enemies, dodging attacks and counterattacking. Dying is punishing, but each demise brings a lesson and some progression.
In “Saros,” that comes in the form of Halycon and Lucenite, which are used to upgrade Arjun’s armor. During each cycle, players build up stockpiles of the resources and use them to upgrade three stats: Command, which increases shield capacity and power weapon usage; Resilience, the maximum armor integrity; and Drive, the amount of Lucenite gathered. Players can also upgrade other perks, making each run easier.
A GAME OF CYCLES
Choosing upgrades is what players do before heading out, and that’s one part of a cycle. The other half is the actual journey Arjun takes as he explores Carcosa and battles enemy inhabitants. Some foes drop stat boosts. While searching rooms, players uncover breakable monoliths that hold artifacts that are comparable to boons in “Hades.” They tweak some aspect of play. Lastly, players can also pick up more powerful weapons that grow stronger as their proficiencies increase.
On each run, players must be choosy about the artifacts and arms. They have to think ahead and use the best tools for each of the bosses and pick up guns and power weapons that complement their playstyle. Shotguns are powerful up close and can stun enemies for melee hit while ranged weapons are best for adversaries with devastating close-up attacks. It takes several runs to figure out what works best.
Players will also spend time adjusting to the combat, which isn’t explained well. Initially, players figure out that “Saros” is about doing damage while dodging attacks. Housemarque adds more wrinkles to the gunplay with a shield that absorbs blue bullets that fuels devastating power weapons. The campaign also introduces more enemy bullets with a yellow corruption that shrinks the armor, representing health. Players also have an unblockable and undodgable red attack that must be parried, a move learned late in the campaign.
FAIRLY DEEP COMBAT
It also takes a while to adjust to the flow of “Saros.” The game gives players the options to jump ahead to levels, but that’s a bad move. To succeed in the campaign, Arjun has to slowly develop power, increasing his proficiency and stats. They’ll run into mandatory eclipse markers that introduce tougher enemies but also gives players with more Lucenite. Under eclipses, artifacts will also be corrupted and have drawbacks that can be cleansed by beating the world’s Overlord.
If a cycle is still too hard, Housemarque created a Carcosan Modifiers tab that lets players choose additional perks that make a run easier, such as an attack boost. If players find the game too easy, they can also add challenge modifiers. Suffice it to say, “Saros” is a game that players can finish with enough effort.
And that’s the most important thing about this follow-up. With “Returnal,” Housemarque made the game too difficult, but with the rogue-lite elements more pronounced in this follow-up, along with additional aids, it’s a game that beautifully shows off “the bullet ballet” the team strived for while also helping players who take the effort to master the game’s intricacies.
‘Saros’
3½ stars out of 4
Platform: PlayStation 5
Rating: Teen
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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 12:52 PM.