Saros review: Edge of Tomorrow

Housemarque refines its roguelite formula in Saros.

With 2021’s Returnal, Housemarque reintroduced itself as a studio ready to shake up the modern AAA landscape. Returnal instantly placed them on my shortlist of studios to watch, its balance of traditional action and roguelite elements making for a challenging sci-fi experience like no other. Five years and one PlayStation acquisition later, Housemarque has returned to the world of sci-fi bullet hells with Saros, a game that smartly iterates on its spiritual predecessor.

Live

Saros follows Arjun Devraj, a Soltari enforcer sent by the organization to investigate and recover a lost colony on the alien planet Carcosa. Immediately, Saros leans much further into narrative than Returnal, giving us a cast of recurring characters who provide insight and theories and eventually become little mysteries of their own. With each location explored, more clues about the lost colony are uncovered, with additional hints and details coming in the form of written and audio logs.

Saros’ story is anchored by Rahul Kohli, who provides the voice and performance capture for Arjun. It’s a great performance that conveys confusion, frustration, and fear. He feels like a proper action star here, going toe-to-toe with horrifying alien abominations.

Saros cleverly weaves the story into gameplay. Each run, referred to as a “cycle,” is your latest attempt to discover the truth about Carcosa and its lost colony. Dying sends you back to base, where you can chat with crewmates and then reload for the next attempt. There are cutscenes stitched between a lot of these repeated moments, enforcing the sense of dread and mystery in between the game’s larger story beats.

Die

As intriguing as the story in Saros is, make no mistake about it, this game is about combat. It’s a third-person action game that the developers describe as a “bullet ballet,” with lasers and projectiles constantly swarming you from every direction. It’s chaotic, frenetic, and hard as hell. It’s a game that tears you down, but then helps you get back up.

The moment-to-moment gameplay in Saros is incredibly similar to Housemarque’s last outing: you run through procedurally generated areas packed with alien enemies, snatching new upgrades and weapons for yourself along the way. It’s a delicious formula, and Housemarque was right to keep it largely the same. However, there are changes, and they have massively changed how I approach my runs.

Saros features permanent progression through the Armor Matrix, an interface at your base that can be used to increase attributes like health, power, and Lucenite gain. Lucenite is a resource found throughout Carcosa and is used to acquire upgrades for Arjun. This addition solves one of my few complaints about Returnal: the deflating feeling when you lose a run because the randomness of the roguelite had it out for you. Now, even the less-lucky runs feel rewarding and constructive. Upon respawning at base, you can use the Lucenite from your previous run (minus a death penalty) to upgrade Arjun’s abilities. This means that even if you’re dying to the same boss over and over, you’re getting materially stronger each time.

The skill tree in Saros is pretty linear, meaning there won’t be a terrible amount of variation amongst players. As players progress through, the skill tree gates provide access to new upgrades behind defeating bosses, meaning that you can’t get too powerful too early.

Repeat

Just like Returnal, Saros pushed me to the absolute brink. My eyes dried as I stared intensely at the screen, dodging projectiles, absorbing them with my shield, and firing away at enemies whenever I had the opportunity. Every enemy has a clearly defined pattern of behavior that you have to adapt to, so each death felt like my own fault for being reckless or impatient.

The DualSense controller is one of my favorite things Sony has done this generation, and Housemarque is putting it to use as well as any other studio. The game uses haptic feedback for virtually everything that happens to Arjun, vibrating in my hands as I was pelted by alien attacks. Some in-game audio was played through the controller’s built-in speaker, and the triggers resisted my pull as I charged weapons or activated their alternative firing modes. Saros is a visceral experience, and that’s apparent the moment you pick up the controller.

I played Saros on a base PlayStation 5, and it ran pretty well on my system. There were a small handful of instances when the game slowed down during overwhelming gameplay moments, but it was never enough to take me out of the game. I was disappointed at the lack of a Performance mode option, as it’s become my tradition to prioritize framerate whenever given the option on modern consoles. Housemarque says that the game is enhanced by the PS5 Pro, so I’m sure the hardcore players are in for nothing short of a premium experience.

Coming into 2026, I knew that few games were a surer bet than Saros. Housemarque’s 2021 breakout is still one of the PS5’s best games, and Saros will now stand alongside it. I could see some players lamenting just how similar it feels to Returnal, but Saros was exactly what I needed from a spiritual successor.

This review is based on a PS5 code provided by the publisher. Saros launches on April 30, 2026, for PS5.

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Review for
Saros
9
Pros

• Permanent progression is an excellent addition
• Deeply challenging and rewarding
• Compelling mystery
• Rahul Kohli is a great leading man
• Beautifully unsettling visuals

Cons

• Skill tree is more linear than I'd like