Platform: PS5
Genre: Action, Roguelite, Shmup, Bullet Hell

Some things will always remain as constants in the video game culture sphere. Nintendo will always be marching to the beat of their own drum, Ed Boon will always champion Mortal Kombat be it games or live-action adaptations, and Finnish gamemakers Housemarque will always make pretty bullet-hell coloured shmups be it in a locked 2D perspective (Nex Machina, Resogun) or 3D space (Returnal). They always make good shooter titles with spot-on controls, and their latest exclusive offering Saros, with roguelite mechanics and level structure similar to Returnal, is on that same track.

Unfortunately, they are saddled with PlayStation, a constant presence in the games industry that currently isn’t sure about its path. Making so many mistakes with live-service games years back, they have this one new 2026 single-player roguelite shooter to fall back on, to get you to support the jacked-up-in-price PS5 and PS5 Pro. Is this a title that is going to convince you to jump on board? Of course not; that ship has passed. But as a new Housemarque title?

It could be better.

Black Hole Sun

In Saros, you play as main character Arjun, an explorer for space corp Soltari whose team is out finding previous expedition groups on a planet called Carcosa. This being an action title, the area is knee-deep in alien ruins and lots of space aliens to fight and kill. To keep things spicy narrative-wise, the planet goes through an eclipse that tunrs everyone pretty hostile and paranoid against one another, most notably Arjun. Whether you question if your actual roguelite runs are real or in your head is the game’s crux of the plot, making you guess things left and right. There’s a ton of purposely-made ambiguity that won’t be solved unless you keep playing the game over and over, and as a result the plot does feel disjointed. Having said that, the man who plays Arjun, Rahul Kohli, does a great job selling his performance though it feels like he’s doing a LOT of the heavy lifting with the vague and shallow plot. The narrative does tie up better at the tail end, but your patience for abstract storytelling may wear thin if you aren’t a fan of these Memento-styled storytelling that just feels like a half-baked Chris Nolan script toiling around with high concept ideas shoved in to feel “relevant”.

Unlike in Returnal, the game’s difficulty curve is manageable to an extent. You will eventually see the end without tearing your hair out -give or take 30 hours or less depending on skill level. You have new ways to deal with oncoming bullet hell: shot absorption for blue attacks that will refill your resources, shot parries when you’re dealing with red bullets, and yellow shots that will reduce your maximum health if you don’t dodge entirely. Audio and visual cues are done up better so you have a fighting chance. You have more permanent upgrades and more Artifacts (for temporary stats-boosting) that will eventually get you through the game.

The problem? As randomized as the biomes and stages are, it becomes apparent that repetition just sets in. You have waves of enemies to kill. You have platforming segments. You have a good mix of both that will test your endurance. You have played this before in Returnal, just with a new coat of paint and “orange-y” aesthetics. And arguably “easier” due to the fact that you can beat Saros through attrition and repetition.

The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow…

For the “exclusive” price of RM299/US$70, you get to play a revised Housemarque third-person shooter that does an adequate job at being a roguelite. And this is just being generous here, considering how similar it is to Returnal.

Granted, it is a step up from the former’s gameplay, but the deja vu is really strong. Plus, Saros’ abstract plotline and narrative aren’t exactly the most cohesive though it does wrap up better than expected in the end. If you played one shooter-heavy roguelite, you’ve played them all. It’s just that this one looks prettier and has fancy bullet hell lights; a hallmark of Housemarque.

Given the recent price hike of the PlayStation 5 console, is it really worth buying a toned-down positive feedback-filled version of Returnal, which at least was a step in a better and unique direction? Especially with less expensive roguelite and shmup fares out there? That is a consumer question you can only answer yourself. What is on tap right now is decent, though unless this is your first Housemarque roguelite bullet hell experience, wait for a discount.

Final Score: 60/100

Review copy provided by publisher.