I still remember the pain of my first time playing the PC version of 'Returnal'. It took me over five hours just to acquire a melee weapon, I died in the second room more times than I care to admit, and I never managed to clear a single boss without the 'spacesuit' item. Community guides kept insisting that 'getting an overpowered weapon makes it easy,' but frankly, being ejected from the ship felt much easier. By the end, seeing the name of the developer, Housemarque, was enough to make me grind my teeth in frustration.

When I first got my hands on 'Saros', the latest from that same studio, I must admit I was more worried than excited. However, playing it proved that Saros is significantly more user-friendly than its predecessor. The systems have been refined into something more rational, and while the bosses still pack a hell of a punch, the story—well, let’s just say it remains as bewildering as ever.

Saros acts as a true successor to the Returnal developers, inheriting and refining various elements of their previous work. One of the main gripes with Returnal was how it artificially inflated playtime through punishing difficulty and overly long, exhausting runs. Saros adopts a similar flow, but with a twist: destinations and farming areas are clearly marked, and once you take down a boss, there is no need to repeat the chore. Portals placed right in front of your base make things far more convenient. Crucially, by dividing the game into biome-based segments, the length of each run feels much tighter than in Returnal.

Combat has evolved, adding layers of complexity to the foundations laid by its predecessor. The protagonist, Arjun, faces off against enemies using a variety of firearms forged from the technology of the alien planet Carkosa. Notably, the 'secondary fire' from the previous game has expanded into 'power weapons,' while secondary fire now serves a more tactical, auxiliary role. On top of this, a 'shield' has been introduced, allowing you to absorb blue bullet hell patterns to replenish your power weapon resources.

As you progress, you'll encounter red (Nova) and yellow (Corrupted) bullet patterns. Yellow projectiles can be absorbed, but doing so converts your maximum health into 'Corruption.' Red projectiles, however, cannot be dashed through or absorbed by the shield. By granting the player a shield, the developers have balanced it out by introducing these new hazards, keeping the combat intense and varied.

The implementation of haptic feedback is nothing short of exceptional. It’s easily on par with 'AstroBot'—you can feel the grass swaying and the mechanical clicks of shifting platforms. The dual-stage triggers are put to good use, requiring a light press of the L2 button for auxiliary weapons and a firm press for power weapons, which never felt cumbersome. This haptic feedback plays a massive role in cranking up the overall immersion.

Another hallmark of Saros is its distinct collection of firearms that fit the alien landscape of Carkosa. While early gear might look like something you’d find in reality, the mid-game introduces bizarre weaponry that defies conventional design. Much like Returnal, you start with a handgun (hand cannon), but its performance is so underwhelming that you’ll be ditching it for rifles or shotguns as soon as possible. Once you unlock the basic prototype of a gun, randomized variants begin to appear. Throughout the map, you’ll find white, yellow, and red crates, which are your primary sources for weapons and artifacts.

Weapons can be broadly categorized into handguns, automatic rifles, shotguns, crossbows, and saw-blade chakrams. The crossbow arrives in the mid-game, and the saw-blade chakram appears in the very late stages. The Stalwart Shotgun and the Saw-blade Chakram were particularly standout. The Stalwart Shotgun allows you to scatter ammo into the air with secondary fire, which then homes in on enemies when you land a normal shot. The chakram can be fired, and after hitting an enemy, a light tap of L2 deals additional damage over time.

The 'weapon proficiency' system from Returnal also returns. It’s a leveling mechanic that scales based on how much 'Lucernite' you collect from defeated foes, dictating the quality of gear you find. Higher-level guns come with up to five 'traits,' and their performance ceiling is much higher. Arjun has three stats—Vitality, Command, and Momentum—and each weapon scales according to these values. Low-level weapons have a lower stat cap, whereas high-level ones reach such high limits that they can't even be fully maximized by player stats alone.

The power weapons used for special attacks are equally charming. The early-game 'Prominence' fires a powerful single shot, while the 'Nova Lance' charges up to unleash a narrow, high-energy beam. 'Illumine,' found in the late game, emits a sustained, devastating laser that locks you in place but delivers immense power. Not all are winners, though—the 'Dispiriter,' which plants a parasite that eats away at enemy health, is awkward to use and frankly lacks both style and impact.

However, the artifacts you find along the way feel a bit bland and disappointing. They function as gear that resets once your run ends, but most offer mundane effects like healing when dealing damage at low health, increased item pick-up range, or simple stat boosts. I never encountered an artifact that fundamentally changed the way the game was played. Then there are the 'Corrupted Artifacts' that trigger during an 'Eclipse'; they boost stats but come with brutal drawbacks, such as increased dash cooldowns or taking damage upon landing, making them almost universally avoided by players.

The bizarre atmosphere of the planet Carkosa and the enemies that inhabit it are genuinely impressive. Each puts pressure on Arjun in distinct ways, and the overall difficulty is quite high. In the first area, 'Shattered Ascent,' you face basic foes like the floating tentacle-machine 'Custodian' and the turret-like 'Guardian,' which remain standard threats throughout the game, occasionally reappearing as evolved 'Prime' variants.

Every enemy has its own unique projectile attack. The common Custodian fires straight-line projectiles that linger in the air. The 'Excubitor,' a tougher mid-tier enemy appearing from the second biome, resembles a machine that emits radial shockwaves and blue projectiles. The most memorable, however, was the 'Penitent'—a shrimp-like creature with inverted limbs and multiple arms that skitters around, leaving blue projectiles on the floor or spraying wall-like projectiles in your direction. These foes fit perfectly within their respective biomes.

Some areas feature special interactions tied to the 'Eclipse.' This world-altering event is usually required to progress through the latter half of a biome. While the Eclipse makes enemies stronger and the environment more hostile, it offers greater rewards. For instance, the 'Desolate Swamps' are filled with harmless puddles, but once an Eclipse begins, they turn into toxic bogs that drain your health if you linger too long.

While the biomes and enemies are colorful and relentless, the combat eventually starts to feel repetitive. Because the gameplay is so heavily reliant on your firearms, the core loop of dodging projectiles and landing your shots never truly shifts. The enemy patterns, despite their visual variety, boil down to scattering one of three types of bullet patterns. After playing long enough to reach the end, you can't shake the feeling that you're just doing the same thing over and over again.

This is why the bosses, despite their unique patterns and appearances, also left a similar impression. With the exception of one mini-boss, they all have three health bars and rely on bullet-hell mechanics. The first boss and the final boss in the 'Cathedral' area have unique gimmicks, and the boss of the 'Sanctuary' is visually overwhelming. However, the final boss felt underwhelming in terms of pattern and difficulty compared to those that came before it. It’s as if the background, lore, and story were doing the heavy lifting to mask these shortcomings.

Saros is undeniably a difficult game. While it might not be as punishing as my first experience with 'Returnal,' even seasoned players will find it tough to reach the first boss on their first run. Progressing through the early sections with just a handgun is a real slog, and the addition of the shield-absorption mechanic seems to have prompted the developers to increase the number of projectiles on screen. Furthermore, unlike in Returnal where picking up health packs at full HP increased your max health, here they only provide 'Lucernite.' Health recovery is limited, and death by multi-projectile collision is a common fate.

Despite this high bar for entry, if you forced me to recommend one for a newcomer, it would be Saros, hands down. This is thanks to the more explicit roguelite elements. After a failed run, you return to the 'Passage' headquarters, where the 'Armor Matrix' allows you to upgrade your base stats. The resurrection function is also made available very cheaply even before your first boss attempt, and you can boost your weapon proficiency alongside your other stats.

Unusually, Saros doesn't strip you of all your weapons upon death; it simply reverts them to their base level. If you were rocking a level 50 shotgun and had raised its base proficiency to level 3, you’ll respawn with a level 3 shotgun. Since being comfortable with your weapon is as crucial as proficiency, the ability to control your starting gear significantly lowers the early-game frustration.

Additionally, the developers introduced 'Carkosa Mutations,' a challenge system that lets you apply positive and negative effects. There’s a limit, of course—for instance, increasing enemy damage might grant you extra points, but you can only trade up to -3 points. This allows for interesting builds where you can push your attack or defense to the limit, though you might end up with zero rewards or become extremely vulnerable to corruption damage. It’s a thoughtful way to help beginners push through.

The combat, action, boss design, and biomes of Saros are polished enough to warrant praise. But if there’s one point of contention—and a personal dislike—it’s the vague and unfriendly story. It’s a mirror image of Returnal: it seduces you with mystery at the start, only to descend into a chaotic mess where reality and fantasy blur. I couldn't even spoil it if I tried, because it’s just that poorly organized.

Sharp-eyed players will immediately recognize the inspiration for the setting upon hearing the name 'Carkosa.' The fact that every enemy has at least one tentacle is, frankly, a dead giveaway. The protagonist, Arjun, is an employee of 'Soltari,' a mega-corporation that sent expeditions to Carkosa with misplaced confidence. Soltari sent four teams to colonize the place; Arjun is a combat operative from Echelon 4, sent to scout and ensure safety after contact with previous ships was lost.

The early atmosphere deviates from the 'loneliness' that defined Returnal. In Returnal, isolation fueled the anxiety; in Saros, the people around you amplify it. From the jump, a squad member goes mad and attacks his allies, and the rest slowly spiral into instability. Arjun has a strange ability to resurrect upon death, which initially feels like a boon for helping his crew. However, it soon comes to light that Arjun has his own agenda—searching for a mysterious woman named Natiya—and his own hypocritical and fragile actions begin to surface.

I reached the ending of Saros, but even after ruminating on it, it doesn't make much sense. Every hypothesis I formed was contradicted by something else. I also speed-ran a section in the middle, and I’m fairly certain I missed a major story sequence as a result. A story-replay feature is badly needed for players like me. It’s quite harsh that you can't go back and re-watch these scenes. The developers previously pulled the 'story told by the player' card to hide a confusing narrative, and having it happen twice now is, frankly, a bit of a headache.

Saros is a fantastic new entry that improves on almost all the flaws of its predecessor, Returnal. It breaks down the exhausting long runs into digestible biome-based stages and softens the high difficulty with the 'Armor Matrix' roguelite elements. The combat, which could have been monotonous, is balanced by excellent controller haptics, tight controls, and the shield-absorption system. That said, the story remains a divisive mess. While finding the narrative threads has its charm, many gamers would certainly prefer a more coherent, player-friendly approach.