Saros review: Pure action nirvana on PS5

Strange world Saros It looks like it has been touched by King Midas. The sky is golden after another recurring solar eclipse. The rocks, specifically those found in the valuable resource Lucinite, radiate sparkling amber. Even the body of our gruff hero Arjun Devraj (played by Rahul Kohli) may turn a deep yellow during his adventures in the wilds of Carcosa. In the event of his death (which is frequent), the game transitions to strange and more mysterious images, one of which is a double bed covered in golden silk sheets.

It’s a slick aesthetic that’s fitting for a time when gaming wasn’t a more glamorous activity (seriously, have you seen how big the PlayStation 5 is Costs these days?). However, aside from this occasional echo, the sparkling, gold-hued presentation speaks of a game where every frame seems ablaze with dazzling light. Saros It is, among other things, a third-person shooter. This means that he will often fire hundreds, if not thousands, of slow- and fast-moving projectiles at you at any given moment. Some of these projectiles are golden. Others are red and blue. They all light up 3D cavernous arenas as you unload your supernatural bullets into the ether. The result was amazing, a kind of spectacular fireworks display.

If the gaming experience Sarosthe new PS5 exclusive from Finnish studio Housemarque, is often transcendent, its sci-fi shell keeping the action steady. Arjun is part of a rescue mission sent to the barren, mineral-rich planet of Carcosa, tasked with investigating an endangered human colony. But the protagonist is immediately stuck in a time loop, just as Selene did in the excellent previous Housemarque game, Returning. At various points, he is able to trigger an eclipse that causes the world to go dark and become several orders of magnitude more deadly, filled with twisted entities that strike a completely unsettling balance between the organic and the mechanical, much like the steel monsters in Matrix.

The mix of influences is familiar, but carefully put together in a way that makes it special Saros Feel Fresh: Massive biosynthetic architecture is clearly influenced by H.R. Giger; Talking about the ancients brings to mind Ridley Scott Prometheus. Every giant portal made me think about it Stargate; Pure cosmic awe Event horizon. In the horror of the game’s signature visual motif, a massive blazing sun, Housemarque recalls the underappreciated character of Danny Boyle. sunrise.

The hellish atmosphere is exacerbated by this Saros Sounds: the belching marshes of Blighted Marsh; whirring sounds of machinery; Sam Slater’s massive 11-count soundtrack seamlessly separates death metal from raucous club music, striking a kind of hellish harmony with the groans of the monsters that have roused Arjun from their slumber.

There were many moments while playing Saros When I quietly said to myself: “Very cool.” It happened a few nights ago, but in order to explain what was special about that session, I actually need to explain the structure of the game.

SarosHe loves Returningis a roguelite, which means it has a run-based structure that is less punishing than yours Rogue– Descendant brothers such as Spelunky and Rogue legacy. This does not mean Saros It’s not difficult – it can be. But this challenge is slightly offset by generous permanent upgrades purchased between rounds, boosting your health, firepower, or ability to gather resources.

During the first 10 hours of SarosI’ve died maybe 25 times on my way from a stunning mountainous area to a massive castle. Along the way, I discovered the joys of long-arm pistols, ricocheting bullets, and space-age crossbows that fire bolts of raw energy. The game is divided into different areas, but you are able to return to any of them once you get there, so Arjun starts off a little on his journey each time.

That night, I decided to start running in the first zone. Thanks to a host of improvements you’ve made, you’ve been able to overwhelm your opponents early in the game, barely taking a hit. Regardless of your meta-advancement, Arjun moves with the fluidity of liquid mercury and impossible speed. Dashes make you invincible for a split second. I picked up new, more powerful weapons, and took on bosses that had previously pestered me for hours. As the run continued for longer, she became exponentially stronger: Arjun, the eclipse maker and owner of alien technology, began to feel like a god. When it came to the boss I hadn’t gotten to yet, an ominous floating eye surrounded by ghost-like orbs, I took it down easily, supercharged by the cumulative feats of the overall session.

I’m not usually good at such games that require dexterity. but Saros It gives even a player like me ways to progress. I usually rely on weapons with forgiving auto-aim, like the Smart Rifle, whose red spectral bullets curve elegantly toward the game’s many Lovecraftian enemies. One power point sees Arjun discharge what looks like a miniature eclipse, dealing lethal damage to anything that strays near it.

Over the past 30 years, Housemarque has gained a reputation for punishing shooters (see also Nix Machina and risogon). After with Sarosyou can sense the studio, now owned by Sony, wrestling with a dilemma: how to make the genre more accessible without diluting its thumb-punishing core.

The game largely maintains this balance, although the most striking moments remain the bloodiest. You battle with hordes of enemies that seem to occupy every inch of space from the ground to the sky, unleashing a barrage of polyrhythmic orbs. If Arjun stays still, he’s toast, so you have to keep him moving—swaying and weaving, bending and diving through breathing apparatus-like formations of immaterial light to find pockets of safety that are constantly repositioning.

Arjun has his own reasons for moving forward with such bloody intent: namely, Carcosa’s missing romantic partner. However, this narrative thread inevitably fades throughout all the psychedelic shootouts. In the end, I saw him as a person and not some kind of phosphorescent energy force. Arjun, and by extension the player, is the catalyst for a game whose kaleidoscopic chain reactions are as beautiful as they are brutal. He is the match that sets this world on fire.

_{Saros Releases on PS5 on April 30.}