All articles tagged with #housemarque
Sony and Housemarque released the first Saros making-of video, revealing that Rahul Kohli tapped into an angrier, more intense Arjun after a rushed LA commute to meet a teaser deadline, with extensive performance-capture footage and behind-the-scenes insights.
Luke Plunkett argues that coverage and reader obsession with a singleplayer game's sales and analysts’ outlook are irrelevant to players, insisting fans should judge Saros by their own enjoyment, not by investor chatter or long‑term financial forecasts surrounding Housemarque and PlayStation two weeks after release.
Saros, Housemarque’s PS5 exclusive, has earned rave reviews but is selling slower than Returnal, with analyst estimates around 300,000 copies sold in the first two weeks against a reported $76 million development budget. The exclusive strategy may still boost PS5 hardware sales, aided by a large share of players who previously owned Returnal (about 79%), and more than 20% having finished the game; PC release timing remains uncertain, complicating hopes of immediate recoupment.
Saros has sold roughly 300,000 copies and earned over $22 million, with about a third of revenue coming from a 48-hour early-access window for deluxe edition buyers. Analysts warn the game may struggle to break even on its reported $76 million development budget, despite a larger PS5 installed base and strong engagement metrics. The launch appears front-loaded, but longer-term performance on PC (as seen with Returnal) could help Saros if Sony maintains its PC releases strategy.
Push Square’s poll shows mixed opinions on Saros: it refines the core gameplay, streamlines progression, and adds a more story‑driven, accessible approach, but many players miss Returnal’s atmosphere and challenging, mysterious edge, leaving the question of which Housemarque game is the better sequel hotly debated.
A Kotaku tips guide lays out the best Saros modifiers to ease runs: raise Protections (Damage and Armor) to a comfortable level for quick enemy kills, use Overlord Restoration for a boss rewind, and Weapon Symmetry to nudge drops toward your current weapon; if you can handle risk, toggle Trials such as Corruption Enhancement, Growth Incapacitator, Proficiency Inflation, Shield Reduction, and Halcyon Removal to fine-tune difficulty, with caveats about trade-offs and higher balance changes.
Push Square debunks fake Saros spoilers circulating online, noting AI-generated images and a leaked backstory are not reflected in the PS5 game. The real plot centers on Arjun searching for his wife Nitya on Carcosa, with lore revealing past events and systemic corruption, and two endings: one where Arjun defeats the King, becomes King, and takes Nitya’s hand; another where he defeats the King but lets go, with Nitya moving on with Kiira.
Kotaku reports that Saros, Housemarque’s roguelike shooter, has become the focus of a misinformation campaign fueled by AI-generated imagery and a culture-war backlash. A doctored post falsely claimed a plot involving a wife betraying her husband for a lesbian partner; the article clarifies that the actual story shows Arjun’s abusive past, Nitya leaving him, and her long arc on Carcosa where she begins a relationship with another woman. The piece notes that AI-made images and racist rhetoric are spreading online, turning Saros into a target without players witnessing those events, and urges readers to focus on the game’s real narrative.
Saros retools Housemarque's run‑and‑gun roguelite with a sharper energy-management system and a more accessible structure, featuring Arjun Devraj's strong combat and slick visuals, but its expanded upgrades and friendlier design dilute the core challenge, making many runs feel similar and leaving the late game less memorable than its Returnal predecessor.
Following Housemarque’s PS5 exclusive Saros launch, Sony’s first‑party teams shared celebratory artwork—Sucker Punch, Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Insomniac and others created pieces featuring Arjun, Atsu, Ellie, Ratchet and more, with Firesprite, Guerrilla and Bend Studio also joining in; Mundfish contributed as well. Saros is now available on PS5 and positioned as a strong, accessible follow‑up for Returnal fans.
Housemarque’s Saros, like Returnal, argues that next-gen is defined by stylized visuals and arcade-style, kinetic gameplay rather than photorealistic realism. The studio’s leaders say immersion comes from the believability of sensations and the way gameplay drives storytelling, with cinematics posing questions that the player answers through action. As a PlayStation Studios title, Saros emphasizes controlled detail, aggressive gameplay pacing, and a narrative depth that sits alongside (but distinct from) cinematic spectacle—an approach that could redefine how AAA games showcase hardware, even though it’s a risky departure from industry norms.
SAROS is worldwide on PS5, a single-player action game from Housemarque featuring neon bullet-ballet combat, a shapeshifting Carcosa world with permanent progression between runs, and a sci-fi narrative; available in Standard and Digital Deluxe Editions and optimized for PS5 with fast loading, adaptive triggers, and immersive 3D audio.
Housemarque’s Saros treats the PS5’s DualSense haptics as a central mechanic, using tactile cues for ammo, weapon firing, grappling, and environmental moments to deepen immersion and potentially revive interest in the controller’s untapped potential.
Here are 12 practical Saros tips: loop back to the Passage for new dialogue and upgrades, take alternate paths for loot, clear corruption before healing, use Arjun’s melee to break shields and take down foes, decide when to activate or skip the Eclipse, rely on the Overlord health-perk to recover between bosses, explore Nightmare Strands and non-combat story zones, hold keys for late-game upgrades, prioritize Halcyon for long-term progression, and tune DualSense Edge trigger settings to optimize weapon switching.
Saros is Housemarque’s PS5 project that extends Returnal with permanent progression, optional modifiers, and a more approachable yet challenging design, aiming to boost replayability while keeping storytelling optional and maintaining a gameplay-first approach.