Round Up: 'Already a GOTY Contender': 5 Things We Learned from Saros PS5 Previews

Today, 26th March 2026, the video game press has exploded with new information, impressions, and gameplay footage on Saros, the next title from storied studio Housemarque.

Following its work on the brilliant Returnal, Saros is another sci-fi third-person shooter with arcade sensibilities and roguelike features, but it really sounds like the team has cranked everything up to 11.

The previews are positively glowing; not that we ever doubted it, but it really does sound like the upcoming game will be a banger of a PS5 exclusive when it launches in about a month's time on 30th April.

Below, we've summarised some of the new information coming out of the previews, as well as picked out some choice quotes from a few publications.

We'd of course love to tell you what we think of the game, but sadly we were not invited to take part in this preview event. Still, we'll of course be reviewing Saros when the time comes, and luckily that's not too far away at this point.

Anyway, here's the scoop on Saros.

Saros is more approachable than Returnal, but not necessarily easier

"The game is still going to kick you down," director Gregory Louden tells VGC. "But the difference in Saros is that you come back stronger. It’s literally our tagline. But it doesn’t mean that it’s not a challenging game. It’s challenging and rewarding. So every death is valuable. For us, it was about keeping what made Returnal right and then adding this element that could kind of allow more people to jump into it."

The DualSense will be put through the mill once again

In Returnal, one innovative use of the DualSense made it so the L2 trigger had two functions. If you pushed it down half-way, you'd feel a resistance; here, your weapon would enter its alt-fire state. Pushing the trigger all the way down would prime your weapon's powerful special ability. It seems Saros will feature this same functionality. The game also leans heavily into haptic feedback. It seems Housemarque is very keen to get everything it can from the controller.

There's greater gun variety, as well as new offensive and defensive options

Apparently, the guns in Saros have a greater variety to them than those found in Returnal. This is because they pull from numerous archetypes, and each archetype can have many variations. It means you're far less likely to pick up the same weapon twice.

Protagonist Arjun also has a strong Carcosan Power Weapon you can tap into when needed, and you'll recharge it by utilising your shield. The shield can block incoming bullets but it can also absorb them; doing that can fuel the Power Weapon. It means you're encouraged to interact with enemy attacks rather than dodging them every time.

The Eclipse is a high risk, high reward system

In each biome, you can choose to activate the Eclipse. If you do so, the visuals will change, but more importantly, enemies will become much more difficult to fight, making the whole experience more intense. The payoff is that you'll earn higher amounts of XP and better loot. If you think you're up to it, Saros will reward you for making the game even more of a challenge.

Saros takes some narrative cues from Hades

In contrast to Returnal, Saros has a much more overt story, with multiple characters you can engage with. It sounds not dissimilar to the approach taken by the Hades games; in between runs, you'll return to a hub, where you can interact with several crewmates who are also stranded on the planet Carcosa. Each time you die and go back to the hub, there will be new dialogue to discover, giving you more viewpoints on the situation and teaching you more about the characters.

• VGC - "You’re not running from enemy gunfire, you’re embracing it"

After a whirlwind run through the opening area, I reached the first boss. This was a skill check on my ability to dodge, absorb enemy bullets, and keep track of the rhythmic patterns of enemy offense. Dying is no great tragedy, not least because it gave me another chance to explore the imposing architecture of Saros’ world.

• GamesRadar - "Already a GOTY contender"

I've yet to get a full sense of Saros' broader structure, but getting to run a few loops across two levels (including beating them front-to-back one after another) is enough to convince me this quicker, more intense play is absolutely the evolution of the Returnal formula I wanted to see. Just three hours has been enough time to get me comfortable with when to embrace the Eclipse, which side-paths to poke through, and which gear I want to pocket on each randomized run. But it's also made it clear there's so much more to experience as I find new layers of depth.

• Game Informer - "I now crave those blue orbs and orange lasers"

With little time to go before Saros is out, I find myself anxious to return to Carcosa, where harmonies of metals, technology, and extraterrestrial melodies drone over the action Arjun orchestrates with gun in hand. His desperation to find the woman whispering in his ear matches mine. Though we have different reasons, we both intend to reach an end, and I can’t wait to see what awaits us there.

• GameSpot - "Feels unlike anything else Housemarque has made"

For some, Saros' similarities to Returnal may temper their excitement somewhat. But, having played a few hours, it has become clear to me that, like Selene and Arjun, Housemarque is approaching the familiar armed with knowledge, experience, and tools that it hopes it can use to push further into the unknown.

Are you pumped for Saros after reading all these previews? Tell us in the comments section below.