Developer Housemarque is clearly aiming to make Saros a much more approachable game than its predecessor, Returnal, but it seems it's also making it more digestible.
One detail we've noticed in some of the recent previews for the upcoming roguelite shooter is that a run won't take you as long this time around.
Apparently, in Saros, you'll be able to complete a biome in about 20-30 minutes; doing the same in Returnal could take you twice as long.
Obviously the amount of time you take to finish a run depends on how you play, but it seems as though Housemarque has made a conscious choice to make each attempt a bit snappier in Saros.
Talking to GamesRadar, lead game designer explains: "One thing for us was to keep the feeling of danger when you're on a long run, where you don't want to lose your progress, but also reduce the feeling of helplessness when you know there's a potential three hours to get back to where I was."
There are other ways the game streamlines things for players.
Importantly, Saros will ship with multiple save slots, auto save, and an option to suspend your current run. It means the game is more flexible than Returnal, which didn't have a way to save mid-run at launch — a pain point for many, especially as the runs could last a long time.
On top of that, in Saros' hub area, you'll be able to warp back to any biome you've previously reached, meaning you don't have to slog all the way through from the start.
It's one more way the game gives you more options and less friction.
Starting from the first area lets you build Arjun Devraj back up again, gathering useful items and so on so you're better equipped for later areas. On the other hand, if you'd rather just explore a later biome without all the leg work, you can do that.
You can read more about Saros in our round up of the recent previews.