Returnal studio Housemarque has revealed Saros. The game will be released in 2026 and will feature an evolution of the gameplay presented in 2021's third-person shooter roguelike.
To close out the February 12 State of Play showcase, Housemarque presented an eery trailer that makes it clear this new project is not set in the same world as Returnal, but will feature similar gameplay mechanics.
Returnal surprised fans back when in 2021. Coming from a relatively unknown developer, the satisfying and extremely polished bullet-hell style gameplay combined with tight controls, the addictive nature of a well-implemented roguelike loop, and a very gloomy, mysterious narrative to drive forward the entire affair quickly made it one of PlayStation 5's best games.
Similar to Returnal, Saros will feature a death loop, standard for any roguelike. The big distinction, according to a blog post on PlayStation's website penned by Creative Director Gregory Louden is that every upgrade will be permanent.
In Returnal, only a handful of updates stayed with Selene, the game's protagonist, between runs. None directly impacted the weapons she carried. In Saros, the protagonist will be able to permanently upgrade his arsenal in order to, as the game's tag suggests, "come back stronger."
Speaking of story, in Saros, players will take control of Arjun Devraj. He is described as "a powerful Soltari Enforcer who will stop at nothing to find who he is looking for."
The developers seem particularly excited to show fans what they've been working on, with Louden describing this game as a dream project and an "ultimate evolution of the Housemarque gameplay-first experience."
Housemarque will be revealing a full extended gameplay trailer later this year with no timeframe provided for when fans can expect it to drop.
Saros is set to be released at some point in 2026 for PlayStation 5. If you're a PS5 Pro owner, the developers confirmed it will launch with enhancements to make the most out of the console.