Saros Shaves Off Returnal’s Rough Edges for a More Universally Appealing PS5 Roguelite

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Returnal is one of the best games on the PS5, but it could at times be unforgiving.

To truly enjoy the game, you needed to be fully committed to its challenging, replay-focused style. However, the upcoming sequel, Saros, aims to smooth out some of those difficult parts to make it enjoyable for a wider range of players.

The game now features ‘Come Back Stronger’ mechanics, allowing you to make progress with each attempt, even if you don’t succeed right away.

You’ll advance your character in The Passage, a central area where you can meet other characters and improve your abilities with resources found on each playthrough.

Okay, so one of the coolest things about this game is the Armour Matrix. It basically lets you permanently upgrade your gear, which is awesome! But here’s the thing – it’s a bit like a skill tree. You have to really think about what you want to focus on. Do you want to become super durable and take a ton of damage? Or would you rather maximize how much stuff you get on each run? It’s totally up to you how you build it, and I’m loving that level of customization!

We’ve added a new feature called the Carcosan Modifier, which lets you customize your game’s difficulty. You can use it to make the game easier or more challenging by adding different effects.

What I’ve learned is it’s all about finding the right balance. You can tweak things to make reloading faster, but you might have to give up something like the ‘Second Chance’ perk to do it. It really comes down to what you want to prioritize, honestly.

The game also includes a helpful fast travel system. You can play through all the different areas consecutively, but if you die, you’ll be able to instantly teleport back to where you last fell, making it a bit easier to pick up where you left off.

It’s a challenge for Housemarque to strike the right balance, as what made Returnal special was its intense, risky gameplay. However, we believe smoothing out some of the difficulty will broaden the game’s appeal without alienating fans of the original.

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2026-02-13 10:06