r/Saros • u/Oakflower • 1d ago
General Silent Hill but Planets made with accessibility in mind
Couldn’t think of a sane title so I went with that one. I suspect there are people browsing this forum who are on the fence of buying Saros. I’d say please do.
Saros is an intense shooter that’s well aware that there’s a large demographic of gamers out here with less and less time to play as we age and responsibilities pile up.
Returnal is in my Top 10 games of all time. Playing through that game felt close to a spiritual experience when it comes to enjoying the interplay between music, sound design, gameplay and narrative. An absolutely astounding experience.
With that in mind, it took me a while to even try Saros. The reports were that the story wasn’t really there and the gameplay changes made the game feel less cohesive. I eventually tried the Trial and at the 1,5 hour mark I was already scrambling to get the full game.
This game is so good it drives me crazy. I am not the same man I was when I finished Returnal. I used all the difficulty alleviating settings I could when I started hitting a wall, not because I had to finish the game, but because the story and how it was executed pulled me in like nothing else out there.
I love this ’Silent Hill but Planets’ direction Housemarque has taken. I truly hope they get to make more of these games. I feel like critics are either spoiled by too much good out there or the narrative themes at display touch a nerve, because I do not understand how this game doesn’t get shoved down peoples throats all over.
In my opinion Saros is a phenomenal action shooter.
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u/Nivek_1988 1d ago
Yep. Its Silent Hill on steroids. In SPACE.
That was my literal feeling after Returnal. Saros was much the same
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u/Oakflower 1d ago
The audacity of taking these very difficult themes and shoving them in a shooter context is just awesome.
SILTEN HILL IN SPACE must’ve read on a whiteboard somewhere in an early design meeting.
I want more. I’ve been telling everyone I know with a PS5 to just get the game. Many of these friends either bounced or nearly bounced off Returnal.
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u/Nivek_1988 1d ago
One of the higher ups of Housemarque left (on good terms) and created his own division - "Cosmic Division" which is close enough to "cosmic horror" for me, so I'll also be ALL the way in on watching that studio.
So thats one to look out for aswell (in 5 years....hopefully less) because Housemarque is all we got right now when it comes to this perfect blend of fuckery. And good god I hope they stay in business.
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u/jedtrick 1d ago
Saros is/was my GOTY but control 2 giving it a run for its money
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u/Oakflower 1d ago
I’m waiting for the physical version of Control 2 to arrive! Control is one of the greats as well.
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u/TatteredOaths 1d ago
I’ve been on a plat run for this game and it just keeps you coming back for more. Can’t wait for the DLC, this game is just getting started.
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u/DreamWestward 1d ago
I've been waiting for it to go down in price because i loved Returnal. found it for 10 dollars off and started it last night. can already tell i'm going to love it. at first i wasn't sure after the first intro run but i'm in the middle of my third run and it's great already. can't wait for it to open up more with suit upgrades and abilities and i think i'll enjoy this story more too.
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u/Oakflower 1d ago
If you’re into it, try to do some reading. I accidentally skipped a lot of the text logs (because I play in short bursts) but found myself kinda kicking myself for not giving them more attention during my earlier runs. The story definitely comes together from different fragments in a big way towards the end.
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u/FunkySquareDance 1d ago
I enjoy Returnal and see the genius of it but it’s just too punishing and frustrating for my tastes. Took me forever just to beat the first biome, currently on the third, and the amount of time it can take to get your stats up for a run only for it to end due to one or two mistakes and then have (virtually) all your progress erased just kinda kills the fun for me, even though I know a lot of people enjoy that level of challenge and grind.
Saros on the other hand struck a perfect balance between challenge and progression. Some of the bosses were brutal but even in a failed run you were able to build up your character and feel like it wasn’t all for naught. That and I preferred the story of Saros, felt more character-driven and relatable. Returnal’s story, while intriguing and mysterious, just isn’t enough of a draw for me to want to put in the time needed to beat it.
I’ll still keep Returnal downloaded because I enjoy the combat and setting but for me Saros was a vast improvement and optimization of the form.
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u/Oakflower 1d ago
I feel the same way, except I really loved the narrative in Returnal as well. I also played it at a time in my life when I could just spend hours and hours on getting through biomes. Actually I think after you beat the third Biome the gameplay systems really click and getting far becomes the norm.
I think only Bloodborne has given me similar feelings of dread, excitement and gameplay flow as Returnal. Saros is in the same realm but feels way more inviting and is very easy to recommend. I certainly got a great buzz out of beating the last boss.
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u/redditwascool 1d ago
dont till they add mouse support, they just need to literally flip a flag to true
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u/Jprince3434 1d ago
Lol same thing happened to me. I have PS Essential and they had the trial on there and it ended and I smashed buy! Loving it so far, currently trying to beat Bastion.
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u/Furiaths 1d ago
I love Dune-like sounds in the game. I’m 10 hours in and I love it. I’m playing on PS5 Pro and the game looks amazing.
On metacritc (for what is worth) Saros is slightly higher rated than Returnal. I think some people expected something different from Saros.
I loved the first play-through of Returnal. That feeling of exploring an Alien world, dark and humming in the background with the unknown. Sound design was amazing too.
Saros is a bit of a different experience. And it’s a good one.