My Review of Saros
I finished Saros two days ago and have let it sit with me to prepare myself for sharing my personal review of the game. Here is a basic breakdown for now. I'll expand on each category further below:
- Gameplay/Progression - 8.75/10
If you played Returnal, then you're familiar with what this game's core structure will entail. I think it's overall very solid, with even more speed, chaos, and bullet hell fun. There are things about the meta-progression that bug me though.
Firstly, the Artifact system is just super bland now. They removed all of the interesting effects and physically unique look for them from Returnal and replaced them with generic floating colored cubes that feel a bit out of place in a Lovecraftian setting. Additionally, the effects of the Artifacts are just boring, but before an Eclipse occurs, you really have no reason to NOT just pick everything up. It removes a lot of the risk/reward choice with Artifacts. Even the Corrupted ones during an Eclipse are largely bland and barely cause any major issues outside of the Increased Dash Cooldown one, which I never picked up. The Volatility system they introduce later on is somewhat interesting, as it tries to combine Malignancy and Parasites from Returnal into one mechanic, but it only ever happened to me once during a run, and still feels a bit undercooked.
Secondly, the use of Lucenite when compared to Obolites from Returnal is just night and day. Saros has no consumables or items you can buy at terminals during a run. Lucenite is only used for Proficiency gain during a run and upgrading the Armor Matrix after a run. This is streamlined, but it makes the runs lose a lot of that compelling choice-based decision making on the fly. "Do I spend the Lucenite to get a heal or save it for the Armor Matrix later?" That could've been more compelling, at least to me.
Thirdly, the Carcosan Modifier system is a bit of a mixed bag to me. On one hand, it's cool to have options. On the other hand, it feels less rewarding to engage with a mechanic that literally makes the game easier or harder artificially rather than the game just being set at that challenge level by default. This is a minor complaint and I still like using the modifiers, it just feels somewhat unsatisfying. Now, I know I could just not use them, which is true, but I like to try and experience what the game would offer to me and understand why the devs made it this way. C'est la vie, I suppose.
Lastly, the Armor Matrix is pretty sick (who doesn't love a sphere grid or similar things like it, right?), but I just wish it was more varied and maybe added some numerical information for how much things are getting stronger. I do also think that you can abuse it too much and farm Lucenite and just become way too OP by the end. I get that "Come Back Stronger" is the name of the game, but still.
- Graphics - 10/10
One of the best looking games out there. The CGI in it is insanely good too.
- Music - 9/10
Pretty solid stuff here, I like the ambient tracks and more bombastic stuff for the boss fights. Music is something I tend to miss in the moment though and only retroactively enjoy after finishing a game.
- Performances - 9/10
Solid all-around with a good cast of characters. Rahul Kohli as Arjun Devraj is a cool choice. I liked him in iZombie.
- Narrative - 7/10
Weakest part of the game. Not bad, has some fun ideas and neat twists. Predictable in some spots or ways though. I think Returnal's story is better because it's not as cut and dry or unambiguous as Saros' story is. The ambiguity of things is what makes Lovecraftian tales compelling, but by the end, you are basically spoonfed what happened in Saros' plot. Serviceable, but not the main point of the game.
- Final Miscellaneous Points
I think the weapons are a more concise roster of choices than Returnal's, but there are still a few I didn't care for. Once I discovered the Repeater Crossbow it was over 😂 that thing is a nonsensical screen-clearer. It's basically the game's Hollowseeker (IYKYK). The new Shield, Power Weapon, and Overdrive mechanics are awesome to use. The enemy designs are leagues better than anything in Returnal. The boss fights are pretty incredible too, but I did find King to be very underwhelming (I beat him on the first try). Nothing in Saros tops the Nemesis fight from Returnal to me. I was hoping King would be that kind of fight, but alas, it was not.
The game is way easier than Returnal in my opinion. I died 19 times in Returnal across 65 hours of runtime. I died 10 times in Saros across my roughly 25 hours of runtime. I still plan to play it more and get the platinum trophy so those stats will potentially change.
Overall, I think Returnal is a better game, but Saros is still fun. They just took a lot of what made Returnal's loop compelling to me and removed it, but added other new things.
I'd give it an overall score of 8.5/10