Housemarque just showed off their next game during Sony’s State of Play presentation. Saros is coming to PlayStation 5 on March 20, 2026, and it looks a lot like their previous hit Returnal, but with some new twists. The studio gave us over five minutes of actual gameplay footage, showing off the combat, new abilities, and the dangerous planet where the game takes place. If you played Returnal and enjoyed it, this new game seems to build on that same foundation while adding fresh mechanics.
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When Saros Releases and Where You Can Play It
Saros launches on March 20, 2026, exclusively for PlayStation 5. The game will also have improvements if you’re playing on PS5 Pro, though Housemarque hasn’t detailed exactly what those enhancements will be yet. The gameplay footage shown was captured on a regular PS5 running at 60 frames per second using Unreal Engine 5. The developers mentioned that the game is still being worked on, so things might change before release. Expect various fixes, tweaks, and upgrades between now and when you actually get to play it.
The Story and Setting
You play as Arjun Devraj, a character voiced by actor Rahul Kohli. Arjun is part of Soltari, which seems to be a group of advanced soldiers or enforcers. He ends up on a planet named Carcosa while searching for someone.
Carcosa is described as a hostile planet. The gameplay trailer shows an ancient lost civilization on the planet, with ruins and structures that look like they’ve been abandoned for a long time. The environment changes each time you die, similar to how Returnal worked. During the footage, Arjun runs into another character named Nitya Chandran, who appears to be important to the story.
The game will tell its story through several methods. There are voice-overs, cutscenes, audio logs you can find, and conversations with various characters you meet. You can also collect Soltari Holograms scattered around the planet that explain what happened there. The developers hint at some stranger storytelling moments too, but they’re keeping those details quiet for now.
How the Gameplay Works
Saros keeps the fast, bullet-heavy combat that Housemarque is known for. The screen fills up with enemy projectiles that you need to dodge while fighting back. Arjun moves quickly, can dash around enemies, and uses both melee attacks and ranged weapons.
At the start of each run, you pick your loadout from two types of weapons. There are Soltari weapons, which are human-made, and Carcosan weapons, which come from the alien planet. In the gameplay footage, Arjun uses a Phosphorous Shotgun to fight against hostile machines in the ancient city.
The enemies fire elaborate bullet patterns at you, creating that bullet hell experience the studio is known for. Your weapons look powerful and match the sci-fi setting of the game.
Permanent Upgrades Between Runs
One major difference from Returnal is that Saros has permanent progression. When you die and start a new run, you can actually become stronger. The Second Chance ability is just one part of this system.
You can upgrade Arjun’s Soltari combat suit and his abilities over time. This means the game might be easier to progress through compared to Returnal, where each death sent you back with almost nothing. Housemarque seems to be making Saros more accessible while keeping the challenging combat intact.
What We Still Don’t Know
While the gameplay reveal showed a lot, there’s still plenty we haven’t seen. Housemarque mentioned there will be multiple biomes to explore on Carcosa, but the trailer only showed one ancient civilization area. The game will have an ensemble cast of characters, but we only got a quick look at one of them.
The developers also teased some more mysterious storytelling elements they haven’t shown yet. And while we know about some abilities and upgrades, there’s probably more to discover about how deep the progression system goes.
More information will likely come out in the months leading up to the March 2026 release date. For now, you can add Saros to your wishlist on the PlayStation Store if you want to keep track of it.
