My hands are shaking, eyes wide as I try to pirouette through a barrage of swirling multi-colored bullets from a hulking, rooty tree thing called Prophet. About 30 minutes into one of my early runs in Saros, the spiritual successor to Returnal – a roguelike shooter Housemarque calls "bullet ballet" – this boss is putting me through the wringer, whipping at my pointed toes as I desperately try to survive through a surprise second phase with dwindling health. This ain't no Swan Lake. I dodge, I weave, I ease the DualSense triggers to use alt-fire blasts when I have space. Finally, it falls. Then… it gets back up. Come on, a third phase?
As someone who felt like they mastered Returnal's third-person shooting well enough to consistently bash through runs, in this moment Saros begins to feel like a gargantuan challenge. Sweating it up in Housemarque's Helsinki office, a fizzy orange drink the only way to calm my nerves, I'm getting nervous. Let loose on the first three hours of the game from the very start, I'm told I have two whole levels to play through. What if this is where it ends for me? What if I can't get past the first level? Saros is a wonderful spiritual sequel to Returnal, but it's a different, evolved beast at the same time – with well-judged difficulty providing an excellent challenge that's satisfying to overcome. Forget being a PS5 must-play, Saros is feeling like game of the year material already.
