{"id":1850249,"date":"2026-03-27T10:42:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T07:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1850249"},"modified":"2026-03-27T10:42:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T07:42:55","slug":"saros-has-been-made-easier-than-returnal-due-to-player-feedback-though-creative-director-claims-its-still-a-very-challenging-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1850249","title":{"rendered":"Saros has been made easier than Returnal due to player feedback, though creative director claims its still &#8220;a very challenging game&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/saros\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Saros<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Saros has been made easier than Returnal due to player feedback, though creative director claims its still &#8220;a very challenging game&#8221;<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Soft touch.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Saros---Pre-Order-Trailer-_-PS5-Games-0-41-screenshot.png?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Close up of Saros protagonist Arjun Devraj in sci-fi suit holding up his hands\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Saros---Pre-Order-Trailer-_-PS5-Games-0-41-screenshot.png\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Housemarque<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-03-27T10:42:55+00:00\">March 27, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/saros-made-easier-than-returnal-creative-director-claims-still-a-very-challenging-game?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          2 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"c7b4d6e4-8821-481f-b074-a1e7010d864a\" data-name=\"Saros\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Saros\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Saros\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Saros\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Saros\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Saros\" title=\"Follow Saros\"><br \/>\n  Follow Saros<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Housemarque&#8217;s upcoming sci-fi roguelike shooter Saros has seemingly been made substantially easier than the developer&#8217;s previous release <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/returnal\">Returnal<\/a>, thanks to the inclusion of auto saves from the jump as well as multiple save slots. This, it seems, was included due to player feedback to Returnal.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/housemarque-has-made-ps5-exclusive-saros-kinder-in-response-to-returnal-feedback-but-its-still-fundamentally-difficult\">Speaking to IGN<\/a>, creative director Gregory Louden said: &#8220;I think the lesson we learned from Returnal was that people really loved what we created, and we were going on the right track [&#8230;] But I think the feedback we did get is that more players wanted to love Returnal; they wanted to get further. So for us, it was about providing that ability. So it means we don&#8217;t dilute the challenge; there&#8217;s still a very challenging game there, but there is also the ability to kind of modify the challenge.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Saros - Official PS5 Features Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_Hbogd7CInI?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/_Hbogd7CInI\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Saros &#8211; Official PS5 Features Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a new Saros trailer focused on the PS5 features!<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_Hbogd7CInI\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In Returnal&#8217;s original release, you had to sit down and beat a run in a single sitting, as leaving the game paused during a run wasn&#8217;t possible. This was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/returnal-finally-receives-suspend-functionality\">patched in the game&#8217;s 2.0 update<\/a>, which was wonderful news for those who couldn&#8217;t set aside the time to finish a run all at once. This feature will be included in Saros from day one.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Saros will also have a selection of options that players can interact with to ease their way through the game. These include permanent upgrades (as you&#8217;d expect from a Roguelike), second chance revival mechanics, and Carcosan modifiers which change up how the game is played during runs.<\/p>\n<p>According to IGN, each run of Saros is meant to last around 30 minutes, a substantial decrease from Returnal&#8217;s typical run duration. As associate design director Mitja Roskaric told IGN: &#8220;It&#8217;s a challenging experience, but every time someone dies, we want them to bring something out of it, right? Even if it&#8217;s not the resource that they will use to level up, maybe it is a lesson from that run. And if it&#8217;s a short run, I think it&#8217;s easier to get more and more lessons in a frequent cadence, right? So I think the 30-minute session lengths that we have are kind of the sweet spot for this kind of experience.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Saros, an upcoming powerhouse in Sony&#8217;s single player release strategy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/playstation-is-reportedly-ditching-its-pc-release-strategy-and-most-first-party-games-will-now-be-console-exclusive\">is releasing solely on the PS5<\/a>. The game was initially meant to be released this month, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/housemarques-saros-gets-new-trailer-and-a-short-delay-to-its-release\">was delayed back to April late last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Housemarque&#8217;s upcoming sci-fi roguelike shooter Saros has seemingly been made substantially easier than the developer&#8217;s previous release <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/returnal\">Returnal<\/a>, thanks to the inclusion of auto saves from the jump as well as multiple save slots. This, it seems, was included due to player feedback to Returnal.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/housemarque-has-made-ps5-exclusive-saros-kinder-in-response-to-returnal-feedback-but-its-still-fundamentally-difficult\">Speaking to IGN<\/a>, creative director Gregory Louden said: &#8220;I think the lesson we learned from Returnal was that people really loved what we created, and we were going on the right track [&#8230;] But I think the feedback we did get is that more players wanted to love Returnal; they wanted to get further. So for us, it was about providing that ability. So it means we don&#8217;t dilute the challenge; there&#8217;s still a very challenging game there, but there is also the ability to kind of modify the challenge.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Saros - Official PS5 Features Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_Hbogd7CInI?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/_Hbogd7CInI\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Saros &#8211; Official PS5 Features Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a new Saros trailer focused on the PS5 features!<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_Hbogd7CInI\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In Returnal&#8217;s original release, you had to sit down and beat a run in a single sitting, as leaving the game paused during a run wasn&#8217;t possible. This was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/returnal-finally-receives-suspend-functionality\">patched in the game&#8217;s 2.0 update<\/a>, which was wonderful news for those who couldn&#8217;t set aside the time to finish a run all at once. This feature will be included in Saros from day one.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Saros will also have a selection of options that players can interact with to ease their way through the game. These include permanent upgrades (as you&#8217;d expect from a Roguelike), second chance revival mechanics, and Carcosan modifiers which change up how the game is played during runs.<\/p>\n<p>According to IGN, each run of Saros is meant to last around 30 minutes, a substantial decrease from Returnal&#8217;s typical run duration. As associate design director Mitja Roskaric told IGN: &#8220;It&#8217;s a challenging experience, but every time someone dies, we want them to bring something out of it, right? Even if it&#8217;s not the resource that they will use to level up, maybe it is a lesson from that run. And if it&#8217;s a short run, I think it&#8217;s easier to get more and more lessons in a frequent cadence, right? So I think the 30-minute session lengths that we have are kind of the sweet spot for this kind of experience.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Saros, an upcoming powerhouse in Sony&#8217;s single player release strategy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/playstation-is-reportedly-ditching-its-pc-release-strategy-and-most-first-party-games-will-now-be-console-exclusive\">is releasing solely on the PS5<\/a>. The game was initially meant to be released this month, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/housemarques-saros-gets-new-trailer-and-a-short-delay-to-its-release\">was delayed back to April late last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Saros Saros has been made easier than Returnal due to player feedback, though creative director claims its still &#8220;a very challenging game&#8221; Soft touch. Image credit: Housemarque News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on March 27, 2026 2 comments Follow Saros Housemarque&#8217;s upcoming sci-fi roguelike shooter Saros has seemingly been made substantially [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1850249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1850249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1850249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1850249\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1850249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1850249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1850249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}