JoeGames

Finnish developer Housemarque Oy has existed for 30 years, making a name for themselves through rapid, bullet-hell combat seen in titles like Returnal and Resogun. Their latest title Saros takes this exceptional pedigree and builds on it by bringing in comprehensive roguelite elements, a thought-provoking narrative, and unbelievable audio & visual polish. This results in the best game of 2026 so far and one of the finest sci-fi titles of the decade. Just like a Carcosan eclipse, Saros will pull you in and not let go as you revel in its unsettling glory.

Saros follows enforcer Arjun Devraj as he navigates the alien world of Carcosa. Arjun is an employee of an Earth-based galactic corporation that wants to capitalize on the miracle energy source present on the planet called Lucenite. This is easier said than done as Carcosa is a treacherous place and the prior three expeditions have gone MIA. Arjun hopes to locate them and make sure everyone is alright, but his employers make it abundantly clear that this is not as important as the bottom line.

Almost instantly this plan goes awry as the planet proves to be more inhospitable than anybody could have imagined. In addition to the numerous extraterrestrial threats, Carcosa’s sun and frequent eclipses affect the members of the expedition mentally, sowing discord and causing them to pursue their own desires obsessively. Audio logs and notes left by the prior expeditions further showcase this descent into madness, leaving a foreboding feeling for Arjun and his comrades. This is an effective premise that constantly keeps you on edge as you seek to uncover the truths of Carcosa and Arjun’s motivations.

This lack of comfort is accentuated by Saros‘s exceptional combat & audio design. Just like in Returnal, the entire game is designed to make players feel the same hopelessness the protagonist is going through. Enemies are stifling and aggressive, filling the screen with numerous colorful projectiles that punish any misstep. The bloodcurdling screeches they make are terrifying but pale in comparison to the haunting, immersive soundtrack that is omnipresent throughout. This music foregoes melody in favor of a mesmerizing score which uses lots of industrial sounds and makes the sci-fi setting feel truly inescapable. You won’t want to listen to these songs on a road trip, but they certainly make for a spooky alien planet.

While the game is intense and difficult, I never lacked confidence when facing its challenges thanks to Arjun’s badassery. With an arsenal of weapons that would make Master Chief blush and speed that rivals a bullet train, Arjun is a one-man army that blitzes through Carcosan enemies with ease. Saros is a shooter at its core and the gunplay on display is unparalleled in terms of speed and responsiveness. In addition to standard firearms, Arjun also comes across a variety of weapons indigenous to the planet that give him special moves like lasers or an explosive blast that looks straight out of Dragon Ball Z. These weapons are charged by using a shield that can absorb certain attacks, making combat feel more methodical and dancelike than in prior Housemarque titles while still retaining their trademark style of controlled chaos.

Despite Arjuns inhuman skills Saros still has a steep learning curve that may discourage some players early. Luckily, the game quickly addresses this by offering stellar roguelite mechanics and smooth meta-progression. After each run Arjun returns to the ship HUB, allowing him to purchase a slew of upgrades for his suit. This uses a skill tree system called the Armor Matrix that is easy to navigate and endows him with more health, shield, damage, or a variety of other buffs. This makes it so that even when a run ends badly there is always a sense of growth and motivation to try again.

Saros also addresses the difficulty curve with a variety of quality-of-life features that make the game’s stress more customizable. Runs are short and can be stopped anytime if you just want to farm resources. There are also optional Carcosan Modifiers that can adjust the difficulty level prior to a run. If a boss feels too difficult, players can add positive buffs like increased damage or max health. Consequently, masochists will enjoy the variety of debuffs available that raise the difficulty level. These customizable options, coupled with smooth meta-progression and skillful combat allow for the world of Carcosa to steadily become much less daunting from a gameplay perspective while the audio and visual execution never allow you to feel very relaxed.

The most obvious facet in which Saros excels is its visual presentation. The eight biomes present are all unique and unsettling, ranging from a dank, blood-soaked bog that would fit perfectly in Elden Ring to an opulent, bizarre cathedral, whose picturesque architecture is somewhat spoiled by the frightening statues littered throughout. The same is true for the Overlords who guard the end of each biome; terrifying, Lovecraftian horrors that dwarf Arjun and feel insurmountable early on. Everything about Carcosa looks unsettling and each enemy, biome, and Overlord contribute to this feeling excellently. The large-scale visuals of the world are the most striking, but Saros also excels when focusing on minor details like character faces and expressions.

Character models occasionally look stiff but are still undeniably realistic and expressive. Arjun is particularly well-done as actor Rahul Kohli’s likeness is nearly indistinguishable from real life. I probably spent five minutes just marveling at his hair and comparing the character model to the actor. Kohli’s Arjun stands out but characters like Nitya, Jerome, and Stack are also excellently rendered and look great. Aside from Arjun’s hair the most visually impressive area of Saros is shown off in the cutscenes.

Saros was created with Unreal Engine 5 while also using Housemarque’s proprietary Graphite engine to help with visual effects in cutscenes. This engine is incredible and delivers some of the most cinematic scenes ever shown in a video game. Housemarque is doing a great job at this game design thing, but they can rest easy knowing they could get a Netflix deal anytime with animation and writing this good. The latter half of the game offers some mindbogglingly beautiful cutscenes that wouldn’t feel out of place in a series like Love, Death & Robots. The beach scenes alone should be enough for them to take home some hardware at the next Game Awards.

These cutscenes are most effective when diving into Arjun’s past and connections to others. Avoiding spoilers, the story of Saros does an excellent job of using its sci-fi setting as a metaphor for Arjun’s loneliness and grief. Initially, the sci-fi premise was interesting but not as compelling as the gunplay and ambience of the world. By the end, it had become a real driving force and finding the optional audio logs littered throughout the world felt like a necessity in order to better understand the story. The last two hours in particular connected themes together masterfully and tied up loose ends in a way that left me satisfied if not sad that it was over.

Few games offer an experience as immersive and cinematic as Saros. Fewer still are able to successfully represent three distinct genres so well. This is a thought-provoking science fiction game, an intense shooter, and an addictive action roguelite all melded perfectly into one. Propped up by endlessly satisfying combat, expert audio & visual design, and an unceasingly haunting world, Saros is a masterpiece. Gaming’s greatest strength is that it’s a participatory medium where players can feel deeply intertwined with the art. Saros’s world might not always be a place you want to feel connected to, but in the end, you will be wishing you could take it all back and start again.

Scoring Rubric

Category	Score
Combat	24/25
Roguelite Loop	18/20
Progression	13/15
Visual Artistry	10/10
Sound Design	10/10
Story	9/10
QOL/Technical Performance	9/10

Check the methodology here