SAROS would REALLY benefit by having...

T0minator

Member
A public demo available on PSN this Holiday.

So many people don't know how incredible Returnal is and the gameplay loop looks to be even better in SAROS. Ppl just need a taste and it'll get their attention

Housemarque deserves the hype this Holiday (game awards announcement/release) would be perfect to start the hype train.

Big mistake if they don't
 
I really hope it has a non rogue-like mode for those that just want to see all the content. Still have well spaced checkpoints so its not totally trivial, like each main level or something like that.

With Returnal I thought it was so cool, got to 2nd level the first run but after I died about the 10th time I just turned it off and never played it again.

If they really only want to make a roguelike I wouldnt want them to take away dev time from that, just leave it then.
 
I really hope it has a non rogue-like mode for those that just want to see all the content. Still have well spaced checkpoints so its not totally trivial, like each main level or something like that.

With Returnal I thought it was so cool, got to 2nd level the first run but after I died about the 10th time I just turned it off and never played it again.

If they really only want to make a roguelike I wouldnt want them to take away dev time from that, just leave it then.

Although I beat Returnal, and think it's a good game, at the end of the day I'm casual af and I don't find joy in repeating the same section 100 times.
 
Although I beat Returnal, and think it's a good game, at the end of the day I'm casual af and I don't find joy in repeating the same section 100 times.
Its definitely not for everyone.

But the skill it takes to fight through all the encounters is what makes it soo addicting. Housemarque is going to elevate to the next level with SAROS
 
A public demo available on PSN this Holiday.

So many people don't know how incredible Returnal is and the gameplay loop looks to be even better in SAROS. Ppl just need a taste and it'll get their attention

Housemarque deserves the hype this Holiday (game awards announcement/release) would be perfect to start the hype train.

Big mistake if they don't
Returnal is the best demo for it. They could just make that free for a bit.
 
What they should also do is have more marketing. Returnal is one of the best games to release this gen. Ive seen plenty of people online say they didnt know what it was, but saw it was on sale, gave it shot and fell in love.
 
What they should also do is have more marketing. Returnal is one of the best games to release this gen. Ive seen plenty of people online say they didnt know what it was, but saw it was on sale, gave it shot and fell in love.
The rogue elements turned me off for the longest time. Game is incredible. I rarely replay games, but I have played through Returnal 4-5 times. The best feeling third person shooter ever created
 
But SAROS is improving on the biggest issue ppl had about Returnal. The effort isn't all for nothing anymore. The gameplay loop is probably gonna feel even better
Probably. But I'd rather they don't pull people away from the project to put a demo together.
 
I think changing the game from roguelike to roguelight is enough.

The rogue elements are what made me love Returnal. I.e. forcing the player to experiment and not stick to one weapon/build.

They just need to figure out how to get some players over the initial difficulty hump.
 
I think changing the game from roguelike to roguelight is enough.

The rogue elements are what made me love Returnal. I.e. forcing the player to experiment and not stick to one weapon/build.

They just need to figure out how to get some players over the initial difficulty hump.

Returnal is already a roguelite.

This idea people have that there is no permanent progression at all is factually incorrect.
 
Last edited:
I really hope it has a non rogue-like mode for those that just want to see all the content. Still have well spaced checkpoints so its not totally trivial, like each main level or something like that.

With Returnal I thought it was so cool, got to 2nd level the first run but after I died about the 10th time I just turned it off and never played it again.

If they really only want to make a roguelike I wouldnt want them to take away dev time from that, just leave it then.
Wait for pc version then and just get some trainer with infinite health.
Housermarque has cool game design for all their titles and they craft it the best experience they can, you still have some permanent upgrades, shortcuts etc in returnal. If you have to replay some run dozen times, thats skill issue, but also learning experience. Saros they already said has different scaling system, but hasnt elaborated in detail yet.
This honestly could be "give darks souls easy mode" conversation all over.
 
I really hope it has a non rogue-like mode for those that just want to see all the content. Still have well spaced checkpoints so its not totally trivial, like each main level or something like that.

With Returnal I thought it was so cool, got to 2nd level the first run but after I died about the 10th time I just turned it off and never played it again.

If they really only want to make a roguelike I wouldnt want them to take away dev time from that, just leave it then.
The rogue elements turned me off for the longest time. Game is incredible. I rarely replay games, but I have played through Returnal 4-5 times. The best feeling third person shooter ever created
Although I beat Returnal, and think it's a good game, at the end of the day I'm casual af and I don't find joy in repeating the same section 100 times.
Kind of agree. Roguelikes have always been a better fit for arcade experiences (like beat em ups) imo.

It's why I didn't like Dead Cells as much as others might have.
 
I'd have preferred that Returnal was a game like Control instead of roguelike.

A demo would be nice to help the hesitant ones like me decide. Actually, every game that is 100% gameplay focused should have a demo.
 
Well they are very minor.

You have Permanent traversal upgrades and what else?

The weapon traits you unlock you have to find on each individual run.

Yes, you have to find them each time, but unlocking them means you have more and more powerful stuff in the pool. You also unlock shortcuts to the next area etc, so you don't need to fully complete each area every time (although doing so is often a good idea). And the story keeps progressing, it's not like that starts over every time.

I started out feeling like I wasn't really making much progress, but that changed, and eventually the progression felt very satisfying to me.
 
Last edited:
Yes, you have to find them each time, but unlocking them means you have more and more powerful stuff in the pool.
True but I think having more obvious permanent upgrades like Health, Base damage etc would encourage people to keep playing.
You also unlock shortcuts to the next area etc, so you don't need to fully complete each area every time (although doing so is often a good idea).
I think this makes more people quit. Dark souls has taught players to shorten boss runbacks as much as possible, this is a terrible idea in Returnal as you will go into the next level underpowered and struggle. In Returnal it's better to complete as much content as possible each run to be as powerful as possible. It's where the fun is as you increase your chances of getting a powerful weapon as well as leveling up new traits quicker.
And the story keeps progressing, it's not like that starts over every time.

I started out feeling like I wasn't really making much progress, but that changed, and eventually the progression felt very satisfying to me.
I was similar,I struggled because I played it like souls. Once I switched to playing it like a Roguelike/lite I cruised through it. I beat Nemisis on second Try and beat the Final Boss on my first attempt. Having it all on the line if you failed made it all the more satisfying when you did sucseed. It ended up being one of my favourite games of the generation.
 
They should have used Decima Engine instead of UE5.

Pretty sure its not "stock" Unreal I wouldnt be shocked if they are using their own lighting solution too.
Their Engine Tech Programming team seems to be top notch, I have faith in them.

What would Decima add to the game that their custom build of Unreal couldnt?
 
I really hope it has a non rogue-like mode for those that just want to see all the content. Still have well spaced checkpoints so its not totally trivial, like each main level or something like that.

With Returnal I thought it was so cool, got to 2nd level the first run but after I died about the 10th time I just turned it off and never played it again.

If they really only want to make a roguelike I wouldnt want them to take away dev time from that, just leave it then.

Perhaps you should play other genres then if rogue-likes arent for you. It makes no sense to have checkpoints in a rogue-like. It's not even a hard one.
 
I really hope it has a non rogue-like mode for those that just want to see all the content. Still have well spaced checkpoints so its not totally trivial, like each main level or something like that.

With Returnal I thought it was so cool, got to 2nd level the first run but after I died about the 10th time I just turned it off and never played it again.

If they really only want to make a roguelike I wouldnt want them to take away dev time from that, just leave it then.
I think the fact that you have permitted upgrades now unlike maternal is going to make a lot more fun
 
I think changing the game from roguelike to roguelight is enough.

The rogue elements are what made me love Returnal. I.e. forcing the player to experiment and not stick to one weapon/build.

They just need to figure out how to get some players over the initial difficulty hump.
I think they have by letting you keep the permanent upgrade instead of taking it all away
 
I can't stand rogue lights and rogue likes. And yet returnal was one of the best games I've ever played.. because I played it the way I wanted to play it and save scummed my way through it.

As long as they don't block save scumming I'll play Saros exactly the same way, as a kick-ass single run Metroid style game. The rogue light design philosophy can screw!
 
I can't stand rogue lights and rogue likes. And yet returnal was one of the best games I've ever played.. because I played it the way I wanted to play it and save scummed my way through it.

As long as they don't block save scumming I'll play Saros exactly the same way, as a kick-ass single run Metroid style game. The rogue light design philosophy can screw!

How?

I only ask as my Returnal runs were at least an hour long, and that's a "big" time commitment imo.
 
How?

I only ask as my Returnal runs were at least an hour long, and that's a "big" time commitment imo.
Been a few years but you basically go through the game methodically, saving to the cloud whenever you kick ass for a while. If you get your ass kicked you just go back to the online cloud save and continue from that save point. So I played the game a few perfect run rooms at a time and without ever dying. No need to play in one long session, you can break it up how you like. I prob played an hour at a time, nice and slowly.

I loved the world and gameplay they made so much but just wanted to play the game in a linear way with a fixed layout of levels. The changing level layout plus lack of much progress between runs was a deal breaker for me, I'm just too busy to get good enough at the game and much preferred to play it as a linear game, pride be damned!
 
Been a few years but you basically go through the game methodically, saving to the cloud whenever you kick ass for a while. If you get your ass kicked you just go back to the online cloud save and continue from that save point. So I played the game a few perfect run rooms at a time and without ever dying. No need to play in one long session, you can break it up how you like. I prob played an hour at a time, nice and slowly.

I loved the world and gameplay they made so much but just wanted to play the game in a linear way with a fixed layout of levels. The changing level layout plus lack of much progress between runs was a deal breaker for me, I'm just too busy to get good enough at the game and much preferred to play it as a linear game, pride be damned!

Appreciate it.

I think it was 2022 or 2023 when I beat it, and I ended up just watching boss fights on YouTube to prepare for the fights. That way I knew what moves to expect.

When I did beat it, I think I just got lucky with getting a damn near perfect weapon loadout and had a couple astronaut figures. THAT is what I didn't like about the game (it sometimes coming down to luck which weapon you got, and if you kept getting shitty ones it just made the game that much more difficult).
 
Last edited:
Appreciate it.

I think it was 2022 or 2023 when I beat it, and I ended up just watching boss fights on YouTube to prepare for the fights. That way I knew what moves to expect.

When I did beat it, I think I just got lucky with getting a damn near perfect weapon loadout and had a couple astronaut figures. THAT is what I didn't like about the game (it sometimes coming down to luck which weapon you got, and if you kept getting shitty ones it just made the game that much more difficult).
Yeah the random luckiness factor is not my cup of tea. I'm an old school gamer. I like fixed levels, patterns to memorize, etc. Never understood why they don't have a fixed layout mode in games like these. I know it's not the developers vision for their game but couldn't be too hard to implement.

Saros is very high on my list for next year and I have every intention of Save Scumming through it too. Hopefully they leave it as a backdoor option for folks who just want a good quality Sci-Fi Metroid like shooter without the random-rogue nonsense.
 
Last edited:
A demo is always appreciated so you know what you are buying, but more than that SAROS needs difficulty settings so a lot more people can enjoy it. I own RETURNAL and enjoy it but I will never finish it because it's really hard and like kiphalfton kiphalfton said above, a run takes too much time.

SAROS needs difficulty settings.
cAtJsDztlMFkyFVo.jpg
 
Top Bottom