Saros Review: A Psychedelic Orb-Shooter with Deep Systems and Rahul Kohli’s Voice

Aftermath’s two orb-obsessed critics, Gita Jackson and Chris Person, have been playing Saros nonstop since its release. They sat down to dissect the game’s filmic and literary influences, its many interlocking systems, and—of course—Rahul Kohli’s narration.

Gita Jackson: Hi Chris! We’re both playing the critically acclaimed Rahul Kohli simulator, Saros, and I haven’t been able to think of anything else since it dropped. I was a full-on Returnal fanatic and have been pumped for another Housemarque game since playing that one. This game… is both not quite what I expected and exactly what I want to play. I’m still untangling my feelings about it. What about you, Chris? Were you a Returnal guy? What did you bring into the experience of playing Saros?

Chris Person: I am a Housemarque guy generally, which encompasses Returnal as well. I really loved Resogun and Super Stardust HD, and Sektori is by a Housemarque veteran as well. They love orbs, and I simply gotta respect that. I cleared the game, and I’m happy to say they did it again.

Gita: I’m not nearly as far into the game as you, but I’m about at the place where it starts throwing systems at you rapid-fire, and it starts to make more sense how to glide between them. It’s not too dissimilar from Returnal—another orb-heavy game—but it’s just a lot, A LOT more generous.

Like I just got to the place where the “artefacts” I pick up—beneficial traits that can be “corrupted” and also come with a downside, like taking fall damage or losing currency when you get hit—can gain a “volatility.” I just wanna take a moment to congratulate Housemarque on the various verbs and nouns they’ve chosen for the game. Real fun stuff to roll around in your head.

Chris: Many designers are content to just name stats “Strength,” “Intelligence,” “Dexterity.” Cowardly. You need to give them vague, slightly obtuse names like Command, Integrity, Drive and have those get corrupted into Arrogance, Ignorance, and Negligence.

There are so many interlocking systems in this game. You get corrupted artefacts when you activate the terrifying eclipse, but they get stronger and can be cleansed after the fact. It’s all there, but the game doesn’t tell you some things directly.

Gita: I love that whenever you get hit by a lot of corrupted orbs, you start sprouting a little wing off your shoulder, and it’s like, goopy like resin. Shit rules.

Image Source: Saros, Housemarque

What Is Saros About?

Saros is a game about a ship of paramilitary operators from a massive corporation crash-landing on the planet Carcosa to find the remnants of a colony ship that landed there and was lost. In the meantime, everyone goes insane—and that really is the bulk of its plot.

Chris: I think there were like three ships.

Gita: It was a real corporate fuck-up. They sent one ship, then another, and then one more to be sure… and then the Enforcers.

You know the capitalist motto: if at first it…