A brand new game from Finnish video game studio Housemarque (known best for Returnal) has been revealed, with a trailer dropping right at the very end of the PlayStation State of Play showcase. Dubbed Saros, the trailer featured Rahul Kohli (Midnight Mass, The Fall of the House of Usher, iZombie) as the main character, waking up on a stunningly saturated beach.
As the character rises, massive gun in hand, he starts striding towards the shore – and a dying, eclipsing sun. “This world, this moment, this choice,” says his voiceover. “Every time the sun dies, madness reigns, then everything begins again. But after every death, I always come back stronger … and I will fight you.”
With a multi-limbed demonic creature rising from the water in front of him, Kohli’s character is seemingly trapped in a cycle of death and rebirth, with an increasingly violent confrontation on the cards at the fall of each sun.
Per the PlayStation blog, “Saros is an action game with the haunting story of a lost off-world colony on Carcosa under an ominous eclipse. You play as Arjun Devraj, a powerful Soltari Enforcer who will stop at nothing to find who he is looking for. Our goal is to create an emotional and powerful character study that explores the cost it takes to create a new future.”
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The blog also confirmed the major distinction between Saros and Returnal will be the permanence of resource acquisition and skill. “After every death you will face a changed world,” it reads. “But in Saros you will be able to choose and permanently upgrade your loadout from an evolving set of weapons and suit upgrades to ‘come back stronger’ to overcome the challenges you face on Carcosa.”
Gregory Louden, Creative Director of Saros, said during the stream, “We are thrilled to announce that our latest game Saros is launching next year on PS5, and enhanced for PS5 Pro … Saros is the ultimate evolution of the Housemarque gameplay-first experience. It’s a new single-player IP that builds on Returnal‘s award-winning third-person action.”
In a livestream reaction with partner Alanah Pearce, Kohli was reasonably tight-lipped on the project, but excitedly said, “Yes, I’ve been working with Housemarque … It’s cool, it’s been two years, two and a half years.”
While the trailer doesn’t give much away, we can look forward to more information and a gameplay trailer later this year, with a full release slated for 2026. In the meantime, we’ll be keeping a close eye out for any sneak peeks from Kohli and the team at Housemarque.
