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Saros | Review Thread
- Thread starter Thick Thighs Save Lives
- Start date
- Review
Sketchball
Member
Bruh wtf the fortress boss is insaaane. I couldn't even get past the first phase. Gonna have to go back a couple biomes to even think about fighting this thing. Holy hell
BrandwinTX
Member
I'm so glad I am not as good at games as some of you are. Haha.
Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Sketchball
Member
Btw I kind of know now where that whole "struggled with gender identity" thing comes from in that review but I don't think that's an accurate description of what transpired at all lol
Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Just beat it.
Returnal > Saros in every category except maybe gameplay and visuals?
What little of the story bits I do understand is very underwhelming. And what the payout was a nothing burger.
Returnal goes together so many cool fictional lore into telling its story and has a wonderful open to interpretation for some of it.
This? Unless I missed something is as mentioned above - a nothing burger.
I'd rate this a 7.5/10 and Returnal a 9.5/10.
Returnal > Saros in every category except maybe gameplay and visuals?
What little of the story bits I do understand is very underwhelming. And what the payout was a nothing burger.
Returnal goes together so many cool fictional lore into telling its story and has a wonderful open to interpretation for some of it.
This? Unless I missed something is as mentioned above - a nothing burger.
I'd rate this a 7.5/10 and Returnal a 9.5/10.
havoc00
Member
How long did it take you to finish? You have any desire to go back to it?
Calverz
Member
I won't bother then. Maybe in the future if there was a pc release by nixxes or something.
begotten
Member
My only complaint with Saros is that it's lacking in weapon variety which when you look at their previous games is very un-Housemarquelike.
When you look at the Lobber and Dreadbound in Returnal, all the weapons aside from the Chakram make this game feel like it has a very generic shooter arsenal, especially when they all just feed off the counterpunches provided by the Power Weapons.
When you look at the Lobber and Dreadbound in Returnal, all the weapons aside from the Chakram make this game feel like it has a very generic shooter arsenal, especially when they all just feed off the counterpunches provided by the Power Weapons.
coachmcguirk91
Member
Except gameplay and visuals? Is this a troll post? Gameplay is like 99% of what is important in a roguelike shooter
begotten
Member
How is progression both a pro and a con?
The progression in Saros is way better. All you had in Returnal was weapon traits which were a chore to upgrade and data cubes where you still needed to buy shit anyways.
Biff
Member
Good first hour with the game. Gameplay feels smooth so I'm looking forward to this.
One really abrupt negative though: wtf did Housemarque do to the face models? These are some of the ugliest looking NPCs I've ever seen on PS5. It's not even uncanny valley... It's like whoever was in charge of the character modelling ran out of time. Or maybe the team was all "working from home" and just fucked off for 4 years.
Really unacceptable for a studio like HM, these are laughably bad facial animations.
One really abrupt negative though: wtf did Housemarque do to the face models? These are some of the ugliest looking NPCs I've ever seen on PS5. It's not even uncanny valley... It's like whoever was in charge of the character modelling ran out of time. Or maybe the team was all "working from home" and just fucked off for 4 years.
Really unacceptable for a studio like HM, these are laughably bad facial animations.
Fess
Member
Same. In general for Sony games, until I hear official words that they're pulling out of PC I won't invest in any of their games. No more double dipping.
TrebleShot
Member
Right there with ya.
Been nothing official just rumours from insiders who have been wrong many times and the rumour was "pulling away" not "completely stopping'
Not only that but the game director on this one literally refused to answer when proved about other platforms. "we're just talking about the ps5 release today"
This one is definitely coming to pc in my mind.
Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
If Hades or Returnal had only good gameplay and the rest was mid or shit, no one would care.
We are long past the point that game being good at one thing allows it to dismiss the entire package.
This is especially considering their previous title was better in every way but graphic fidelity, and the major part of the gameplay for me that's improved is the progression. Which is enough to say it's better gameplay wise than Returnal for gameplay.
——
After credits I was trying to do the final final final boss. Spent 3 hours or more and no luck. This boss is wicked good. Have a new strat for tomorrow to see how it goes.
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nowhat
Member
Ahem. Crimson Desert. It has been a treat. And yet so flawed, in so many aspects.
Neolombax
Member
How is the replayability like? Are there things that keep you coming back after the credits roll? Returnal had the weapon traits levelling, anything similar in Saros?
Zuzu
Gold Member
The reviews and the testimonies in this thread convinced me to get it so I bought it last night. But I want to finish Pragmata and maybe some other games first before dedicating myself to it. I played a tiny bit today just to try it out and it is good so far but I'll get properly into it later on 
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J3nga
Member
Was there any point in rushing to get this now?The reviews and the testimonies in this thread convinced me to get it so I bought it last night. But I want to finish Pragmata and maybe some other games first before dedicating myself to it. I played a tiny bit today and it is good so far
Vaga
Member
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/saros-ot-the-king-in-yellow.1696327/
There you go peeps, tried my best, never did an OT before.
There you go peeps, tried my best, never did an OT before.
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nowhat
Member
A single mode. 60fps all the way. I mean, there may be a dropped frame here or there when going from a room or another - but unless your eyes are DF-trained, it really doesn't affect anything.
Bernardougf
Member
Yeah ... definitely a "wait for ps+" game for me
darthkarki
Member
I do really miss upgrading the weapon traits... they gave you a neat incentive to stick with a weapon for a bit longer to unlock that next level.
saintjules
Gold Member
You're more worried about the faces than the gunplay?
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Fess
Member
Yeah, hope you're right on that last bit. Official words are needed, I want to know when it's safe to jump in.
I've played Housemarques games since before they even existed as Housemarque, their roots goes all the way back to the Commodore 64 days with legendary Stavros Fasoulas (Delta, Sanxion) founding Terramarque.
Arsic
Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Plenty of unlockable items, and a "true ending" but nowhere near as time consuming as Returnal.
There's 6 red gate areas too but I think I did 5 of them already?
ByWatterson
Member
XboxEra
LOL this is so bad
Mr. PlayStation
Member
On base PS5 and Pro there's just the 60fps mode, no 40fps or 120fps. Some cinematics are rendered at 30fps while some are at 60fps but the gameplay is strictly 60fps.
skit_data
Member
I knew I would love this game but to me it's absolutely insane that IGN gave this a 7/10. It simply does not compute how anyone would play, hear and fucking look at this game and think
"Yeah, this is a 7/10. That"s a completely reasonable conclusion based on my experience."
Thanks, I guess I know who to call when need some kind of polar opposite opinions on the matter of TASTE, FUN and ART.
"Yeah, this is a 7/10. That"s a completely reasonable conclusion based on my experience."
Thanks, I guess I know who to call when need some kind of polar opposite opinions on the matter of TASTE, FUN and ART.
Sooner
Member
Yeah. My suggestion is, git gud.
Majima Everywhere System
Member
From my research, Saros lets you start at the beginning of each new level and was otherwise made for casuals. I don't think your suggestion helps.
It sounds like Returnal is the "good" version of this. Hope you didn't buy Saros, you might be let down.
skit_data
Member
I just beat The Architect!
So far it's probably the best boss fight they've done between this and Returnal IMO. Not the hardest one by far, but definitely the most entertaining. Parrying his Nova projectiles did some crazy damage (not sure if its the permanent upgrades or just the amount of particles you can parry back when dashing into a cluster) and almost felt unfair. I took chunks the size of like 1/3rd of the health bar each time doing it.
At first I wasn't sure about the parry mechanic in this, it felt wierd having such a high risk-low reward mechanic in the game, especially since it requires you to aim it back at enemies to actually hit them. Now I think it's fucking awesome. Mostly because I've learned how to use it effectively but also from seeing how just how potent it can be/become with the right upgrades unlocked.
So far it's probably the best boss fight they've done between this and Returnal IMO. Not the hardest one by far, but definitely the most entertaining. Parrying his Nova projectiles did some crazy damage (not sure if its the permanent upgrades or just the amount of particles you can parry back when dashing into a cluster) and almost felt unfair. I took chunks the size of like 1/3rd of the health bar each time doing it.
At first I wasn't sure about the parry mechanic in this, it felt wierd having such a high risk-low reward mechanic in the game, especially since it requires you to aim it back at enemies to actually hit them. Now I think it's fucking awesome. Mostly because I've learned how to use it effectively but also from seeing how just how potent it can be/become with the right upgrades unlocked.
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ByWatterson
Member
20 minutes in and it already has the unmistakable Sony first party quality. Refined, gorgeous, perfect controls.
BUT WHERE, I ASKETH THEE, ART THE GAAAAAMES
BUT WHERE, I ASKETH THEE, ART THE GAAAAAMES
mdkirby
Gold Member
Finally got around to playing Saros after buying it at launch. It's great, but I see zero reason why it needed an inflated team size and substantially larger development budget than returnal, it's extremely similar, same graphics and gameplay, same balance of cinematics. The only notable difference is they have decided to use some well known actors…like why do they always do this? Take a lean efficient development team, acquire them to make the sort of games they make, then massively bloat them and needlessly ramp development costs so games that were once profitable become non profitable.
It's fucking retarded and seems to happen every single bloody time.
It's fucking retarded and seems to happen every single bloody time.
MacReady13
Member
It's Sony, that's why. I mean, take discs off us to save money but spend extra money on shitty actors no one really gives a fuck about and lets hire more pink haired retards to make a game WORSE than the previous game! YAY for modern gaming!
EntelechyFuff
Member
Something about Saros suggests to me that they had a more radical idea in mind to begin with, and had to at some point pivot backward to "mostly just Returnal again" somewhere late in the game. It's somehow not iterative enough.
The base NPCs are the most clear indicator of this IMO.
Still had a great time with it, but yeah.
Also I will add that Housemarque was not profitable when Sony scooped them up. The founder was super transparent about their last independent project being a massive financial failure. If they hadn't been acquired, they'd be dead already.
The base NPCs are the most clear indicator of this IMO.
Still had a great time with it, but yeah.
Also I will add that Housemarque was not profitable when Sony scooped them up. The founder was super transparent about their last independent project being a massive financial failure. If they hadn't been acquired, they'd be dead already.
mdkirby
Gold Member
If they weren't profitable when they bought them, why on earth would they think having them make the same game but with twice the budget would help? So many of Sonys decisions don't make sense. Like I could understand them being slightly non profitable as a prestige thing that adds flavour to a platform owner…but don't dig the hole deeper
bender
What time is it?
If they weren't profitable when they bought them, why on earth would they think having them make the same game but with twice the budget would help? So many of Sonys decisions don't make sense. Like I could understand them being slightly non profitable as a prestige thing that adds flavour to a platform owner…but don't dig the hole deeper
The reference wasn't to Returnal, but Matterfall or Nex Machina (or both).
EntelechyFuff
Member
Yeah, it was Nex Machina. The article from Kittunen (written in distant 2017) is here if anyone is interested.
housemarque.com
ARCADE IS DEAD — Housemarque
END OF AN ERA – LONG LIVE ARCADE, AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT Letter to the fans For more than 20 years we’ve been carrying the torch for arcade, bringing arcade coin-op inspired games to the market with a Housemarque twist, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve gotten pretty good a
housemarque.com
mdkirby
Gold Member
Ahh fair, thought they were bought post returnal like bluepoint with demons souls.
Even I never played nex machina and I've played most their games…so not surprising.
Roufianos
Member
I'm having a blast with this, damn it's so refreshing to play something which just feels great to play moment to moment and there's no downtime and 10 hour grind until it opens up.
Kind of tempted to go back to Returnal but I remember the lack of progression being overly punishing.
Kind of tempted to go back to Returnal but I remember the lack of progression being overly punishing.
skneogaf
Member
I wasn't sure if this was as good as returnal gameplay wise but wow I absolutely love playing this game.
The graphics, audio and gameplay are literally life changing when it comes to what I like in a video game.
I didn't know bullet hell style games done in a 3rd person over the shoulder would entertain me so much but these have been added to my list of favourite games.
Love this game, I just hope more people try it and the developers can make the same level of game again after one the main guys left to start his own company.
The graphics, audio and gameplay are literally life changing when it comes to what I like in a video game.
I didn't know bullet hell style games done in a 3rd person over the shoulder would entertain me so much but these have been added to my list of favourite games.
Love this game, I just hope more people try it and the developers can make the same level of game again after one the main guys left to start his own company.
nowhat
Member
If you are into twin-stick shooters, at all, it's pretty much a must. Highly recommended. But yeah, it was self-published by Housemarque, and it didn't sell for whatever reason (I imagine it didn't have much of a marketing budget at least).
bender
What time is it?
Nex Machina is easily my favorite game of theirs.
EntelechyFuff
Member
It might be one of the easiest platinums I've ever gotten. I spent maybe an hour beyond what it took to naturally get the true ending to grab the last few.