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The reviews for Saros have started arriving, and Housemarque's new blockbuster roguelike is doing quite well for itself thus far. The follow-up to Returnal is being celebrated for its ambition and scale, and according to prominent score aggregators, it's one of the best releases of 2026 thus far.
Of course, Metacritic is the first port of call here, and on there, Saros currently sits at an extremely respectable 88. An excellent score as is, it's among the highest numbers achieved this year at time of writing, placing the sci-fi shooter in fourth place within Metacritic's ongoing ranking of 2026 games.
Saros's average critic score matches that of Mewgenics, the indie roguelike from The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen, and it's just one point below both Resident Evil Requiem and Pokemon Pokopia. Could it manage to crawl above them? Possibly, but with 86 reviews already collated, there isn't much room for extra points.
Housemarque's latest production has also come in higher than its predecessor, outdoing Returnal's 86, at least in the immediate aftermath of scores going live. Those are strong innings for a pair of quite specific games.
Like Returnal, Saros involves taking on an alien threat on another planet. The protagonist, Arjun Devraj – portrayed by Rahul Kohli – is sent to investigate a strange world where a colony's gone missing, facing an entity that's able to reshape the landscape through solar eclipses. It's heady stuff, but the fundamental ideas are satisfying and well put together.
"A lean fusion of sci-fi action and eldritch horror that alternates between introspective narrative and madcap combat," reads GamesRadar+'s Saros review. On the back of Returnal, Housemarque has managed to make another piece of work. Only time will tell if the studio can manage it once more.
