State of Play's big reveal was Saros, a "new single-player IP that builds on Returnal's award-winning third-person action" from the roguelike maestros at Housemarque

The big closing announcement for today's PlayStation State of Play broadcast was the next game from Returnal developer Housemarque. Titled Saros, the new game is not a sequel to the studio's beloved roguelike, but the team says it's directly following up on the action that made Returnal so beloved.

"We are thrilled to announce that our latest game, Saros, is launching next year on PS5 and enhanced for PS5 Pro," creative director Gregory Louden said during today's State of Play broadcast. "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.“

Saros - Cinematic Announce Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube

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The cinematic announce trailer gives us our first look at protagonist Arjun Devraj, portrayed by Rahul Kohli. The game takes place on a "hostile, shape-shifting planet haunted by an ominous eclipse." If that sounds like a roguelike to you, you're not far off - but Saros offers more long-term progression systems, so the pendatic among you might want to call it a roguelite instead.

"A key gameplay distinction between Saros and Returnal is permanent resources and progression making every death valuable," according to a post on the PlayStation blog. "After every death you will face a changed world, 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."

That's all Housemarque is revealing about the gameplay in Saros for now, but a proper look at gameplay is coming later this year, ahead of the game's actual launch in 2026.

If Saros even comes close to Returnal, it'll be a strong candidate for our list of the best roguelike games.

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Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.