A game like Saros was always going to have an uphill battle to fight. Following up Returnal, a game which reveled in a fair but punishing challenge, is a tough ask when the next game also has to live in the AAA space where sequels (or in this case, spiritual successors) are expected to be bigger, better and reach a larger audience.
I’ll happily agree that Saros lacks teeth in comparison to its predecessor, at least when played in the “expected” way, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. In my review, the primary point I had attempted to hammer home is that Saros is a game that is less interested in keeping players at the razor-edge of survival at all times, and more concerned with making them feel like they’re getting better, faster, stronger in order to overcome the obstacles and aggressors of Carcosa.
That’s what makes the game’s “Zenith” update, which launches today at no cost to anyone who owns or buys the game, a compelling proposition. The folks at Housemarque have heard both sides of the argument – that either the game is not unforgiving enough for veteran players or it’s still too merciless for curious newcomers – and simply said you’re all correct.
Therefore, Zenith sports a number of features aimed both at making the game more approachable, but also giving those looking for a fight new ways to push themselves even harder, and importantly new incentives for doing so. For example, not only are there now Trial Modifiers added to the Carcosan Modifier system that actively increase the challenge level in new ways, but a New Game+ mode dubbed “Eclipse Layers” outright requires that you add on a hefty minimum of Carcosan Modifiers to participate. Doing so is rewarded with cool new golden armour for Arjun that works as a kind of proof of mettle for players who want to flex their skill suffering, as well as exclusive new collectibles to find that add to the game’s story and mythos.
For those on the opposite side of the fence, new Protection Modifiers are here to back players up with additional ways of fighting back, and there are a couple of key approachability options to take advantage of. One of these is a “Slow Game Speed” option that, well, literally slows the game down either automatically or on command – something we’ve seen in a few games now that seems like a pretty logical way to get players more into the rhythm. The other big one is an Auto-fire setting that automatically fires Arjun’s equipped weapon when an enemy is in his sights, though importantly it doesn’t take away some of the major components of Saros’ skill expression in combat, like perfectly timing reloads.
To give you an even better idea of what’s been added in Zenith, here’s a new trailer and the full rundown of the new features, including a balls-to-the-wall Boss Rush mode, courtesy of the PlayStation Blog:
Saros: Zenith update features
Keep the projectiles, but slow ‘em down
At Housemarque, a feeling we chase with our designs is the satisfaction that comes from facing down a difficult challenge, then overcoming it. Because of this, we are always wary about adjusting difficulty by toning down the parts of the game that create these interesting challenges: i.e. the spectacular attacks coming at you from our enemies. Although we realize our games can look intimidating at first, we didn’t want to compromise the combat system of Saros by reducing the projectiles that put the “bullet” in “bullet ballet”.
Enter, “Slow Game Speed”.
With this setting enabled, you can slow the game down to give yourself more time to react to hostile attack telegraphs, see the bullets as they fly towards you, and decide your response (Jump!? Dash!? Shield?! Parry!?) The attacks remain the same, but you have a little more time to deal with them.
You have control over how much the game slows down, and can even choose if you want the setting to kick in automatically during combat, or if you want to manually toggle it on when things get hairy.
Auto-fire means one less button to worry about
If there is one piece of advice I’d give players of Saros, it would be “Keep moving”. But, next to moving, the action you will likely be performing more than any other is shooting your weapon.
The new “Auto-fire” accessibility setting makes your weapon fire automatically when you are aiming at a hostile. We know that some players may find it difficult to hold a button down for extended periods of time, so we hope this will help. More broadly, it gives you one less button to worry about during combat, freeing up your brain cycles to hit that dash button at just the right time to avoid taking a hit. Importantly, however, this setting does not make reloading automatic. A perfect reload still requires a well-timed button press. Like our other features, this is designed to make the game more accessible, not remove opportunities for player skill expression.
Combined with the new Motion Sensor Aiming functionality and our existing button remapping settings, players now have many ways to customize how Saros controls.
Adding a new Layer to Carcosan Modifiers
Beyond these new accessibility features, we have also greatly expanded the “Carcosan Modifier” system from Saros. Using this system, players can apply various “Modifiers” to the world of Carcosa to tune the difficulty to their liking. Protection Modifiers alter the game in a way that makes it easier and more forgiving. Zenith brings 10 new Protection Modifiers, to give players having a difficult time even more ways of customizing their experience.
One of my favourite new Protections is “Corruption Melee Enhancement”. Corruption is one of the scariest mechanics in SAROS. When you get hit by certain projectiles, Corruption will build up on your Armor, eating away at your max Integrity. With this Modifier active, however, Corruption becomes a new source of power. When your melee strike connects with a hostile, your built up Corruption will be consumed and turned into additional damage, delivering a single devastating hit. The risk from Corruption still exists, but I hope this new way of dealing with it will encourage players to overcome their fear and get up close and personal in combat.
Zenith also adds 10 new Trial Modifiers to increase the challenge level. A particularly tricky one is “Hostile Regeneration”. When playing with the Modifier, larger hostiles can be stunned via damage from your weapons, but they will quickly regenerate and recover. Only a melee strike can finish them off, so you need to be quick on your feet to rush in and deliver the fatal blow!
These modifiers tie in directly to another of our brand new features: The New Game+ mode known as “Eclipse Layers”. After clearing Saros, mysterious new nodes will be added to the Armor Matrix back at Passage. These are the key to unlocking the gate to the next Eclipse Layer, a more intense version of the game with altered rules.
After moving to the next Eclipse Layer, the first thing you will do is select a loadout of Carcosan Modifiers. In this mode, a certain threshold of Carcosan Modifiers must be met before you can begin. It will take multiple Trial Modifiers to reach this goal, but which ones you decide to take on is entirely up to you.
With 25 different Trials to choose from, there is plenty of room to customize the challenge to fit your playstyle. But some strategic thinking is also advised, as certain combinations of Trials can synergize together to create deadly combinations…
A Crown, fit for a King
Another goal we had with Zenith was to give players a way to show off when they are playing with a bunch of difficult Trial Modifiers active. To do this, during the Eclipse Layers, Arjun now dons a Crown and his Armor glows golden! Better yet, the more Trials you take on, and the higher your Modifier Balance goes, the bigger and more splendid the Crown will become. Load up on those Trials, and see just how golden he gets!
And the Crown is not just for show, it is also the key to a new collectable found in the Eclipse Layers. These “Visions” take the form of murals and messages, etched into stone by an ancient king. 12 Visions lay waiting across Carcosa, but as you walk the path, higher levels of the Crown will be required to perceive the additional story texts they contain.
Overlord Rush, a new way to tango with Carcosa’s fiercest
Last-but-not-least is the new Overlord Rush mode. This mode – accessed via the Primary Unit in Passage – brings you into an intense training simulation in which you race to quickly dispatch the powerful Overlords from the main game, competing with friends and players around the world on an integrated leaderboard.*
Overlord Rush is divided into multiple “Sets”, each of which contains a different selection of Overlords. The “Incursion” and “Ascension” Sets contain three Overlords each, and can be completed in 10 minutes, for a nice little Saros snack. The final Set is known as “Totality”. As the name implies, it lines up all eight Overlords from around Carcosa in one continuous gauntlet!
This mode is a blast, both as a test of your personal skill, and as a way to compete with your friends*. When comparing your scores globally, you can filter the results based on your choice of Main Weapon, meaning that even if you can’t reach the top overall, try to be the master of your favorite weapon. I can’t wait to see the scores our players start posting. I wonder how many hours (minutes?) before I’m knocked out of the top 10….
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Born into the world of video games through SEGA, and in particular Sonic the Hedgehog, Kieron’s gaming tastes now consist of the latest, shiny AAA thing, an indie darling or two, and an embarrassing number of hours of Balatro.