Housemarque hopes Saros can follow FromSoftware’s path

Saros is more generous than Returnal but it’s still tough as nails. The core loop of punishing death and revival runs through Housemarque’s latest PlayStation 5 exclusive. The studio uses this "bullet ballet" setup in Saros and Returnal to help players enter a "flow state" where navigating a barrage of projectiles eventually becomes "second nature." Ilari Kuittinen compared Housemarque's long-term aim to FromSoftware's gradual build-up.

He said, "FromSoftware have been doing a similar genre for a very long time and built up their fan base [over that period]. We have two unique games out. Returnal, Saros. It’s kind of a new thing that you need to educate the market about, so that people say, \"Hey, these flow states are really cool.\" FromSoftware’s journey from King’s Field to what they are today… We’re not presuming that we would be anywhere close to that, but [like them] we will keep our core, keep educating the market that these are the coolest games you can play.

housemarque, saros, returnal, fromsoftware, playstation 5, bullet ballet, flow state, ilari kuittinen, king's field, punishing death