Housemarque Kicks Off the State of Play With First Gameplay Reveal of Saros, Coming in March 2026
Housemarque opened today’s PlayStation State of Play showcase with the highly anticipated first gameplay reveal of Saros, its next big title following the success of Returnal. The reveal trailer confirmed that Saros will launch on March 20, 2026, exclusively for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro.
The trailer, showed off Housemarque’s signature third-person bullet-hell gameplay, refined and expanded with new mechanics. Fans of Returnal will feel right at home, but Saros pushes things further with new tools to help players survive the chaos.
Among the standout additions is a shield mechanic, allowing players to break through enemy fire and return powerful counterattacks. Another major change is the inclusion of extra revives per run. Instead of having to unlock this ability deep into a playthrough like in Returnal, players will now begin with at least one second chance by default, with more likely tied to progression and upgrades.
The gameplay reveal hinted at modifiers and loadout variety without going too deep into specifics, leaving plenty of surprises for future updates.
In a PlayStation Blog post, creative director Gregory Louden explained the design approach:
“For our first look at gameplay we wanted to show real and unedited action gameplay from Saros, and then layer by layer detail some of the new elements we have added on top of Returnal’s award-winning third-person action. Our goal with these new elements has been to add more depth to our gameplay by adding a wider variety of tools.”
Players will control Arjun, equipped with the Soltari advanced combat suit, which enables dashing, melee combat, and jumping. At the beginning of every run, players will select a loadout from both Soltari human weaponry and Carcosan alien weaponry. The reveal showed Arjun wielding the Soltari Phosphorous Shotgun to melt hostile machines inside the ruins of an ancient city. Expect to face intricate enemy bullet patterns and unleash devastating sci-fi firepower.
While Housemarque is keeping the full story under wraps, Louden teased what players can expect from the narrative. Set on the planet Carcosa, the story expands beyond Returnal’s mystery-driven narrative with grounded voice-overs, cinematics, haunting audio logs, and interactive NPC conversations. Players will also encounter Soltari Holograms, which reveal critical information about what happened on Carcosa. Optional exploration promises to add depth to the lore, with surreal and mysterious sequences planned for later reveals.
Saros launches on March 20, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro, promising an evolution of the mechanics that made Returnal one of the standout PS5 titles while layering in new depth, tools, and storytelling elements.
What do you think of the first Saros gameplay reveal? Are you excited to dive into Carcosa when it launches in March?
