Housemarque's Saros just received its Zenith update, and fans can expect several changes. In a PlayStation Blog post, Abebe Tinari, Saros' design lead, said the studio had two main goals for the Zenith update: add replayability and make Saros more accessible. "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," said Tinari. The studio created Slow Game Speed so you can slow the game down and react accordingly. This change allows you to jump, dash, shield, or parry depending on the situation. You control how much you slow bullets and when to kick the setting in during gameplay. Housemarque also added Auto-fire, letting your weapon fire automatically when you aim at hostiles. The studio said it knows some players struggle to fire and maneuver at the same time, so they wanted to take that worry away. Reloads still need to be done manually, and a perfect reload requires a well-timed button press. Carcosan Modifiers. In addition to the accessibility changes, Carcosan Modifiers have changed a bit. Players use modifiers to adjust how they want to play Saros. Protection Modifiers make it easier and more forgiving. The Zenith update adds 10 Protection Modifiers to the game to give players more ways to customize their game. "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," Tinari tells players. Zenith adds 10 new Trial Modifiers to increase the challenge level. A new modifier like Hostile Regeneration lets larger hostiles be stunned by weapon damage but quickly regenerate and recover. You need to use a melee strike to finish them. New Game+ also includes a feature called Eclipse Layers. Once you finish the game, new nodes appear in the Armour Matrix in Passage. You use them to unlock gates to the next Eclipse Layer, which offers a more intense version of the game with new rules. After moving to the next Eclipse Layer, you'll first select a loadout of Carcosan Modifiers. In this mode, you must meet a certain threshold of Carcosan Modifiers before you can begin. It takes multiple Trial Modifiers to reach this goal, but you decide which ones to take. Housemarque also made it easier to show off when playing with difficult Trial Modifiers. This is shown during Eclipse Layers, where Arjun has a crown and his armour glows golden. The more Trials you take, the bigger the crown is. The Crown is not just for show; it is also the key to a new collectable found in the Eclipse Layers. These Visions appear as murals and messages, etched into stone by an ancient king. 12 Visions lie scattered across Carcosa, but as you walk the path, higher levels of the Crown are required to perceive the additional story text they contain. The final piece of this update is the Overlord Rush mode. You access it from the Primary Unit in Passage, where you can face bosses in a simulation to dispatch the Overlords and compete with players worldwide on a leaderboard. Overlord Rush is divided into sets which contain different Overlords. The Incursion and Ascension Sets contain three Overlords each and can be completed in 10 minutes. The final set is the Totality set and includes all eight Overlords.

Housemarque releases free Zenith update for Saros, adding New Game+ and accessibility options. By GN Journalist October 19, 2026 at 12:50 PM Developer Housemarque has released the Zenith update for Saros, bringing a free content patch to all existing owners starting today, October 19. The update introduces a suite of new accessibility features, gameplay modifiers, a New Game+ mode, and a competitive boss-rush mode designed for both newcomers and veteran players. New accessibility features. To help players manage intense bullet-hell encounters, the update adds a "Slow Game Speed" setting. This option lets users manually toggle or automatically trigger a slowdown during combat to provide more reaction time against incoming enemy projectiles without altering enemy attack patterns. Additionally, a new "Auto-fire" setting fires weapons automatically whenever the player's crosshairs are aligned with a hostile target. This feature is intended to reduce fatigue from holding down buttons for extended periods, though manual button presses remain required to reload weapons. These settings join newly introduced motion sensor aiming functionality and existing button remapping options. Modifiers and Eclipse Layers. Housemarque has expanded the Carcosan Modifier system with 10 new Protection Modifiers and 10 new Trial Modifiers. Protection Modifiers make the game more forgiving, such as the "Corruption Melee Enhancement," which converts built-up armor corruption into bonus melee damage upon a successful strike. Trial Modifiers increase the challenge level. For example, the "Hostile Regeneration" modifier causes larger enemies to quickly recover from weapon stuns unless finished off with a melee attack. These modifiers tie directly into the new New Game+ mode, titled "Eclipse Layers." After clearing the game, players can unlock altered rulesets by equipping a specific threshold of Carcosan Modifiers. During Eclipse Layers, character Arjun dons a glowing golden crown that grows larger based on the player's modifier balance. This crown is also required to uncover 12 hidden story "Visions" etched into stone across Carcosa. Overlord Rush mode. Also included in the Zenith update is Overlord Rush, a training simulation accessed via the Primary Unit in Passage. In this mode, players race to defeat powerful Overlords from the main game while competing on global leaderboards filtered by weapon choice. Overlord Rush is divided into multiple sets. The "Incursion" and "Ascension" sets feature three Overlords each, while the final "Totality" set runs a continuous gauntlet of all eight Overlords from the game. Accessing the mode's online features requires an internet connection and a PlayStation account. Source media

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