In a year full of big and impressive releases, it’s easy to miss out on some really solid titles.
2026 has seen quite a few success stories and game of the year contenders, and the variety has been something to behold. Resident Evil Requiem, Control Resonant, Ace Combat 8, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and more should be in the conversation for awards. But there’s another game that launched earlier this year that I think many are overlooking.
A title that I greatly enjoyed, but apparently has not sold all that well, is Saros. The PS5-exclusive and spiritual successor to Returnal has been a success with critics and players alike (87 on Metacritic, 4.55 out of 5 on PSN), and it’s got new content available today.
Saros Zenith is a free update for the roguelite bullet hell game, adding some fun replayability for those who finished the game earlier this year, and attempting to entice new players. New features include a boss rush mode, New Game Plus, a bunch of new modifiers, and even new PSN trophies to unlock.
From a gameplay perspective, Saros is one of the better games I’ve played this year in general. It lacks in the story department, but also shines when it comes to visuals and sound design, making for one of PS5’s better titles released this year.
Unfortunately for devs at Housemarque, the sales numbers probably aren’t what anyone was looking for. To make matters worse, it’s a tough time of year to sell players on a free update for an existing game, as September and October have both been absolutely jammed with new big-name releases. Not only that, but the ire that Sony has drawn for its stance on physical games happened since Saros launched, and the update’s trailer’s comments are filled with complaints about it, and little to do with the game itself.
For Saros, I will try to find the time to redownload the game on my PS5 Pro to experience what the update has to offer, because I think that the gameplay itself is some of the best of the year.
