Housemarque is celebrating the recent Game Awards trailer for Saros by sharing more details about how the development team is using the ensemble cast and a cinematic approach to push the narrative experience and gameplay flow to the next level.
Saros: More than just action
Housemarque is currently on a mission to prove that Saros is about more than just action. Game Director Gregory Louden explained in a recent PlayStation Blog post that The Game Awards trailer reveal was really all about exploring the storytelling and showing off the ensemble cast of NPCs.
“We wanted to explore a lot more of our storytelling and show off our ensemble cast of NPCs. We have a phenomenal cast. They’ve brought such authenticity and reality to the characters. The more the characters learn, the more the sense of dread grows. The friction within the crew increases, and each handles that in different ways.”
The cast of characters features some familiar faces, including the return of Jane Perry. Fans of Returnal will likely recognize her. This time around, Perry steps into the shoes of Sheridan Bouchard, commander of Echelon Four.
The chemistry between Jane Perry’s Commander Bouchard and the character played by Rahul Kohli, another familiar face and voice, is set to be one of the focal points of the game’s narrative. The developers highlighted the revelation of seeing these two talented actors perform together on set.
The Cinematic Experience
Housemarque is aiming to step up the narrative experience with this project. According to the team, Saros represents a leap not just in action gameplay, but in narrative ambition as well.
Cinematic Artist Khalil Osaimi explained that, “There’s a fine line we have to walk. But with the talent we have here and the capabilities… we’re going to the next level now.”
The team really seems to be dedicating a lot of resources to these cinematic moments and Technical Director Martin Contel explained some of the challenges that approach can bring to the table.
“We’re not afraid to bring the camera close. But animating a human face is incredibly difficult: one wrong muscle and a happy expression can become a smirk or something unintended.”
When it comes to high quality single-player narrative experiences, the PlayStation exclusive (or at least timed-exclusive) catalog has a lot of heavy hitters. The Last of Us, Uncharted, and God of War franchises are all standout success stories. It will be very exciting to see how Saros lands and if Housemarque is able to help the game climb to the same prestige as some of those other iconic PlayStation franchises.
Saros is currently aiming for an April 30, 2026 release date on PS5.
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