Saros is the latest project by Housemarque, renowned developers of the cult classic bullet-hell roguelike Returnal. It’s another PS5 exclusive, and it builds on the original formula from the former game to create a much more fluent, staggering, and rewarding combat system.
Check out Saros’s PS Store Page to learn further about the game.
Following Arjun of Echelon IV, you’re stranded in another world. In this walkthrough, we’ll cover the complete prologue sequence of the game.
For more Saros walkthroughs, be sure to check the Into Indie Games Saros Walkthrough Hub!
Table of contents
Waking Up In The Abyss – Prologue
Arjun finds himself in the abyss, all alone and unconscious. After he wakes up, walk forward to the giant door, and use the elevator to reach the lower levels. There, the game will introduce you to its basic controls:
- L1: Dash (It puts you in an invulnerable state, giving you iframes that allow you to dodge all attacks)
- R1: Melee
- X: Jump (Holding the button will make you jump higher)
- R2: Shoot
- L2: Aim (While it allows you to aim, your weapon will enter a charge-up mode. Hold R2, then release it to use the weapon’s entire magazine instantly)
Before reaching a door that unlocks by shooting a panel above it, turn right and dodge through the lasers to find hidden 275 Lucenite, which serves as the game’s currency. Now, return to the door and drop down to initiate your first encounter with three drones.
It’s an easy encounter. Shoot them down and dodge through their blue bullets. Turn right to find a door obstructed with a red barrier and press R1 to melee and destroy it. Before you are numerous bullets falling from the sky, and dodging through them won’t cut it here.
Hold R1 to form a shield, and move through the bullets. By absorbing the bullets, the shield can be simultaneously recharged. Consume the Green Aether ahead to regenerate your armor’s integrity, and turn right to find further hidden Lucenite. Return to the previous room and move forward to initiate the next encounter.
Destroy them all, and make sure to utilize your shield if you’re having trouble dodging. Turn right, break the red barrier, and enter a room with moving lasers. Circle around the room to gather Lucenite, and then dodge through the static lasers to start the next encounter.
Once you’re done with it, climb on the left platform for Lucenite. Move forward to enter a short platforming sequence, which reveals the eclipse on the otherworldly planet. With this, drop down into the massive arena to meet the first boss: Consort.
This is a scripted death despite all efforts. The game really begins after this point, as it drops you into the main hub area called The Passage. Descend the staircase and meet with Tarn, who’s corrupted by the eclipse.
In the nick of time, Jerome and Sheridan arrive and save Arjun, but they are not lenient with him either as they haven’t seen him in a long while.
Later, Kayla and Stack introduce themselves and immediately question Arjun about his absence. After their conversation, the game will provide you with your first objective.
Shattered Rise
While this is optional, I would recommend talking to every crew member in the hub to understand bits of the story. When that’s done, head outside to enter the Shattered Rise.
Find The Echelon Colony – Reach The Signal Location
The first objective in Shattered Rise is to find the Echelon Colony. Outside The Passage, follow the path and use an elevator to go beyond the wall. Move downwards and jump across the lasers to interact with a blue crystal to receive a Carcosan Key. Use it to unlock the door before you, and continue ahead until you find a golden circle.
Interact with it to receive a power weapon, which replaces your pistol’s charge-up sequence with a power blast. Hold L2 and destroy the giant barrier on the door, and drop down to fight enemies. This power weapon is called Prominence, which needs to be charged with blue bullets; which can be absorbed by using your shield.
Don’t forget to open the blue crystals along the path to find upgrades for your run. Saros is a roguelike, so finding these upgrades in the wild will help you progress in the game efficiently. Destroy the enemies and keep moving forward until you see a giant bird-like creature, which then flies away.
There, on the ground, you will find Halcyon, an item to upgrade your armor permanently. Drop down into a room to find a Soltari Assault Rifle, which can lock onto enemies if you half-press L2. Open the door by shooting on its left panel, and then defeat all the enemies in your way.
After reaching an area with a spinning laser wheel, you will find enemies covered in a red shield. To destroy them, dodge/block their bullets, and melee their shield. From here, turn right to find another door covered with a shield, beyond which you will find a hidden audio log and another upgrade for this run.
Cross the laser wheel to enter a Solar Cage and fight against Sunflayer, a mini-boss. Keep your distance and use the shield when necessary. Shoot, charge the shield with blue bullets, and dodge its attacks. Move ahead to find a temple, where an Osteomaw will attack you. Defeat it, use the Carcosan key to unlock an orange stone and upgrade your Prominence to level 10; the level depends on your proficiency.
Locate a Way to Open The Gate
Interact with the hand near the gate to invite the Eclipse. During Eclipse, all enemies become stronger, and the received Lucenite has greater potency. Defeat the empowered enemy in a Solar Cage, and drop down. The door to your right leads to a boss, and the left path continues the main story.
For now, ignore the boss’s door and continue the main story. Numerous enemies will shoot yellow bullets at you during the Eclipse, and if they hit you, your armor’s integrity will be corrupted; making a part of your integrity unavailable. To get rid of this corruption, use your power weapon (Prominence at this time).
If you die in the next area, you will return to The Passage and can now communicate with Primary, a machine to upgrade your armor and passives permanently. It consumes Lucenites and Halcyons.
From paths to enemy placements, everything will now be different as this is a second run. However, the objective remains unchanged, and you will reach the previous point within a few minutes.
Now, with your upgrades, the run will become gradually easier; it’s all trial and error. Continue along the path until you find a holocache, which resembles Arjun’s significant other, Nitya. Talk to the holocache to learn more about the story, and traverse through the disjointed path to the temple.
There, go below and break the shield to enter a room with multiple lasers. Avoid them and pick up the Vault Key to end this objective.
Tips: The Blue Crystals provide you with buffs, but some of them come with a debuff. The Yellow Crystals can only be unlocked with a Carcosan Key.
Red Crystals give you a choice between two items, so choose accordingly. Additionally, defeat all the enemies in a run to increase your proficiency and get better weapon drops.
Return To The Gate
Now, exit the room and turn around to find an ascending path. Interact with the teleporter to return to the intersection that leads to the boss’ room. Use the Vault Key in the keyhole to your right, and then go through the newly unlocked pathway.
Defeat the enemies, pick up upgrades from the crystals, and drop down into the pit to meet the first major story boss: Prophet.
Prophet Boss Fight
Prophet is resilient and relentless with its attack and will waste no time in attacking Arjun. With a total of three phases, this fight can get hectic and a bit insufferable if you don’t know how to avoid its attacks. Initially, Prophet will be invulnerable to your attack. To break open its shell, destroy the enemies on its tentacles to reveal its core.
Dodging gives you iframes, so dodge through its yellow projectile waves; it happens thrice in the first phase. If you see blue bullets, use your shield to absorb them and then use your power weapon to deliver staggering damage. However, avoid falling back as there is red grass that will slow down Arjun’s movement, which ultimately puts him at a massive risk.
Every phase is divided into two sub-phases, which initiate after the boss’s health bar reaches 50%. Dodge through the bullets, avoid the red grass, and keep attacking the Prophet to secure victory and ultimately complete Shattered Rise.
To get to the next area, Ancient Ruins, return to The Passage and talk to Primary and access the teleporter.
And with this, our Shattered Rise walkthrough for Saros comes to an end. It is a part of our complete Saros Walkthrough Hub, so for more walkthroughs, check it out.
Looking for more walkthroughs? Check the links below:
- Into Indie Games Homepage
- Pragmata Complete Walkthrough Hub
- OPUS: Prism Peak – Walkthrough Hub
- Grime II – Walkthrough Hub
- The Occultist – Complete Walkthrough Hub
Either listening to music 24/7 or having an existential crisis; no in between.
