Housemarque released the Zenith update for “Saros” on Monday, adding a boss rush mode, a New Game+ option and a batch of new difficulty settings to its bullet-dodging PlayStation 5 shooter. The update is free for all “Saros” owners, according to a PlayStation Blog post from the studio.
The Zenith update gives players several new ways to approach “Saros,” which first launched in April. The additions range from a dedicated boss gauntlet to modifiers that let players tune the game’s notoriously dense bullet patterns up or down.
What the ‘Saros’ Zenith update’s boss rush mode adds
The headline addition is a boss rush mode called Overlord Rush, which players reach through the Primary Unit in Passage. The mode is split into multiple Sets, each offering a different lineup of Overlords to fight. Scores post to an online leaderboard that players can filter by Main Weapon, though competing requires an internet connection and a PlayStation account.
The Incursion and Ascension Sets each feature three Overlords and take about 10 minutes to finish. Players looking for a longer test can take on the Totality Set, which throws every one of the game’s eight Overlords at them back-to-back with no break in between.
New Game+ and story content
Zenith also introduces a New Game+ mode called Eclipse Layers, which opens up once players clear the main game. Housemarque described each layer as a tougher take on “Saros” with changed rules. Before a layer begins, players must stack enough Trial Modifiers to reach a required threshold, though they get to pick which ones.
Eclipse Layers also bring new story content. Protagonist Arjun now wears a golden crown in the mode, and it grows bigger the more Trials players take on. That crown unlocks 12 new collectibles called Visions, which are murals and messages carved in stone by an ancient king. Higher crown levels are needed to read the extra story text each one holds, according to Housemarque. Kotaku called the Visions the most exciting part of the update.
New difficulty options for newcomers and veterans
The update expands the game’s Carcosan Modifier system with 10 new Protection Modifiers that ease the challenge and 10 new Trial Modifiers that crank it up, Housemarque said. One new Protection, Corruption Melee Enhancement, turns built-up Corruption into extra damage on a melee hit. One new Trial, Hostile Regeneration, lets larger enemies recover from stuns unless players finish them with a melee strike.
Players can also switch on a Slow Game Speed option. They choose how much the game slows down and whether the setting kicks in automatically during combat or only when they toggle it on. A new Auto-fire setting shoots whenever players aim at an enemy, though a perfect reload still takes a well-timed button press. Motion Sensor Aiming also arrives with the update.
Abebe Tinari, design lead on the Zenith update at Housemarque, wrote that the studio is “always wary” about making the game easier by cutting back on enemy attacks. “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,'” Tinari wrote in the PlayStation Blog post.
Players who skipped “Saros” at launch have a cheaper way in, too. The game is $20 off on the PlayStation Store through Oct. 22, Kotaku reported.
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