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Accessibility review: SAROS – PS5 Pro

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Promotional artwork for a video game titled SAROS. On the left, the stylized text SAROS glows in bright orange and yellow. On the right, a bearded man with short dark hair stands in profile on a rocky outcrop, facing right. He wears dark, rugged tactical armor with the Roman numeral IV on his shoulder and holds a large, futuristic rifle. His right eye glows with an orange light. Looming directly behind him is a massive, dark silhouette of a multi-armed deity or monstrous figure with a spiked crown, set against a blazing solar eclipse. The figure has eight arms radiating outward, each holding a glowing ball of orange energy. The entire scene is bathed in a dramatic orange, amber, and black color palette. In the background, a desolate, sci-fi landscape features jagged rock formations and distant, imposing architectural structures under a hazy, smoky sky.

SAROS is the latest sci-fi action game from Housemarque, and it feels like a strong step forward when it comes to accessibility and universal design. The game combines fast-paced combat, a dark sci-fi atmosphere, and a progression system designed to keep players moving forward even after failure.

Alina and I recorded a detailed deep dive video where we explore the accessibility menus and settings available in the game while also testing how the gameplay feels.

After spending time with SAROS, we realized that the game feels far more approachable than Returnal, one of the biggest improvements being the progression system because every time we die in combat, we return stronger with new upgrades, better equipment, and additional progression opportunities.

Instead of feeling punished for failure, the game actually rewards players for continuing. This creates a much smoother and more welcoming gameplay loop without removing the challenge. This is a great example of universal design done well.

SAROS also includes several accessibility features and gameplay customization options. Players can remap controls, adjust gameplay modifiers, enable dialogue focus mode, customize color blindness settings, and fine-tune gameplay systems to better match their comfort level. The gameplay modifiers are especially useful because they allow players to reduce frustration and make the experience more manageable while still keeping the core gameplay intact.

At the same time, SAROS is unfortunately not accessible for totally blind players like myself because it does not include text-to-speech functionality for menus or navigation assistance for exploration and combat. While the sound design is phenomenal, the game still depends heavily on visual awareness and navigation.

The presentation is incredible. Alina kept telling me how amazing the game looks, while for me the sound design is easily among the best I have ever experienced in a video game. Weapons, enemy attacks, environmental effects, and ambient sounds all feel rich, detailed, and extremely immersive. The DualSense controller also feels alive in our hands. Because the game uses both the TV audio and the controller speaker together, the soundscape constantly shifts between the sound system and the controller during gameplay.

SAROS looks, sounds, and plays like the kind of blockbuster experience players expect from PlayStation Studios. If you enjoy atmospheric sci-fi action games with top-notch presentation showcasing the power of the PS5 Pro and driven by a captivating and immersive story, this is definitely a game worth checking out.

I’m glad to see that the studio has taken accessibility into consideration for SAROS, and I really hope that their next game will be even more accessible.

Review copy provided by PlayStation

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Victor Dima

Owner and Founder at victordima.net
Victor Dima is a Blind Gaming Journalist and Accessibility Ambassador, Living in Oslo with his wife Alina. Victor was the first journalist in Romania to receive the PS5 & the PS VR2 from PlayStation. He is also working closely with Xbox Nordic and other game publishers such as Ubisoft, Ea, Bungie, Activision, blizzard, square Enix, Capcom, Rockstar Games, Sega, PlayStation studios, WB Games, Bethesda and many others. With over 12 years of experience covering the Gaming Industry, he started victordima.net in 2013 and since February 2022 all his articles are posted in English in order to reach a more global audience. He is the owner and founder of the highly successful PlayStation Fans Romania Facebook Community, the largest independent source for PlayStation News in Romania, on social media with almost 35.000 followers. Victor is also running theAudiobookBlog.com. You can reach Victor at contact@victordima.net

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