Saros - NXG Technical Review PS5 vs PS5 Pro

Why It Matters

The PS5 Pro’s enhanced upscaling and lighting deliver a noticeably sharper Saros experience, confirming that next‑gen console upgrades can matter for visually intensive titles even when frame rates stay constant.

Key Takeaways

• PS5 Pro delivers sharper visuals via PSSR2 upscaling.
• Both consoles lock at 60 FPS with minor frame drops.
• Particle effects and bullet ballet look superior on Pro version.
• Shadow and reflection quality improve noticeably on PS5 Pro.
• Story and character depth remain weak despite technical polish.

Summary

Saros, Housemarque’s latest Unreal Engine 5 shooter, arrives on both the standard PS5 and the new PS5 Pro, prompting a side‑by‑side technical review. The core gameplay—bullet‑hell roguelike action with dense particle effects—remains identical, but the Pro version pushes the image stack higher, using Sony’s PSSR2 upscaler and enhanced DRS settings to render closer to native 4K, while the base console relies on a lower‑resolution render upscaled via temporal AA. The reviewer measured resolution spikes between roughly 1440p and 1620p on the Pro, compared with a 1080p‑to‑4K upscale on the standard PS5. Visual gains include crisper specular edges, reduced ghosting on floating particles, and markedly better shadow and reflection fidelity thanks to a mix of virtual shadow maps, cascaded shadow maps, and SSR. Performance stays locked at 60 fps on both hardware, with the Pro showing only marginally more frame‑time variance (34 drops versus 19 on the base unit) and similar input latency around 100 ms. Specific moments highlighted the Pro’s advantage: fine hair strands, debris density, and volumetric lighting retain detail during frantic combat, while the base PS5 exhibits pixelation and noisy AO. Cutscenes run at 4K 30 fps on both, narrowing the visual gap, but real‑time action still benefits from the Pro’s higher base resolution and more stable temporal sampling. DualSense haptics and audio design receive praise, though the narrative and character work are deemed undercooked. For consumers, the PS5 Pro offers a clear visual upgrade without sacrificing performance, making it attractive to graphics‑enthusiasts. However, the modest gameplay differences and weak story mean the decision hinges on whether visual fidelity alone justifies the Pro’s price premium.

Original Description

Housemarque have been a staple in gaming for many a decade, starting life back on the amazing Commodore Amiga and Stardust, a game I still own. They have always made arcade focused, gameplay first, titles. With a flair for awesome visuals, challenging, but skill-based action and a penchant for technical achievements.

Saros is the unofficial sequel to 2020s Returnal, again built with Unreal Engine, 5th iteration, and continues to push on particles, bullet ballet hell swarms, tentacle tech and a slightly easier difficulty curve. But the game also has a PS5 Pro version which offers an even bigger push up the power stack with Image quality but not framerate.

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Chapters

0:00 Developer and Technical roots

0:54 PS5 vs PS5 Pro Resolution and Image comparisons

3:55 Particle system ported into Unreal Engine 5

4:57 PS5 Pro improvementa, Virtual Shadow maps, Ray tracing, water and more

8:16 Performance testing including Patch 1.003.004

10:26 Input Latency testing and Loading

11:12 Art, design, Animation, Cinematics and models

12:04 Saros vs Returnal comparison & Particles

13:10 Sound design, Dual Sense

13:47 Gameplay, story, and Shoot-em-Up influences

15:13 Final Thoughts

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