5 Best Video Games Like Saros

The Finnish game studio Housemarque has been creating excellent sci-fi shooters for years. The developer's latest title, "Saros," is one of the best video games of 2026 so far, blending Housemarque's penchant for thought-provoking stories and fast-paced shooter action. The game follows an interplanetary explorer checking out ancient ruins to learn what happened to a mining colony on a remote world. A bullet hell experience, the game has players absorb certain types of incoming attacks to power up their weapons and fight back against relentless enemies.

For gamers who have braved the challenges of "Saros," there are plenty of similar games to follow up with. From sci-fi shooters and bullet hell titles to other games developed by Housemarque, the genre is replete with solid alternatives, each providing their own unique challenges. The games we're listing here are for a mix of newcomers to the genre and seasoned pros. With that in mind, these are the five best video games like "Saros" that fans should check out next.

A foundational title in the bullet hell shooter genre, 2001's "Ikaruga" is one of the best GameCube games of all time. This is a top-down shoot'em-up, with players controlling aircraft taking on the technologically superior Horai. Like in "Saros," players absorb enemy fire to power up their own weapons and fight back. The game features both a standard single-player campaign and a co-op mode for two players to take on the waves of enemies together.

"Ikaruga" ups the ante in terms of overall intensity when compared to conventional space shooters. The bullet hell moniker is well-earned here, with players needing to master the timing in switching between different enemy fire or be completely obliterated. That mechanic feels influential to Housemarque's titles, including "Saros," despite the change in perspective. Not for the faint of heart, "Ikaruga" is one of the hardest games of its generation but thoroughly rewarding for those who live to tell the tale.

With 2017's "Nex Machina," in which robots have become intelligent enough to try and overthrow humans, Housemarque leaned into the arcade game roots of the shoot'em-up genre. Played from a top-down perspective, players blast waves of enemies while they try to protect and rescue civilians caught in the carnage. Owing to its arcade inspirations, players build up combos as they fire on enemies and can improve themselves through power-ups picked up throughout the levels. Even with its relatively straightforward gameplay and progression, the game presents an impressive sci-fi aesthetic across its chaotic action.

Perspective wise, "Nex Machina" is a bit of a departure from Housemarque's recent games, but the sci-fi shooter foundations are apparent. The overall gameplay speed and sharp, reflex-oriented action are key to the overall experience. The game also has the vibrant presentation that many of Housemarque's subsequent titles retained and refined to great effect. If you loved "Saros" but you're not ready to dive headfirst into another deep sci-fi story, "Nex Machina" is perfect — it offers plenty of fast-paced fun without getting bogged down by tons of lore.

Later in 2017, Housemarque also released the PlayStation 4 game "Matterfall." Another sci-fi shooter, this particular game unfolds primarily from a side-scrolling perspective and the gameplay places a greater emphasis on platforming as a result. The protagonist is Avalon Darrow, who uses an armored battlesuit to save their world from being overwhelmed by a strange corrosive matter. In addition to the usual running and gunning associated with the genre, Darrow can also use forcefields and create platforms to better navigate levels.

Both "Nex Machina" and "Matterfall" were major steps on the path to "Saros." With "Matterfall" more specifically, the deeper dive into sci-fi, more prominent narrative elements, and forcefield gameplay mechanics informed their later usage in future Housemarque projects. But beyond its influence, the game is just a riveting sci-fi experience with visuals that still look fantastic almost a decade later. "Matterfall" plays like a high-speed "Metroid" game in all the best ways.

Hopoo Games' original 2013 "Risk of Rain" is a procedurally generated side-scrolling run-and-gun indie game. The 2020 sequel, "Risk of Rain 2," took its lovingly lo-fi sci-fi shooter action into a third-person perspective. Like the preceding title, levels are procedurally generated, with players battling waves of enemies as they scour the environment for loot and an escape portal. Completing in-game challenges and playthroughs net players rewards, including additional player characters and equipment available in subsequent campaigns.

Both "Risk of Rain" games offer distinctly different experiences, but both have clear shoot'em-up similarities. Through its change to a third-person perspective, "Risk of Rain 2" more closely resembles Housemarque's recent titles, while maintaining its usual intensity. However, unlike "Saros," "Risk of Rain 2" offers the option of multiplayer to brave these sci-fi shooter challenges with friends. An indie roguelike that's no less fun than its major studio counterparts, "Risk of Rain 2" keeps players on their toes while heightening the immersion.

We're saving the most obvious inclusion on this list for last with "Returnal," Housemarque's immediate predecessor to "Saros." The game's protagonist is astronaut Selene Vassos, who finds herself caught in a temporal loop after crashing on a remote planet named Atropos. Facing hostile life all around her, Selene explores the planet as she upgrades her gear and looks for a way to escape. Every time Selene is killed, she is revived at the moment she crashed, finding the landscape and enemy placement has changed since her last playthrough.

Widely buzzed about, "Returnal" outsold almost everything else in just a single day across the PlayStation Store upon its launch, and once you sit down to play it, you'll understand why. The game is very addictive, and it's also noticeably more difficult than "Saros," so you'll definitely get your money's worth out of it. An intense sci-fi odyssey with a trippy, looping setup, "Returnal" is a must-play for any "Saros" fan who missed it the first time around.