Housemarque's Saros: Zenith update is available to all Saros owners at no additional charge. It targets two goals: giving players who have already explored Carcosa a reason to return, and making the game easier for newcomers to pick up. The studio says the update builds on a game that was one of the highest rated action titles of 2026.

Slow Game Speed and Auto-fire

Housemarque says it is wary of lowering difficulty by toning down the attacks that make its combat work, so Zenith keeps the projectiles intact and gives players more time to respond. The new Slow Game Speed setting slows the game so players have more time to react to enemy attack telegraphs, watch bullets fly toward them, and choose a response, whether that is jumping, dashing, shielding, or parrying. The attacks themselves do not change. Players control how much the game slows, and can have it switch on automatically during combat or toggle it manually when things get hectic.

The new Auto-fire setting fires your weapon automatically when you aim at a hostile. Housemarque says some players find it hard to hold a button down for long periods, and that the setting frees attention for timing dashes. It does not automate reloading: a perfect reload still requires a well-timed button press. Combined with the new Motion Sensor Aiming and existing button remapping, the studio says players now have many ways to customize controls.

Carcosan Modifiers and Eclipse Layers

Zenith expands the Carcosan Modifier system, which lets players tune difficulty. It adds 10 new Protection Modifiers that make the game more forgiving, and 10 new Trial Modifiers that raise the challenge. One Protection, Corruption Melee Enhancement, turns the Corruption that builds up on your Armor from a threat into a weapon: when a melee strike connects, the built-up Corruption is consumed and converted into additional damage for a single devastating hit. Corruption's risk remains, but the Modifier is meant to encourage close-range combat. A tricky Trial, Hostile Regeneration, lets larger hostiles be stunned by weapon damage, but they quickly regenerate, so only a melee strike can finish them off.

These Modifiers feed into Eclipse Layers, a new New Game+ mode. After clearing Saros, new nodes appear in the Armor Matrix back at Passage. They unlock the gate to the next Eclipse Layer, a more intense version of the game with altered rules. Before starting, players select a loadout of Carcosan Modifiers, and a set threshold must be met. Multiple Trials are needed to reach it, and players choose which ones to take on. With 25 different Trials available, the studio notes that some combinations synergize into deadly results.

In Eclipse Layers, Arjun wears a Crown and his Armor glows golden. The more Trials you take on and the higher your Modifier Balance, the larger and more splendid the Crown becomes. The Crown also unlocks Visions, collectable murals and messages etched into stone by an ancient king. There are 12 Visions across Carcosa, and higher Crown levels are required to perceive the additional story text in some of them.

Overlord Rush

The new Overlord Rush mode is accessed through the Primary Unit in Passage. It is a training simulation where players race to dispatch the powerful Overlords from the main game, competing with friends and players worldwide on an integrated leaderboard. Overlord Rush is split into Sets. The Incursion and Ascension Sets each contain three Overlords and can be completed in 10 minutes. The final Totality Set lines up all eight Overlords from around Carcosa in one continuous gauntlet. Global scores can be filtered by Main Weapon, so players can aim to master their favorite weapon even if they cannot reach the top overall.

Key Features at a Glance

• Slow Game Speed: Adjustable slowdown, automatic in combat or manual toggle – gives more time to read and react to attack telegraphs without changing the attacks.
• Auto-fire: Fires automatically when aiming at a hostile – eases the strain of holding a button and frees attention for dodging, while perfect reloads stay manual.
• Protection and Trial Modifiers: 10 new of each – Protections make the game more forgiving, and Trials raise the challenge for experienced players.
• Corruption Melee Enhancement: Converts built-up Corruption into extra melee damage – turns a feared mechanic into a damage source for close combat.
• Eclipse Layers: New game+ mode unlocked after clearing Saros – a more intense version with altered rules and a required Modifier threshold.
• Visions: 12 collectable stone murals and messages across Carcosa – some story text requires higher Crown levels to read.
• Overlord Rush: Sets of three, three, and eight Overlords, with the first two completable in 10 minutes – a competitive mode with a global leaderboard filterable by Main Weapon.

Availability

The Saros: Zenith update is available starting October 19 to all Saros owners at no additional charge. Playing requires an internet connection and a PlayStation account.