Saros, a new PlayStation 5 exclusive from Housemarque, uses innovative audio techniques to craft an immersive soundscape for its hostile planet Carcosa. The game's sound design begins with the Eclipse—a celestial event central to the game's lore—and transforms unconventional recordings, like didgeridoo sessions, into the foundation for the Yellow King's vocalizations and the broader Saros audio palette. Check the PlayStation Blog for the original details. For the related official page, see Saros.
Housemarque's sound team combined grounded recordings with heavy processing to create alien yet familiar sounds. The game's first enemy, an evil mechanical drone, uses processed floppy disk recordings, while the Yellow Shore's ocean is made from marinated chicken, frying chicken, and walnuts. These creative choices help establish Carcosa's unique auditory identity.
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The game's sound design prioritizes clarity and purpose, ensuring players can understand their environment through sound despite visual chaos. Enemy vocalizations are fast, tonal, and memorable, with distinct sonic families for organic, mechanical, and cosmic enemies. Cosmic enemies draw from Mongolian throat singing and shakuhachi instruments to balance menace and beauty.
Projectiles in Saros each have unique audio palettes: blue projectiles use electric textures, yellow Corrupted projectiles derive from didgeridoo-based corruption language, and red projectiles come from processed human screams. This attention to detail helps players read combat dynamics without visual overload.
Saros pushes PS5's 3D Audio and Haptics to new heights, with every detail—from leaves rustling to enemies attacking from behind—carefully positioned for spatial precision. The game uses PS Acoustics, a real-time ray-tracing technology, to create responsive environmental reflections that match the unique acoustics of spaces like the Passage.
The game's audio is mixed in Dolby Atmos, with final mixing completed at Abbey Road Studios. This ensures epic boss fights and subtle moments, like birds flying overhead, translate effectively across listening environments while maintaining spatial clarity.
DualSense haptics work in tandem with sound to convey weapon states, physical interactions, and combat feedback. As ammunition depletes, haptic frequencies shift subtly, providing players with non-visual cues without disrupting the action.
Saros also includes accessibility features like dialogue prioritization, customizable sound effects, and dynamic range adjustments, ensuring the audio experience adapts to players' needs and listening environments.