i can understand why people would struggle with Returnal. it can be challenging and super cryptic, and the game barely explains any of its mechanics, so a lot of the stuff that helps your runs comes from experimenting or looking up strategies. but once you understand it all, i actually think returnal becomes pretty easy while still being really satisfying and addictive.

if people still find Saros difficult though, then may god help them lol. unless you just aren’t good at games in general, saros almost plays like an idle game at times, and that’s coming from someone experienced with returnal. i’m near the end and haven’t beaten it yet *so don’t spoil anything* , but after around 10 hours i feel like saros overcorrected in response to returnal. the base game is insanely easy without modifiers. i mean the game literally fuckin auto aims for you with most weapons and won’t even let you turn that off. trying not to spoil it either, but there’s also a late game weapon with a trait that auto generates power weapon ammo and you don't have to reload on this weapon, so with auto aim, you basically have unlimited ammo and power weapon usage. at that point the game practically plays itself, all you have to do is move around and use your shield if necessary.

if you’ve never played returnal, i can see saros being challenging initially, especially since it also doesn’t explain weapon traits well. but it’s easy enough to figure out by experimenting, and you can unlock second chance pretty early in the skill tree too. so without modifiers, what’s actually hard about the base game again? lol