Every Boss Fight in Saros, Ranked

Saros is a major achievement for Housemarque and PlayStation Studios. Many players, including myself, found it to be a fantastic follow-up to Returnal, despite a few small issues that some might have.

The game’s exciting new features and quality-of-life improvements give it a more roguelite feel, and it now includes a host of new bosses to battle in each area. These bosses are incredibly frightening, hit hard, and have three stages of health to overcome.

I’ve created a list to review all the major boss battles in Saros. I’ll be ranking them based on how they look and feel, how challenging they are, and how engaging they are throughout the fight. I’ll also consider how memorable each battle is overall.

9. Rhabdom

Talk About a Filler Boss

To be honest, I really don’t enjoy this boss fight. It’s not about how hard it is, actually – it’s the opposite. It feels too simple and basic compared to the other boss battles in Saros.

Given that the Shattered Descent area is straightforward and serves as a bridge to the next part of the game, it makes sense that the Rhabdom boss is designed in a similar way. He primarily attacks with wide-area slams and a quick combo of slashes when you’re close.

Honestly, all the strategy I tried went right out the window because of how the arena is designed. You can just endlessly swing around on the grapple hook, bouncing between the corners. It completely takes away any challenge from the boss – I mean, the ‘mini-boss’. Seriously, everything was way too easy! Because of that, Rhabdom and this biome are actually perfect if you’re going for the ‘Untouchable’ trophy. You need to beat a whole biome and its boss without taking any damage, and this is the place to do it.

8. Consort

The Tutorial Welcome Party

I wasn’t even sure whether to include this boss, but since we’re covering all of them, I decided to add him—and it makes sense to put him at the very bottom of the list.

Consort isn’t particularly challenging overall. He’s a good introductory boss that lets players demonstrate Arjun’s strength and determination early in the game. Defeating him also rewards you with a free Halycon resource to help kickstart your adventure.

That wraps things up because you’ll face Consort one last time in the Yellow Shore area. He acts as a mini-boss, intended to be the final challenge before fighting the King. However, he’s much easier than other bosses in the game – his health is quite low, making him feel out of place compared to the rest.

7. Bastion

It’s Literally a Turret

Okay, the Derelict Depths definitely looks like an underground bunker, but was anyone else surprised that the second boss in Saros turned out to be… a turret? Apparently just me! The boss, Bastion, is pretty stationary – basically a target you have to shoot. It does throw in some interesting attacks and tricks though, which keeps things from being too simple.

Okay, so Bastion’s got a lot going on! He loves spamming these big area-of-effect rings, plus walls of missiles – some that home in on you and others that don’t. You seriously need to use those jump pads near him constantly to dodge everything. And honestly? That laser attack totally caught me off guard the first few times I fought him!

The fight progresses through phases, but moving to each new phase requires destroying several smaller turrets around the arena. This keeps things somewhat interesting, though the core battle remains largely the same, leading to a repetitive cycle of phases.

6. Legion

The Attack of the Squids

Legion is the primary boss found in the Blighted Marsh, appearing immediately after defeating Rhabdom. The fight mostly revolves around quickly eliminating numerous smaller enemies – essentially little squids – before you can effectively damage Legion itself.

However, the game does offer some visual excitement. The boss, Legion, has a few predictable red orb attacks that are easy to deflect, and smaller enemies often surround you in a pattern, creating opportunities to time your jumps and dodges.

Defeating this boss is easy if you use weapons with area-of-effect damage or auto-aim. A powerful Prominence weapon makes it even simpler. The biggest challenge, however, isn’t the boss – it’s the Blighted Marsh itself. This area features a treacherous poison swamp and a long trek back to the boss arena, which can be more frustrating than fighting the boss!

5. Prophet

Your Memorable First Obstacle

Now that we’ve dealt with the easier bosses, I can say Prophet is one of my favorites. However, I don’t want to ignore the fact that his fighting style is very similar to Ophion from the game Returnal.

Both of these bosses share some similarities: you need to hit glowing spots to reveal their vulnerable areas, and they both occasionally drop health pickups. Plus, each boss has three distinct phases. While I don’t mind seeing similar enemies in games, Prophet still stands out visually.

It’s also an excellent first boss for any biome, really putting a player’s skills and determination to the test with attacks that start simple but quickly become more challenging. The third phase is particularly well-done – it starts quickly, limits the available space, forces you to withstand a complex series of attacks while under pressure, and the music swells to create an exciting, adrenaline-pumping experience.

4. King

The Battle for the Throne

The King is the last boss you’ll face in Saros. I know some players might be surprised to see him mentioned here, but trust me – every boss after the Prophet on this list is fantastic, even with a few small issues or personal preferences I have about them.

The final battle against this enemy at Yellow Shore truly feels like a test of everything you’ve learned throughout the game. You’ll need to use all your skills – blocking, parrying, and dodging the King’s powerful ground-based shockwave attacks – in an intense showdown.

The beginning of the fight feels a little rushed, but it quickly becomes very intense. You’ll need to get in close and use melee attacks to break the boss’s shield and keep dealing damage, and he mostly throws out fast, red projectiles. It’s a really great final boss – better than the one in Returnal – although the music and overall presentation aren’t quite as polished.

3. Priestess

Offering One of The Best Setpieces

You might remember the Priestess from a previous encounter – she’s actually Arjun’s wife, Nitya, who later turns against the Yellow King. However, the one you fight isn’t the real Nitya, but a colonist who has taken her place within the Cathedral. Aside from the story behind her, this boss fight has one of the most creative and well-designed arenas I’ve seen from the developers, Housemarque.

Each phase of the fight is distinct. The first requires focusing down two clones to damage the main Priestess. The second phase changes things up – you’ll need to activate red switches on small platforms to create openings for attacks. The final phase is a spectacular sequence where you jump between platforms and hit more red switches to continue damaging the Priestess.

I really like how the first part of the game puts you in a small space where you have to skillfully dodge attacks and deal with two copies of the enemy. The Priestess isn’t too hard to beat, and later stages are manageable if you consistently activate the switches, handle the incoming attacks well, and move between the changing platforms.

2. Shepherd

Nobody Told Me We’d Be Fighting the Kraken

I found this boss to be just as good as Shepherd – they were both favorites! What really stood out was a specific phase of the fight, which strangely reminded me of Hyperion from Returnal, one of my absolute favorite video game bosses.

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Once you reach the end of the Acolyte’s Haven biome, you get this really cool intro cinematic for Shepherd, showcasing just how we’re possibly fighting a giant beast with tentacles. And you sure are, because the initial half of the first phase involves damaging the tentacles so that you can expose the health bar of the Shepherd.

The next stages of the fight transform it into a fast-paced, rhythmic challenge. You’ll be constantly dodging waves of energy, sweeping attacks, and shockwaves bouncing off the walls. Add in the dramatic setting—a sinking ship with a haunting skeletal face, all while battling a powerful cosmic being—and you have a truly spectacular boss fight.

1. Architect

Fight or Flight, Do or Die

I noticed similarities between Shepherd and Hyperion beyond just a few moments – specifically, the way you ascend towards the Architect’s arena in the Desecrated Fortress felt much like progressing through Hyperion in Returnal, especially with the increasingly intense organ music.

The Architect boss fight is different from previous ones. Instead of just testing how much damage you can deal or how well you move, it’s a true test of endurance. The battle area gets smaller and smaller over time, forcing you to adapt through each phase. What really makes this fight special to me is its massive scale – it feels like a battle against both a giant monster and a terrifying alien being.

During the battle, the boss mostly stays in the air, towering over the area like a massive, otherworldly device. It constantly fires a barrage of attacks across the screen and ground, and players need to focus their damage on its glowing eye.

As you progress to the second and third stages, the challenges become more complex. The Architect, for example, will attack both on the ground and by launching you into the air, requiring you to use grappling hooks to stay in the arena. This all builds to a final boss fight that’s incredibly intense, demanding both skillful gameplay and offering a visually impressive experience.

2026-06-17 19:47