Housemarque's upcoming roguelike bullet hell shooter Saros features a hidden tribute to Sandfall Interactive’s award-winning RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The homage appears in one of the game’s PS5 trophies. Players can unlock it by surviving 33 expeditions using customizable difficulty modifiers.
Saros, the next title from Returnal developer Housemarque, hides a surprise reference to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The nod comes via the “Carcosan Cartographer” trophy, which requires players to survive 33 expeditions after activating the game’s Carcosan Modifiers. These modifiers allow tweaks to difficulty, such as reducing incoming damage, boosting outgoing damage, increasing corruption on hits, or disabling the second-chance revive mechanic. Any successful run to the end with modifiers active counts toward the trophy, as noted in a preview of the game’s ever-changing world on PS5 installation. Saros also contains more obvious references to other titles. In-game costumes for protagonist Arjun draw from God of War, Death Stranding, and Ghost of Yotei. Environmental nods to Housemarque’s own Returnal appear in the procedurally generated Carcosa area, though the Expedition 33 tribute stands out for its subtlety across genres. Housemarque and Sandfall Interactive operate independently, with no shared corporate ties. The developers appear to be fans of the RPG, which earned awards for its innovative design. This Easter egg highlights camaraderie among studios in the gaming industry.
