The sound of Saros: Building an audio identity for Carcosa

Finding the sound of Carcosa

When work began on Saros, the team had already established a distinctive audio identity with Returnal. Housemarque’s direction was “Refinement, not Reinvention,” so its gameplay-first approach, strong player feedback, immersive soundscape and ambition to showcase PS5 features such as Tempest 3D Audio and DualSense haptics carried forward. Saros nevertheless needed to establish a distinct identity for its own characters, story, tone and world of Carcosa.

Very early in development, the Eclipse became one of the first creative anchors for Saros’ sound. A studio didgeridoo recording was creatively processed into an epic, versatile sound that could even begin to resemble a deep voice. This became the foundation for the Yellow King’s vocalisations and shaped the wider palette, emphasising the Eclipse, the Yellow King and the Corruption. The cinematic announcement trailer, the first public presentation of Saros, later showcased the didgeridoo source alongside other sounds.

Across the soundscape, grounded recordings were combined with heavily processed and abstract elements to craft sounds that could feel familiar yet alien. The first enemy players encounter, an evil mechanical drone, was built partly from processed floppy disk recordings, while the ocean in the Yellow Shore was created from recordings of marinated chicken, frying chicken and walnuts being moved around a bowl. Sam Slater’s score added distorted voices, synthesis, guitars and darker experimental textures, with the aim of allowing Music and Sound Design to blend and complement each other and help the Corruption feel like an overwhelming force spread throughout the world.

Designing sound that communicates

Each part of Carcosa was designed to have its own identity while remaining connected to the same world, allowing players to understand their surroundings through sound even when visual information filled the screen. Enemy vocalisations were fast, tonal and memorable, especially for attacks players needed to recognise quickly enough to dodge or absorb with the shield. Separate sonic families distinguish organic, mechanical and cosmic enemies.

Cosmic enemies were designed to feel connected to the divine influence of the Yellow King, with a sound that could be both menacing and beautiful. Mongolian throat singing became part of their core vocal foundation, while higher vocal elements came from singers and instruments such as the shakuhachi, adding a more beautiful quality.

Normal, Corrupted and Nova projectiles each have their own palette: blue projectiles use electric and liquid textures, yellow Corrupted projectiles draw from the didgeridoo-based Corruption language, and red projectiles use more tonal material derived from processed human screams. These details may be subtle individually, but together they make the world feel coherent and help players read intense combat.

Housemarque’s bullet-hell spectacle can place hundreds of projectiles on screen, so the team developed layered prioritisation to keep important sounds audible without silencing everything else. Enemies are prioritised by threat level, distance, visibility and combat state, then their audio is arranged into levels of prominence. Projectiles are grouped by type and proximity, producing a dense mix that still communicates the most important information without overwhelming the player.

Putting the PS5 at the centre

Building on its experience with Returnal, the team wanted Saros to push 3D Audio and Haptics further while delivering an immersive Dolby Atmos experience. In this demanding game, 3D Audio provides gameplay information as well as immersion: enemies and projectiles can approach from above, below, behind or outside the screen, making accurate positioning consequential in combat.

The process went beyond enabling Tempest on positional content. Details ranging from leaves moving in the wind to enemies attacking from behind were designed, implemented, positioned and mixed with 3D Audio in mind. Different content uses different spatial approaches to create complex scenes while maintaining clarity and control, supporting the implementation’s stated goals of uncompromised audio quality and spatial precision in environmental audio and combat.

Saros also showcases PS Acoustics, developed by the Audio Tools and Tech team. Its raytracing calculates reverberation and reflections in real time alongside obstruction and occlusion. Sounds and voices from Arjun, enemies and the Echelon IV crew reflect from nearby walls according to the absorption properties of the materials; reflections may be subtle, while reverberation is more obvious. The technology makes spaces feel believable and responsive instead of relying entirely on predetermined acoustic behaviour.

The team regularly mixed Saros in Dolby Atmos during development, ensuring that the 3D Audio presentation translated effectively to speakers and made use of the game’s verticality and positional information, from epic boss fights to birds flying overhead. Towards the end of production, the final mix was completed at Abbey Road Studios, where the teams and Housemarque’s Creative Director could experience, refine and finalise it.

Designing sound and haptics together

The same uncompromising philosophy applied to DualSense Haptics. Sound and haptics were designed closely together from the beginning of development, for each feature, as part of the same sensory experience. They work together to convey weight, intensity and nuance.

For bullet-based weapons, the haptic frequency changes as ammunition runs low, giving the player a subtle indication of weapon state without requiring them to look away from the action. Although deliberately small, these details provide valuable information without adding another visual element. Weapon behaviour, physical interactions, combat feedback and key narrative moments are communicated through what players hear and feel in the DualSense wireless controller. Together, the sound and music design, 3D Audio, Dolby Atmos and haptics approach define Saros’ audio vision.

Giving players more control

Another major goal was an audio experience that players could tailor to their preferences, needs and listening environment. From early development, the team worked closely with the PlayStation Accessibility Team on features intended for the wider game portfolio and functionality tailored to Saros. These options were developed alongside PlayStation accessibility standards and considered throughout production rather than added at the end.

Dialogue Priority can make dialogue louder or progressively clearer, while players can customise sound-effect volume and reduce high-pitched ringing. Music can be adjusted independently for combat and exploration, and Bass and Treble controls provide quick tuning for different headphones or speakers. Dynamic Range settings let players calibrate the soundscape for their own gaming environment.

That attention to detail reflects the philosophy behind Saros’ audio experience. An unusual creature vocalisation, the sensation of a weapon through the controller, a reflection moving through a space and an option that helps someone hear dialogue more clearly were all designed to contribute meaningfully. The goal was a bold, original and unmistakably Saros experience that uses PS5’s capabilities to make Carcosa as immersive, responsive and accessible as possible.