Housemarque and Nixxes developed Saros in close collaboration, with Housemarque bringing the creative vision, world, combat language, visual concepts, and signature bullet-hell DNA, while Nixxes focused on encounter design, animation, environments, lighting, and technical implementation.
The result was a set of encounters designed to challenge players, surprise them, and deliver the kind of spectacle PlayStation players expect from a Housemarque action experience, with boss fights lasting around three to eight minutes and featuring distinct phases, arena transformation, environmental hazards, and encouraging players to use their shield, jumping, parrying, and dashing abilities.
When designing bosses for Saros, the team followed guiding principles, including three distinct phases for every boss encounter, and asked if players understood why they lost, knew what to do differently next time, and felt it was their own mistake rather than something unfair, to ensure a fair and engaging experience.