We know there’s a slew of amazing Steam demos available today to celebrate the forthcoming gaming season (and the holidays). But, hey, save some room for the latest from Beyond the Pixels – Astro Burn!
The London based studio, led by Mr. HaZ Dulull (that’s it, I’m now GaladriuS), have a new Steam demo for the game available. And it’s a doozy, with lots of shooting action. And a cat pilot! Who doesn’t like a cat?!
The 16-bit inspired shooter features a ton of sweet weaponry, along with a rockin’ soundtrack by Venice Bleach and high-score leaderboards. The full list of features are as follows:
Astro Burn’s Awesome Features
- Blistering side-scrolling shoot-’em-up inspired by 16-bit classics.
- Reborn and re-engineered for modern gamers with slick modern pixel art, tight yet simple controls, and adrenaline-pumping action.
- Roguelite challenge to get your claws into!
- Two Player Co-Op Arcade mode: Double the kitty chaos! Share weapons and work together to take down the evil machines or go into competitive co-op!
- One button action makes the controls kitty simple to master, with a “Stack-em-up” weapons system.
- Sci-Fi mystery lore led by a sassy, feline badass packed with cat-tastic quips and purr-fect puns at every turn! Coupled with her logical thinking robot companion makes for fun character moments designed to delight and surprise!
- Unlock each level as you progress, with the freedom to replay levels anytime.
- Earn Steam achievements and become the cat who got the cream!
- Challenging end of level bosses will leave you feline amazed!
- Battle through ten incredible levels—from deep space and mechanical worlds to Earth’s skies, underwater realms, sprawling cities, and beyond!
- Enjoy four to six hours of action-packed gameplay, with even more hours to sink in through skill mastery, level replays, unlockables & additional game modes.
- Hi-Score leaderboard with Time (hello speed-runs!)
- Unleash powerups such as the Catnip Mode (Bullet time in space!)
- Banging synth-wave retro cool soundtrack by Venice Bleach.
HaZ Has Spoken! (Wait, HaZ Has?)
HaZ noted in a press statement, “I’m grinning like a Cheshire cat today, as we finally go live with the downloadable demo for Astro Burn, the first official title from Beyond The Pixels. I want players to walk away from my games with a sense of fun and wonder, the same feeling I had as a teenager spending hours at the arcades. These days, so many games demand 60+ hours of commitment or lock you into subscriptions, but back then it was simple—you could just pick up a game, play, and have fun without it being so time-consuming or overwhelming.”
But what makes HaZ’s adventure so special? Well, it’s easy. “I’m developing Astro Burn to bring back the spirit of gaming’s golden age and it’s also why I’m planning to release physical editions of our titles—because there’s something special about holding a game in your hands, just like the old days. There’s much more to come, but for now, I can’t wait for gamers to feel the burn, blast off into orbit and experience the fun of Astro Burn for themselves!”
The game’s demo is currently only on Steam. However, the game has an early 2026 release planned for that format, as well as consoles and mobile. We’ll have more details in the months ahead.
Check out the trailer below (and the demo here) and see if you can make up a name as cool as HaZ. Good luck with that.
Need more shmup goodness? How about our review of Earthion?!
