‘Astro Burn’ demo blasts onto Steam

A demo for Astro Burn, a retro-inspired shoot-’em-up with a modern twist, has released on Steam. The game is the debut title from Beyond The Pixels, a London-based studio led by HaZ Dulull.

Astro Burn is a fast-paced space shooter that places players in the role of Astro, a feline pilot returning from a deep-space mission with her robot companion, AL. Upon arrival, they find Earth surrounded by AI-controlled war machines and devoid of human life.

Players can battle through ten levels of space combat, facing waves of enemies while uncovering the mystery behind humanity’s disappearance. The game features pixel art inspired by the 16-bit era, responsive controls, and a range of power-ups across its action-focused stages.

Dulull is a film, television, and game cinematics director with experience across Netflix features, Disney+ series, Fortnite projects, and cinematics for Evil Genius 2 and Dune: Awakening. A lifelong retro gaming enthusiast, he leads a studio that develops both original and licensed game IPs with the potential to expand into film, television, and user-generated content. An animated TV series adaptation of Astro Burn is in development.

“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,” says Dulull. “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.

“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.”

Beyond The Pixels provided the following features for Astro Burn:

• 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 and 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.

Where to play Astro Burn?

Astro Burn will launch in early 2026 for PC, Mac, mobile, and consoles.

* Play the ‘Astro Burn’ demo on Steam here.