Astral Bounty is a brutally hard, old-school 2D arcade shooter. Dark Souls meets Blood Money in a space bar, and they hit the throttle. Stock up on spare gamepads!

So, what's this about?

You play Chip Mulligan, bounty hunter known across 12 galaxies. Wanted in 9 of them, and dead broke. Luckily, there are four pretty lucrative bounties out there that need someone with more guts than brains. Chip's got at least one of those. His last credits are just enough for a tank of fuel. So, off he goes.

A Merciless Bounty System.

The game and its economy take inspiration from the Amiga classic Blood Money, modernized. Die, and you lose your upgrades. Want them back? That costs. Want to save at a checkpoint? That costs too. It all runs on credits you shoot your way to, level by level. Nice, jingling, hard-earned space pocket change that gets tighter with every death. Out of coins? Sadly, GAME OVER.

Fair (mostly), but nice (never).

Fair doesn't mean easy here. Every death is readable, but avoidable once you know what you're doing. Every formation has a rhythm, a tactic, a solution you're meant to learn. But without the right upgrades and real skill, you won't get through. You need both together — neither replaces the other. But hey, you're Chip Mulligan.

Features:

• One difficulty setting

• Charming, cute pixel art (the carrot), and a stupidly hard game to match (the stick)

• Blood Money-inspired economy: upgrades, checkpoints and revives cost you your hard-earned credits

• Four playable ships (Heli, Sub, Jetpack, Harrier)

• Combo system with chain timer and perfect window

• Chase high scores against your friends

• Retro arcade feel with modern polish