Hello everyone! I’m thrilled to share the first glance at our new game – a bullet heaven set in the exact same universe as BioSynth.
Welcome to Pitbound.
You play as a gladiator in an underground arena of the underworld.
But not just any gladiator. You’re a robot.
And not just any robot. You’re a weak underdog.
Sent there to die as a slave for the crowd’s entertainment, you are bound to the fighting pit… unless you prove you’re stronger than people think.
To survive, you’ll have to upgrade your gear… and yourself.
In fact, a really cool dynamic about Pitbound is that your character is modular and you can build it is as you prefer.
Instead of having different pre-made characters to choose, you get to build your own custom characters, just as you want them – thanks to the meta-progression that you’ll be able to experience in the demo.
Visually, we went for a gritty, hand-drawn 2D style. All the art is crafted by Vincenzo Lamolinara.
Here’s a sneak peek at some items…
… weapons…
… and enemies…
Gameplay-wise, we could call the game a “Brotato-like” meaning that you fight waves of enemies in a close arena. The current only game mode puts you in front of 30-60 seconds waves with increasing difficulty. There are endless waves, so you can go on as long as you survive.
There’s no difficulty selection, since the waves adjust themselves based on your gear at the start of a run.
Where Are We Right Now?
The core loop is fully playable. You can survive endless waves, buy items, level up, etc.
We are adding the few last demo features, balancing the game, and working on the missing art, VFXs, and SFXs.
For a three-person team (me, Vincenzo, and Pete who is the composer), we’re moving pretty fast. We should be able to complete a rough demo in about a month! It would be amazing to have you try it and hear your feedback.
About Steam Next Fest
If you remember our last post, we mentioned aiming for the June 2026 Steam Next Fest.
However, participating in June would mean rushing the development. We want to do things properly and share a much better game with you, so we’ve decided to officially target the Steam Next Fest in October 2026.
In case you aren’t subscribed yet, be sure to join our mailing list to stay updated on Pitbound and be among the very first to play the upcoming demo!
Talk soon,
Mauro
Great to hear from you, Mauro! I have to admit I never heard from Bullet Heaven until you mentioned it, but I’ll definitely check it out!🙂
I tried Bullet HELL once, but that was too much for my frustration tolerance 🤣
It’s great to hear from you, Martin!
It’s the opposite of bullet hell: instead of running away from bullets, the player is one destroying hordes of enemies by shooting a ton of bullets.
If you want to give it a try, Halls of Torment is the best introductory title to the genre, in my opinion.
Thanks, I’ll have a look!
Ciao Mauro, e un saluto a tutta Neptune Games!
Ottima notizia, non vedo l’ora di provare la demo a ottobre, allora.
Vi auguro buon lavoro, e con ciò, vi chiedo però, di non abbandonare del tutto l’intenzione, in un futuro prossimo, di riprendere i lavori su BioSynth: Rising!! (è un progetto troppo, troppo promettente!!)
Ancora, saluti.
Ciao Fabio, grazie! Come avevo già detto a conclusione del KS, se le circostanze lo permetteranno, vorrei tornare su BioSynth e rilasciarlo.