Hello, bounty hunters! It's been a while. I've been hard at work in the background, updating both the official Cosmic Tails build and adding fun and exciting details from the main game into the Cosmic Tails Demo!

In celebration of Cosmic Tails participating in the October 2025 Steam Next Fest, I have included a TON of new features including, but not limited to:

• You wanted access to Patches' Flea Market to purchase some goodies and see what the meta progression is like in the demo? You got it!

• You wanted boss battles in the demo? You got one!

• Getting bored of the same set of weapons? I've introduced 20 new toys (10 normal weapons / 10 fusions) for you to play with in the demo!

• Feeling like your bounty hunter's special ability isn't enough against the endless hordes of alien monsters? Now, you've got two new abilities (more details below), Sidekicks, Badges, Ability Upgrades, and perhaps a special surprise waiting for you once you complete all in-game achievements in the demo!

• Completely redesigned most UIs in the demo to closely align with the full game. This includes widgets in the pause menu, UI notifications, and in-game menus.

• Overhauled the controls system with a dynamic input system with automatic icon remapping when changing between keyboard/mouse and controller (huge thanks to rsubtil and the Godot Assets library)!

• In addition to the dynamic input system, input remapping has been added for both keyboard/mouse and controller (huge thanks to Nathan Hoad)! Keys/Buttons are mapped to movement, as well as the various special abilities / equipment on ships. This feature can be accessed via the Accessibility Settings menu. Please note that this is only supported for single player; multiplayer input remapping is being considered as a feature for the full release.

• Completely overhauled the Purr Pack animation with brand new animations; which hint at the type of reward (Rare, Epic, or Legendary) that you will receive after the animation completes. You are also welcome to skip purr pack animations entirely by disabling the feature toggle in the General Settings menu.

• Fusion blueprints are now enabled (originally disabled) in the demo. These UI icons will appear under upgrade cards where the weapon/ability is used in a fusion recipe that has been unlocked in a previous run. This setting can be enabled / disabled at any time in the Accessibility Settings menu.

• Added animations for each character portrait during gameplay.

• Each weapon in the top-right corner when a bounty hunt is active now has a cooldown feature so you can view how long until each weapon fires and cools down.

• Added animations to equipment widgets underneath the Weapons/Abilities in the top-right corner when a bounty hunt is active.

• Overhauled Patches' Flea Market with new animations, and shop items now play animations when interacted with.

• Wishlist page has now been updated with a sub-menu/button that shows many of the key features offered in the full game release. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns about the full game!

• Completely redesigned and overhauled the original, static tutorial section. The tutorial is now fully interactive, and a special reward / Steam achievement is offered when the tutorial is completed!

• Added in basic meta progression for the demo, which includes a total of 20 items to purchase (15 ability upgrades, 2 sidekicks, and 3 badges) in the demo. Purchase them all, and you'll receive a special item in-game that can be used exclusively for the demo!

• A total of 20 new weapons (10 normal weapons / 10 fusion weapons) have been added to the demo. This now mirrors the same weapon set available in the full game.

• A total of 8 Steam Achievements map to in-game achievements, and are available exclusively for the demo. Steam stats are also utilized to show progression for the 20 items to purchase in-game.

• Steam Cloud has been implemented in the demo to allow auto saves between Steam devices.

• Steam Remote Play Together is still a built-in feature that can be utilized for Multiplayer, and Steam Remote Play can be utilized for streaming to other devices.

• Two new abilities have been added to the demo: Dash Shield and Nitrous Booster. View the tutorial for how to use these rechargeable abilities during gameplay. These abilities are available in both single player and multiplayer!

• Added a new pickup, Catnip, which will drastically slow down time and enemy movements (including projectiles), and offers a temporary speed and attack power boost.

• You can now unlock a harder difficulty in the demo; facing new enemy types called Outlaws.

• Purchasing the Rat Race badge will offer the chance to fight a special boss (only available when Hard mode is unlocked). In the full game, more bosses will be available in harder difficulties.

• Sidekicks are a new feature added that, when purchased and used during a bounty hunt, will spawn a "sidekick" ship equipped with a minigun and static shield for a brief period of time. (Please note that this feature is only available in single player).

• Mods are a new feature added specifically to multiplayer only; there are a total of 4 mods (Aura, Minigun, Thruster, and Mega Swarm) randomly assigned to each player. Mods are the equivalent of Ship Mounts in Single Player mode and are rechargeable special abilities designed specifically for working around team dynamics (i.e., healing, area of effect).

• Better balance of both bounty hunter and enemy stats. Spent significant time tuning difficulty curves and maintaining balance when purchase meta progressions from Patches' Flea Market. Accessibility options will continue to exist to allow for player-defined enemy tuning (i.e., health, damage, speed) in addition to a total of 3 difficulties in the demo.

• Redesigned the Laser Pointer weapon to shoot omni-directionally (i.e., 10 lasers fire in all directions). Movement does not affect this redesign as it did the original weapon design (where the player needed to continuously move to fire the Laser Pointer).
  
  
• Elite bounties will now dynamically track and trail the player if the distance gap between the bounty and player is too high
  
  
• Added a slight buff to most weapon upgrades, including buffs to the basic starting stats for most weapons

• Check the Accessibility options menu (Gear Icon) to change gameplay elements and tune the game to your liking!
  
  
• Each bounty hunter has a special ability! Simply wait until the cat's portrait container in the bottom-left UI is filled with liquid, and the container will start to glow and a message dialog will appear above the container with the button/key to press!