Beast of Burden Studios

Solo indie game developer

One developer.
Three worlds.

I make a pixel-art fantasy roguelite for PC and two idle games for Android: a sci-fi colony builder, out now on Google Play, and a steam railway. Different genres, same goal: games with systems worth thinking about.

Play Umbral Idle See all three games Get in touch

Games

Three projects, one desk

Temptation

Fantasy roguelite for PC · In development

"Every choice has a price. Some you don't see coming."

Temptation is a turn-based roguelite where survival isn't the hard part, restraint is. Guided by a mysterious companion through a trial with no clear rules, you'll choose, again and again, between the path that helps you win and the path that costs you who you are.

  • Greed or restraint, your call, every time. Temptation events force real trade-offs between short-term power and long-term consequence, tracked across two systems: in-run Blessings and a persistent cross-run Morality thread.
  • Build-defining loot, not stat sticks. Items are staged Enabler → Amplifier → Payoff, so gear choices shape how a run plays, not just how strong it is.
  • Party-based tactical combat. D&D-inspired, with eight mechanically distinct characters to recruit and build around.
  • A node-based path through the unknown. FTL-style: every route is a decision made blind.
  • A world that only tells you what it wants you to know. The folk understand this trial through myth. You'll learn otherwise.
If Darkest Dungeon made you dread your own choices and Slay the Spire made your deck your identity, Temptation puts those two feelings in the same run: the build you're proud of and the compromises you made to get it are the same thing.
Coming to PC Slower cadence, no release date yet.
Umbral Idle: Last Salvage app icon

Umbral Idle: Last Salvage

Sci-fi idle colony builder for Android · Out now on Google Play

The star is dying and the system is coming apart. Salvage what you can, build the facilities that keep salvaging while you're away, and push deeper into the wreckage before the Collapse resets everything and pays you for how far you got.

  • Tap, then automate. Salvage Drones, Reactors, Archive Scanners and Static Coils chain into one another so every resource pushes the same goal.
  • The Collapse. A prestige reset that mints Iso-Cores. Wait longer for a bigger payout, or reset early and compound faster. Your call.
  • The Debris Belt. Three stages, each with its own salvage runs, missions and recovery operations that build a permanent crew.
  • The Derelict Fleet. Ten lost ships to find, tow home and repair, each one a permanent bonus once it is back in service.
  • A tech archive worth planning around. Eleven tiers of permanent upgrades, plus a second, slower prestige layer, the Research Lab, for the long haul.
  • Built for the pocket. Portrait, one-handed, offline progress, no character rosters, no gacha.
  • Six languages. Playable in English, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Simplified Chinese.
The Collapse in motion: the red star swells and burns out in a white flash, then a young yellow star lights up and the new system's name appears
The Collapse
The Big Crunch in motion: the Research Lab's stages are pulled into a single point, Insights count up, and a new cycle begins
The Big Crunch
Ride the Collapse: the Collapse screen with a dying red star, the Instability ring and the Iso-Core payout now and at the peak
Strip a dying star system: the Salvage screen with four linked facilities above the SALVAGE tap button
Upgrades that last: the Tech Archive, eleven tiers of permanent upgrades in three lanes
Send out the fleet: salvage runs and missions across the Debris Belt
Risk it or play it safe: choosing between a safe and a risky mission on Frostmere Drift
Rescue a permanent crew: a push-your-luck Recovery Operation
A second prestige layer: the Research Lab's Genesis Sequence, from Matter toward Solar Systems
Chart the stars: the Discoveries star chart of permanent upgrades
100 Phenomena to uncover: the Phenomena list, with new entries revealed as you grow
Get it on Google Play Approved on PixelPicked Press kit Privacy Policy & Terms
Lay the Line: Idle Railway app icon

Lay the Line: Idle Railway

Pixel-art idle railway for Android · In development

A red steam locomotive hauling a tanker, a van and a loaded wagon past mountains at dusk

An abandoned line, buried under its own debris. Clear the first stretch by hand, lay rail to the next station, and put a locomotive on it. Every arrival pays, every new station pays more, and when the line is long enough you tear it all up and relay it broader, faster and better than before.

  • Clear, lay, run. Tap out the debris, lay track station by station, then buy locomotives that haul Freight while you're away.
  • Regauge. The prestige reset: lift every sleeper and start again at a higher Track Speed, with Old Iron to spend in the Works.
  • The Works. A branching tree of permanent upgrades across three lanes: automation, yield and expansion.
  • Junctions and branch lines. Fork the main line into Oil, Mail and Coal branches, each with its own rolling stock.
  • The Lost Lines. Closed railways beyond the terminus: charter Excursions, answer Working Notices, and walk the line with a gang that stays with you for good.
  • Built for the pocket. Portrait, one-handed, offline progress, a 28-day Roster for coming back, no gacha.
The Line screen: a parchment map of stations with three branch lines, above the Lay Track, Buy Locomotive and Clear Debris buttons
The Line
The Works screen: a tree of upgrade nodes joined by coloured lanes
The Works
The Sidings sheet: one-time line improvements bought with Freight
Sidings
Coming soon to Google Play Privacy Policy & Terms

About

Who I am

Beast of Burden Studios is me: one independent developer, designing, coding and shipping everything you see here. Temptation is the long game, the fantasy roguelite I've wanted to make for years and am building at the pace it deserves. Umbral Idle: Last Salvage is my first release, out now on Google Play and still growing with new content. Lay the Line: Idle Railway is its sibling, built on the same foundations and heading into testing next.

Whatever the platform, I try to treat your time with respect: optional rewarded ads only where ads exist at all, no pay-to-skip that hollows out the game, and no dark patterns.

Contact

Say hello

Press, support, feedback, or bug reports: beastofburdenstudios@gmail.com

I read everything. Replies may take a few days.