Desert Child

Oscar Brittain · Akupara Games

Released: Dec 11, 2018
Platforms: WindowsmacOSLinux
Last updated: 07 Sep 2026, 05:17 GMT

Updates & announcements

18 posts

04 Oct 2024Developer post
Akupara Games Celebrates 8 Year with Sales and Livestream
Hey Akuparians! Guess what, it’s our birthday!, Akupara Games is turning 8 years old and to celebrate, we have put Desert Child on sale for 78% off! Be sure to grab those deals, check out our lovely event page, and check out the sales! Maybe the game you’ve been waiting for is wa
01 Oct 2022Developer post
Halloween is here on Mars!
Hey, Racers! Spooky month is here which means it is time to decorate, dress up, and eat some candy! We take the celebration of Halloween a million miles away from Earth and incorporate it into Desert Child! Load up Desert Child in October to see the spooky decorations that the re
27 Oct 2021Developer post
Even Mars Celebrates Halloween!
Hey, Racers! Just because we're not on Earth anymore doesn't mean we don't celebrate All Hallow's Eve! Everyone enjoys a good pumpkin, even if it's gotta be grown in red sand under a sun 150 million miles away. Load up Desert Child and take a look at the spooky decorations hidden
25 Mar 2021Developer post
Desert Child - Remote Gameplay Feature!
Check out Buddy & Chris go head to head on Remote Play! Grab the game right now at 60% off here! In Desert Child you are broke, but talented, hoverbike racer who needs to find a way off Earth to get to Mars to compete in the Grand Prix, the greatest race in the universe. Expl
Check out [AG] Buddy & Chris go head to head on Remote Play!
Grab the game right now at 60% off here!
https://youtu.be/h_g2ikGNTjM
In Desert Child you are broke, but talented, hoverbike racer who needs to find a way off Earth to get to Mars to compete in the Grand Prix, the greatest race in the universe. Explore a vibrant pixel-art solar system in this stylized racing adventure flavored with colorful sidequests, fierce hoverbike competitions, and a chill, lo-fi hip-hop soundtrack.
Game Features

Hunt bounties, do odd jobs, throw races - do anything you can to earn cash.
Explore a pixel-art solar system inspired by Cowboy Bebop, Akira and Redline.
Customize your vintage bike with various modifications.
Dine on a range of interplanetary cuisine with sweet buffs to help you win.
Master deep combat and racing mechanics and define your own style.
Race, shoot, and get better! Designed for replayability, with secrets that will keep you coming back.
Chill to an original lo-fi/hip-hop soundtrack.
Original post
06 Dec 2019Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Humble Choice begins today, replacing Humble Monthly
Game subscription services are everywhere these days but Humble Bundle have been doing this for a while. Their former service Humble Monthly is being replaced with the fresh-faced Humble Choice which comes with the ability to choose the games you get, but a higher price tag as we
01 Nov 2019Developer post
Trading Cards and Badges Available Now!
Hey Racers! We hope you've been enjoying those quality of life updates. We're very happy to announce that trading cards are now available! You can unlock exclusive emoticons and backgrounds by completing sets. If you haven't had the chance to revisit New Olympia since the patch u
09 Oct 2019Developer post
Patch 1.1.1 Notes
Hey Racers, Happy Halloween month! We hope you've been enjoying the new updates to the game (see 1.1.0 Patch Notes). New Olympia is feeling festive this month only, so you should come see before it disappears like a ghost at the end of the month! Bug Fixes The background no longe
Hey Racers, Happy Halloween month! We hope you've been enjoying the new updates to the game (see 1.1.0 Patch Notes). New Olympia is feeling festive this month only, so you should come see before it disappears like a ghost at the end of the month!
Bug Fixes
The background no longer tears in certain maps
All Halloween elements during races have been integrated
Happy Halloween from New Olympia!
Original post
25 Sep 2019Developer post
Patch 1.1.0 Notes
Hey Racers, long time! Have you been cravin' a race or a little ramen? Big Changes Added Gun Shop - You can now purchase new guns at any point while in New Olympia 3 New Podcast Episodes added to the Record Shop Halloween Update - Starting on October 1st, this update adds Hallowe
Hey Racers, long time! Have you been cravin' a race or a little ramen?
Big Changes

Added Gun Shop - You can now purchase new guns at any point while in New Olympia
3 New Podcast Episodes added to the Record Shop
Halloween Update - Starting on October 1st, this update adds Halloween decorations around the city of New Olympia, and transforms all the enemies in the game to ghoulish monsters
Minor Changes

Updated End-of-race summary screen to be easier to understand
Records can now be sold back to the record shop to remove them from the soundtrack
Updated walking animations in New Olympia
Gun models are now animated in Weapon Selection Screen
Weather effects have more visual variety
Water glistening looks more realistic
Bug Fixes

Kangaroo herding now pays out correct amount based on how many you killed
Smoke from hoverbike in Act 1 Hub now flows correctly
"Nice" Achievement sometimes wouldn't activate, this is fixed
Also previously we had implemented an unlockable weapon, Enzo's 'Soopa-doopa Laza-Bazooka', and New Game + mode with harder racers - so if you haven't seen those yet, more good reasons to come back to New Olympia!
Original post
07 Mar 2019Rock, Paper, Shotgun
How sci-fi game worlds take on capitalist promises of success
Since 1984 s Elite, and in sci-fi before it, space has promised careers of freedom. Work for yourself, work only when you want to, make your own adventures. For better and for ill, space is sci-fi s wild west, a lawless frontier to explore and find independence. Our actual future
12 Feb 2019Developer post
Desert Child Nominated for NAVGTR Awards
We're excited to announce that Desert Child has been nominated for the NAVGTR Awards in the categories of: • Game, Original Racing • Song Collection • Song, Original or Adapted (Mega Ran and Bag of Tricks Cat - Love is Here) We're so proud of this and hopefully Oscar can bring ho
10 Jan 2019Developer post
1.0.3 Patch Notes
Hey Racers, a few more bugs were found and fixed after the 1.0.2 patch! Thanks to user jabberwok for discovering a few of these. Patch Notes: Balanced Bounty Hunting job for shotgun Fixed issue in tutorial when starting a new game after recently completing special jobs like Bount
Hey Racers, a few more bugs were found and fixed after the 1.0.2 patch! Thanks to user jabberwok for discovering a few of these.
Patch Notes:

Balanced Bounty Hunting job for shotgun
Fixed issue in tutorial when starting a new game after recently completing special jobs like Bounty Hunting and Kangaroo Herding
Fixed issue where bike would appear to "repair itself" when transitioning screens
Fixed issue where MARTIC Ammo kit was still active even after removing it
Original post
02 Jan 2019Developer post
1.0.2 Patch Notes
Hi Racers! Happy 2019! We have been gathering feedback since Desert Child has launched and we have a patch with new features and a few fixes. Patch Notes: Increased difficulty for New Game + Added 1 second delay between shots for Shotgun Created controller configuration for Steam
Hi Racers! Happy 2019!
We have been gathering feedback since Desert Child has launched and we have a patch with new features and a few fixes.
Patch Notes:

Increased difficulty for New Game +
Added 1 second delay between shots for Shotgun
Created controller configuration for Steam Controller
Added confirmation for when player selects New Game in Pause Menu
Fixed issue with monitors with high refresh rates, affecting performance
Fixed memory issues
Fixed 2nd player multiplayer issue
Fixed volume fluctuation and loops
Fixed NPC graphical issues
Fixed issue on Steam where game continues to run when accessing Steam Overlay
Fixed translations
Original post
17 Dec 2018Developer post
Game Runs Very Fast on High Refresh Monitor - Bug (and Fix!)
Hello! We're currently experiencing an issue where users with high refresh monitors will run some races insanely fast, 2-4 times the intended speed. This results in the racer crossing the finish line very quickly, and ends with a glitchy graphics, upside down world that lasts ~10
11 Dec 2018Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Hoverbike racing life-sim Desert Child is out now
Desert Child feels like being an ordinary Joe making ends meet (legally or otherwise) in the offbeat sci-fi world of Cowboy Bebop. In fact, it’s launch trailer doubles down on that, riffing directly off the classic anime’s opening. Part arcade shooty race ’em up, part life sim, t
11 Dec 2018Developer post
Desert Child Released
Rev your hoverbikes! The highly anticipated hoverbike racing shooter, Desert Child, by Australian indie developer Oscar Brittain and publisher Akupara Games is now available! In Desert Child you are broke, but talented, hoverbike racer who needs to find a way off Earth to get to
Rev your hoverbikes! The highly anticipated hoverbike racing shooter, Desert Child, by Australian indie developer Oscar Brittain and publisher Akupara Games is now available!
https://youtu.be/h_g2ikGNTjM
In Desert Child you are broke, but talented, hoverbike racer who needs to find a way off Earth to get to Mars to compete in the Grand Prix, the greatest race in the universe. Explore a vibrant pixel-art solar system in this stylized racing adventure flavored with colorful sidequests, fierce hoverbike competitions, and a chill, lo-fi hip-hop soundtrack.
Nothing’s free in Desert Child.
Game Features

Hunt bounties, do odd jobs, throw races - do anything you can to earn cash.
Explore a pixel-art solar system inspired by Cowboy Bebop, Akira and Redline.
Customize your vintage bike with various modifications.
Dine on a range of interplanetary cuisine with sweet buffs to help you win.
Master deep combat and racing mechanics and define your own style.
Race, shoot, and get better! Designed for replayability, with secrets that will keep you coming back.
Chill to an original lo-fi/hip-hop soundtrack.
Original post
12 Nov 2018Developer post
Desert Child - Coming Soon
We are excited to announce the launch date of the hoverbike racing adventure, Desert Child, coming on December 11, 2018 for $11.99. In Desert Child you are broke, but talented, hoverbike racer who needs to find a way off Earth to get to Mars to compete in the Grand Prix, the grea
We are excited to announce the launch date of the hoverbike racing adventure, Desert Child, coming on December 11, 2018 for $11.99.
https://youtu.be/nyFZAD4Ek2o
In Desert Child you are broke, but talented, hoverbike racer who needs to find a way off Earth to get to Mars to compete in the Grand Prix, the greatest race in the universe. Explore a vibrant pixel-art solar system in this stylized racing adventure flavored with colorful sidequests, fierce hoverbike competitions, and a chill, lo-fi hip-hop soundtrack, all developed by solo developer, Oscar Brittain.
Game Features

Hunt bounties, deliver pizzas, throw races - do anything you can to earn cash.
Explore a pixel-art solar system inspired by Cowboy Bebop, Akira and Redline.
Customize your vintage bike with various modifications.
Dine on a range of interplanetary cuisine with sweet buffs to help you win.
Master deep combat and racing mechanics and define your own style.
Race, shoot, and get better! Designed for replayability, with secrets that will keep you coming back.
Chill to an original lo-fi/hip-hop soundtrack.
Original post
02 Jul 2018Developer post
Desert Child Arcade Cabinet
We had been keeping this a secret for a while and E3 was our debut party! Some of you may have already seen it at E3, but if you missed it, here’s more information about all the love that went into creating a custom arcade cabinet for Desert Child. With the help of our good frien
08 Jun 2018Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Hoverbiking ain t easy, says Desert Child s pre-E3 trailer
More than anything else, solo dev Oscar Brittain’s upcoming sci-fi shooty-racer Desert Child reminds me of Cinemaware’s ancient DOS and Amiga games. It’s one thing to present a racing career as a series of circuits with nothing of note in-between, but I’d say it’s far more intere