Bio
Name / Studio Name
Cosmocat Games
Location
Canada / The Netherlands
How It Started
Cosmocat Games is an independent game studio founded in 2014 by Canadian developer, musician and sound designer Adam “Snug” McLellan. Adam teamed up with Dutch developer and artist Nathan van der Stoep in 2019, resulting in their successful collaboration on the original Astral Flux. Since 2024 the duo has officially worked under the Cosmocat label, combining their skills to create challenging, action-packed games with a distinctive retro flair.
After finishing Astral Flux, we wondered what a Game Boy version of the game would look like. After some prototyping, we got excited about making a prequel to Astral Flux with the side-kick of the original game’s main protagonist. How cool would it be to have a prequel game on older hardware? Our excitement for the Game Boy Color and its limitations sparked a lot of creativity.
Other Games / Projects
Other games by our studio are: Operation Hardcore, Cosmic Ray, Super Rocket Ride, Brainmelter Deluxe, TOXICANT, and Astral Flux.
Fun Fact
Adam: There’s usually a cat by my side.
Nathan: I’m a psychologist studying brains and behaviour. Where I can, I try to bring that into game development! Maybe you can discover the psychological inspirations for the player’s abilities and how it links to what happened with the alien race on this mysterious planet.
The Idea
Why I Made This Game
Nathan: I have fond memories of playing my Game Boy Pocket when I was younger. There’s something special to me about playing a game from a physical cartridge on a small handheld screen.
I knew I wanted to make a platformer for the Game Boy Color, so I started exploring what was possible and eventually built a small demo. As the idea began to take shape, we realized we wanted to turn that prototype into a full-fledged game and decided to focus our efforts on making it a reality.
What Makes This Game Special
Adam: In an era that’s becoming increasingly digital, it feels special to make something physical that players actually own.
Nathan: What I love most is how we were able to create a mysterious world that encourages exploration and includes multiple player abilities. All crammed into a single cartridge!
You'll Love This If...
You grew up with classic action/adventure games from the 80s and 90s (or recently discovered your love for them!)
Inspiration / Influences
Nathan: Several older and modern games have inspired us throughout development. Infogrames’ games based on European comics, such as Spirou, Lucky Luke, and Tintin, along with DuckTales for the NES and Game Boy, bring back fond memories and had a strong influence on our visual style and approach to platforming.
More modern games, particularly the Metroid Prime series and Death Stranding, inspired the mysterious world and sense of discovery we wanted to create.
Favorite Feature
Adam: Teleportation! This is a fairly modern mechanic–I don’t remember any classic games having this.
Nathan: I love playing around with the telekinesis ability!
