Heartbeats - Anniversary Edition - Presskit

Press Release

From the developer of Felix The Reaper and co-developer of Out of Words: Heartbeats returns on October 7

Kong Orange’s debut puzzle game returns with new music and sound, illustrations by Kamila Slocinska and a story by award-winning Danish author Boris Hansen. Free Steam demo available now.

Aarhus, Denmark — October 2, 2026. Kong Orange, developer of Felix The Reaper and co-developer of Out of Words, will release Heartbeats — Anniversary Edition on Steam on October 7.

An intergalactic emperor has ten heartbeats left to live. His memories become a series of illustrated puzzles: each page is the puzzle that unlocks the next. Across eleven compact puzzles and roughly one to three hours, Heartbeats unfolds as a playable science-fiction graphic novel about a life nearing its end.

The Anniversary Edition introduces music and audio design to the originally silent game, alongside a new landscape presentation for Steam.

Its distinctive visual world is the work of Kamila Slocinska, whose practice combines handcrafted elements, scanned textures and digital composition. An award-winning illustrator and author, Slocinska has illustrated Danish editions of Haruki Murakami’s The Strange Library, Slowboat to China and Tony Takitani, and has served on the Danish Arts Foundation’s literature grants committee.

Boris Hansen, responsible for the original narrative, code and design, has since established himself as an award-winning Danish fantasy and young-adult author. The writer of the Tavse verdener series and recipient of the 2025 Carlsen Prize, Hansen also writes for Felix The Reaper and Out of Words.

The new score features guitar and composition by Torsten Kjær Ravn, with music production and audio design by Nicolas Vetterli, whose credits include M2Film’s Warhammer: Pariah Nexus. Torsten and his brother, Heartbeats game designer Esben Kjær Ravn, also perform in Esben & Dødsboet, a quartet combining slowcore with Esben’s spoken science-fiction poetry. Additional programming comes from Oscar Junski Rützou, also a programmer on Out of Words.

The original Heartbeats — A Galactic Requiem attracted coverage from TIME and CNET, alongside nominations at the Nordic Game Awards and Denmark’s Spilprisen.

Play the first three puzzles free and wishlist Heartbeats — Anniversary Edition on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/5213380/Heartbeats__Anniversary_Edition/

Press enquiries, review copies and interviews:
Esben Kjær Ravn · Kong Orange
esben@kongorange.com