Sentinel

About

Sentinel is a single player survival puzzle game. It was developed by Matthew Brown and was released on April 21, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Sentinel is an interactive audio tower defense game. It mixes strategic game play with a dynamic music system. The game takes place on a sequencer-like grid. As you add defenses, collect resources and destroy enemies, musical elements are triggered in time to the music. Fight through 31 levels to clear the virus from the system.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

66%

Audience ScoreBased on 58 reviews

music20 positive mentions

gameplay4 negative mentions

Unique blend of tower defense and rhythm with an interactive electronic music soundtrack that enhances gameplay atmosphere.
Strategic depth through the innovative power distribution mechanic requiring real-time micromanagement and tactical planning.
Minimalist but stylish graphics with vivid and colorful backgrounds that complement the music and create an engaging visual experience.

Steep difficulty curve and requirement for perfect level completion can lead to frustration and repetitive gameplay.
Lack of basic features such as pause button, rebindable controls, comprehensive tutorials, and clear enemy/tower information hampers accessibility.
Visual effects and bright, flashy backgrounds can be distracting or uncomfortable for some players, and micromanagement can feel tedious.

music
73 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
69%
4%
The music in this tower defense game is a standout feature, offering a unique interactive electronic soundtrack that dynamically responds to tower placement and actions, creating an engaging audio-visual experience. While many praise its innovative integration of music and gameplay, especially for fans of electronic, techno, or dubstep genres, some find the soundtrack repetitive and potentially overwhelming. Overall, the music greatly enhances the game's atmosphere but may not appeal to all players due to its specific style and intensity.
- “This is a very simplified and straightforward interpretation of a tower defense game, with the added gimmick that your actions (placing towers) and the shooting (from those towers) integrate into the music to create an interactive audio experience.”
- “The music is one of the most important elements in this game, and the tracklist is composed of very good electronic music.”
- “Your defense goes by the beat of the music, and the music changes according to your defenses, and how much power you divert between defenses.”
- “Compared to other tower defense games this one has quite poor graphics, soundtracks are never a major selling point (I can listen to the radio for free).”
- “The game doesn't even do that right; you look at dubstep and how it has a drop and different pitches, this is more like techno generic song one a, then on to game two remix of generic song one a, and so forth.”
- “There is no other music that I came across in my hour of play, and an hour which gave me a headache.”
gameplay
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
70%
17%
The gameplay centers on tower defense with a unique power distribution mechanic requiring significant micromanagement, which some find engaging and puzzle-like, while others perceive it as boring and unintuitive. The game features varied stages and rhythm-influenced aesthetics that enhance the experience but do not impact core mechanics. However, level progression and some design choices may lead to frustration, making the gameplay feel more like a chore for some players.
- “You need to use the game mechanics in specific ways to solve these little riddles.”
- “Gameplay consists of maintaining different power levels to your defense towers, while collecting money to buy more towers, keeping the virus at bay.”
- “Sentinel is a tower defence game with a quite novel 'power distribution' mechanic, a nice visual aesthetic and some cool sounds/music.”
- “Some game mechanics are unintuitive and poorly documented.”
- “The gameplay is very boring, and the level progression goes from hard to impossible.”
- “The way the gameplay handles is simple, but never rewards you on winning a match; more of, 'yup that's nice, go away, do the next one like a chore.'”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The graphics of the game are minimalistic but feature a vibrant and lively color palette that enhances the overall aesthetic, fitting well with the game's theme. While some users find the visuals simpler and occasionally glitchy, others appreciate the unique art style and dynamic effects that complement the gameplay without overwhelming it. Overall, the game's graphics focus on a clean, strategic presentation rather than high-detail visuals.
- “The level variety is a lot better than the hexcells games whether it's art style or colors used in general.”
- “Sentinel is a tower defence game with a quite novel 'power distribution' mechanic, a nice visual aesthetic and some cool sounds/music.”
- “The aesthetics are very nice - the colors and backgrounds are alive with vivid color.”
- “Compared to other tower defense games, this one has quite poor graphics; soundtracks are never a major selling point (I can listen to the radio for free).”
- “There is no way of disabling the unnecessary throbbing graphics.”
- “The 'control' tower sometimes doesn't disappear after you have used up its ammo, and the laser graphic stays too.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The story aspect is considered lacking, with users noting that there is no meaningful storyline present in the game.
- “There is no story either.”
- “☐ story?”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the grinding aspect tedious and feel that a second life or additional effort is needed to make the grinding process more manageable.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I found it to be tedious.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is generally well-received, with music that effectively creates a fun and fitting mood, though it sometimes contrasts with the gameplay's frequent task-switching. Overall, the game maintains a good atmosphere appropriate to its style.
- “I found the music to be wonderfully fit for creating a fun atmosphere despite that many times contrasts with how much task-switching you have to do during gameplay.”
- “I'll start off by saying it's got a good atmosphere to go along with what it is.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers a full experience without any hidden costs or microtransactions, making it a great free option for tower defense fans.
- “It's a nice game for free without any hidden costs or microtransactions and definitely worth a shot if you like tower defence games.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The Windows version of the game has notable stability issues, with users experiencing bugs and occasional crashes during gameplay.
- “The Windows version was still buggy when I played it.”