SENTRY

About

"Sentry" is a Science Fiction Shooter game that offers various play options, including single-player, co-op for 2 players, and multi-player. As a member of the SENTRY Defense Program, your mission is to protect your vessel while it flees across space, using an arsenal of weapons, traps, and environmental destruction to fend off alien boarders. If your SENTRY falls in battle, another crew member will be thawed to continue the fight, ensuring that defeat only changes the strategic landscape aboard the ship. The game boasts beautiful gameplay and outstanding visuals.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 454 reviews

gameplay37 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The shooting mechanics are snappy and satisfying, making combat enjoyable.
The game successfully blends tower defense and FPS elements, providing a unique gameplay experience.
The art style and spaceship theme create an engaging atmosphere, and the game runs well on various hardware.

The rogue-lite setup leads to repetitive gameplay, as levels are often played multiple times without significant variation.
The game currently lacks content, with only a few maps and limited enemy variety, making it feel short.
The difficulty spikes can be frustrating, especially for new players, as the game can quickly become overwhelming.

gameplay
107 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
62%
4%
The gameplay has been described as a blend of first-person shooting and tower defense mechanics, reminiscent of titles like "Orcs Must Die" and "FTL." While many players appreciate the solid core mechanics, smooth gunplay, and engaging gameplay loop, there are concerns about a lack of depth, variety, and balance, particularly regarding enemy difficulty and the effectiveness of traps. Overall, the game shows promise but requires further development and content to enhance replayability and player engagement.
- “Gameplay feels good with decent replayability.”
- “The gameplay loop is solid and fun.”
- “Genuinely one of the perfect games for my tastes, the lore, though currently barebones is still gripping nonetheless, and the gameplay is amazing; it feels like each run is its own story at times, the traps encourage creative play and the weapons all mostly feel extremely satisfying to use.”
- “The devs didn't make use of that idea to give it any gameplay impact.”
- “This game needs a lot more time; similar to Sanctum 2, enemies are bullet sponges, you die easily, and it's just an overall slog killing most things. Fun and engaging maybe, but then you deal with obnoxious enemy types that just don't work. Come back in a year or so; maybe the dev will figure things out properly. Oh, also forgot to mention the poor grind mechanic; you can't get the good stuff until 20 hours into the game.”
- “The game does a horrific job of explaining any of the mechanics of the game, such as the fact that unlocking a weapon slot only unlocks it for that run.”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
35%
9%
The graphics of the game have received generally positive feedback, with many players appreciating the simplistic yet stylish art style and vibrant colors that enhance visibility and gameplay experience. While the visuals are often described as clean and polished, some users noted limitations in graphical options and occasional performance issues. Overall, the aesthetic is well-received, contributing to the game's fun and engaging atmosphere.
- “Very few frame drops, good and coherent art style.”
- “The visuals are good, most textures as far as I can tell are really polished pixel art, and the mixture of quite bold colors with simple shapes makes the visibility good and areas appealing.”
- “Visually, it's good looking for the aesthetic chosen for the game and there are a lot of nice little visual touches like brightly-colored lights on traps which show you their re-arm timing very effectively while also looking cool.”
- “You would have mistaken Sentry for a mobile game if it were not for its demanding, low-poly graphics and special effects.”
- “Boring and overpriced indie copy of OMD done worse in first person with bad graphics and unsatisfying shooting, also lacking co-op mode!”
- “Performance was all over the place, and unfortunately, the graphical options are really poor, only allowing you to disable VSync and real-time reflections.”
story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
75%
13%
The game's story is described as interesting but currently underdeveloped, with players expressing a desire for more depth and mechanics that enhance the narrative experience. While the lore is considered gripping, it remains somewhat barebones, and the gameplay often feels like a series of individual stories rather than a cohesive narrative. Overall, players appreciate the potential for growth in the story aspect as the game continues to evolve.
- “Genuinely one of the perfect games for my tastes, the lore, though currently barebones, is still gripping nonetheless, and the gameplay is amazing. It feels like each run is its own story at times, the traps encourage creative play and the weapons all mostly feel extremely satisfying to use.”
- “I hope that this game continues to grow, game modes, story, etc. The price is fair as long as development continues.”
- “The story is interesting so far.”
- “The lore, though currently barebones, is still gripping nonetheless, and the gameplay is amazing; it feels like each run is its own story at times.”
- “Right now it's way too short and doesn't really have any incentive to start a new mission.”
- “The semi-random nature of where waves come can lead to impossible holds, where early missions you don't have the resources to spread coupled with the sporadic nature of the waves themselves.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
26%
16%
The music in the game has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with many users praising its fantastic soundtrack that blends 90s-00s influences and enhances the gameplay experience. While some players noted a desire for more tracks, the overall consensus is that the music effectively complements the game's pacing and atmosphere, making it a standout feature. The combination of engaging sound design and a quirky visual style further elevates the game's appeal.
- “The soundtrack is absolutely fantastic too!”
- “The music slaps (especially the mid-round prep music) and the pacing is perfect.”
- “The sound, both music and effects, are fantastic.”
- “I wish I had a soundtrack.”
- “Soundtrack is fine, too few tracks.”
- “Music: decent”
replayability
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, largely due to its roguelike elements, diverse weapon unlocks, and unique map designs that encourage varied gameplay strategies. While many players find the experience engaging and well-rounded, some express concerns about limited content and linear progression, suggesting that additional features like randomization could enhance replay value further.
- “Finally, the roguelike elements (like random enemies, loadouts, etc.) add so much replay value.”
- “The unlocking and earning of new persistent gear, traps, and weapons through gameplay adds a wonderful amount of replay value.”
- “Unique breaching points during each conflict make even the same small group of maps extremely replayable, and their design encourages the player to always find new corridors to booby trap and angles to hold.”
- “A bold price to pay for a product lacking promising content and replayability.”
- “Very few levels and linear progress, which to me would give little replay value.”
- “Please add a map and objective randomizer to the game; it would increase replay value a ton. Thanks.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The game's optimization is a significant concern, with players reporting severe frame rate drops, particularly in crowded scenes with multiple enemies, leading to performance issues even on high-end hardware. The limited graphical options exacerbate these problems, and while co-op features are anticipated to enhance gameplay, the current state of optimization detracts from the overall experience.
- “Fun game, but it has some rough progression, balance, and performance when the screen gets crowded.”
- “2-player co-op, optimization, more content of all kinds (game modes, items, weapons, traps, enemies, maps—you name it), Steam Deck compatibility, and more are already in the roadmap, with 2-player co-op being the #1 priority according to the devs. Co-op was available in the demo and worked very well, so it's only a matter of time before co-op is released to the early access game and really should open this game up quite a bit.”
- “Performance massively drops when you start seeing 10+ active enemies at once, with a 2080 Ti and i9-10900X dropping from a 120 fps cap down to 30 fps in some of the mid to late fights.”
- “The main issue I have is the optimization in some parts of the game, with my FPS dropping to around 20 on the final few levels, but that's the only issue I came across.”
- “Performance was all over the place, and unfortunately, the graphical options are really poor, only allowing you to disable VSync and real-time reflections.”
- “Performance massively drops when you start seeing 10+ active enemies at once, with a 2080 Ti and i9-10900X dropping from a 120 FPS cap down to 30 FPS in some of the mid to late fights.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game demonstrates strong stability with minimal bugs reported, providing a polished experience even on older hardware. Users have noted that it runs smoothly across different platforms, including Linux, contributing to its enjoyable and replayable nature.
- “It's only 2 hours in, but the game is not buggy at all and everything is polished.”
- “Lots of fun and runs great on older hardware.”
- “Gameplay is solid, runs great on Linux.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and slow, particularly during early progression and solo map defenses, which can feel unfair and monotonous.
- “Early progression feels slow and tedious.”
- “Having to defend some of the maps alone is tedious and unfair at times.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
Reviewers appreciate the game's approach to monetization, noting the absence of microtransactions, which allows for a more immersive experience focused on gameplay rather than financial pressure. The emphasis is on engaging combat against enemies rather than on purchasing in-game advantages.
- “I love that this game is a sci-fi themed first-person shooter that isn't filled with microtransactions, allowing me to focus on the gameplay instead of spending money.”
- “The monetization model is refreshing; it prioritizes gameplay and story over constant in-game purchases.”
- “It's great to see a game that respects players by avoiding aggressive monetization tactics and instead offers a complete experience.”
- “The game is riddled with microtransactions that ruin the overall experience.”
- “It's frustrating to see that progress is locked behind a paywall, making it feel like a cash grab.”
- “I can't enjoy the game when every other screen is trying to sell me something.”