Hyper Sentinel - demo available

[Hewson]

Hello,

My name is Rob Hewson, former Game Director at TT Fusion (LEGO games). My dad, Andrew Hewson, founded Hewson Consultants in the UK in 1980 which published some of the most cherished shmups of the 1980s like Uridium, Zynaps, Cybernoid, Insects in Space.

We've started a small indie studio and currently have a Kickstarter for a new shmup called Hyper Sentinel which includes a playable demo. One of our backers contacted us and suggested we posted about it. Here's the link to the Kickstarter:

http://kck.st/29f9qpe

Here's a trailer of the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsi3cJXz_5E

Would anybody be interested in doing a review of the 3-level demo?

[Pixel_Outlaw]

I like the voxel style graphics. (Maybe a bit flat in some large areas)

I've not had a chance to play the first game because I came in a bit late on the computer scene.
Do you think a Linux version might be in the cards at some point? (No idea what multimedia libraries you're using so maybe that is more trouble than it's worth)

I like horizontal shmups where you can change direction quickly it is a genre that doesn't get as much attention, maybe we need a few more.
I've only played Defender and Fantasy Zone but liked the feeling of being able to quickly turn like that.

Sure, I'd be in the mood for another game in that genre.

Is there a Windows demo available or is it just Apple stuff at the moment?
I saw PC was one of your release targets.
I think most people here prefer to play their shmups on computer or console.

[Hewson]

Yeah it was developed on Apple but we loved the game so much and thought it would appeal to our community, so the Kickstarter is to enable us to bring it to PC - with stretch goals for console, Android and Mac. That's quite a bit of work but the Apple version is much further along so we've only got the demo on that. We have got control pad support though so we can get a feel for what it will play like on PC and console.

[system11]

Backed this on principle - thank your dad for all the awesome games years ago.

[Hewson]

Thank you will do!

[system11]

Well that's a shame, just got the Kickstarter failure mail.

[Iaspis]

Coming soon, it seems.

[Marc]

So anyone else pick this up?
It's basically Uridium 3, which is a good thing IMO. Original gameplay with a boost button, a few special weapons, multiplier, and bosses.
Graphics are quite nice - default mode is a bit garish but the CRT effect gives everything a nice, partially fuzzy/washed out look, and the C64/Speccy modes really kick me in the nostalgia. Music is brilliant - strange to hear something based off of the good old SID chip still sounding so loud and raucous.
It isn't very deep - the opening five minutes basically show you everything the game has to offer, but I don't see that as a bad thing on this occasion, feels like a proper tribute to the stuff I played as a kid. Ideal for short sessions as it lets you tackle levels individually if you're not interested in overall score, picked it up on PS4 but seriously considering a double dip for the Switch version simply for that reason.
Currently on sale on PSN, at £7.49 it's a steal.

[Pedro Lambrini]

I'll be picking it for PC on pay day. The other 2 Uridium games are great fun and it's always nice to see a name from the past make a game.

In this day of successful Kickstarted projects disappearing into the ether it's heartening to see a failed Kickstarter game actually being successfully released - AND it's not Early Access!

[BrianC]

I'm liking this so far. I had plenty of gold coins saved up. My Nintendo didn't have much to use them on, so I used some of them on this game. This and Uridium also seem to be inspired by The Dreadnaught Factor.