- Online Leaderboards, hot to trot Steam Deck performance, bug smashing, and more! - 22 August 2026
Heyo friendoes!Build 3.6.0 is Live! Big features:Online leaderboards added through iScored (a rad dude passionate about arcades and high-score arcade competitions, naturally! We've published our leaderboards for Interstellar Sentinel 1 & 2 so anyone can also import and add them to their own arcades and man caves. :) Interstellar Sentinel Art Book added Big news! We started our game studio Patreon after being badgered by our wonderful community for over a year; lots of sneak peek stuff in the works. Come check it out and drop us a follow! https://www.patreon.com/cw/UpliftingGoatAdditional changesFixed a couple of pesky memory leaksMinor tuning adjustments across the weapon sets Adjustments to particle layering & sorting Performance optimizations for lower-end PCs & the Steam Deck Additional bug fixes and polish Fixed some opening cutscene layering bugs with fire when the ship moves throu…
- Interstellar Sentinel Highlights: Live Caravan Events and Community - 14 May 2026
A lot has happened around Interstellar Sentinel, and we wanted to share a look back at some of the moments that helped define this stretch of the journeyOne of the biggest standouts was seeing Caravan Mode (5-minute gaming snack-sized time attack levels) grow into much more than just another mode in the game. It became a booth attraction, a competition format, a repeatable event structure, and a reason for players to gather around Interstellar Sentinel. What made it work so well was how easy it was to understand, how fast it was to replay, and how naturally it created that “one more run” energy.That really came to life at Canal 3 and Rio Retro Games Champion Edition. Players could walk up, understand the goal quickly, post a score, and immediately want another attempt. At the same time, spectators had something clear and exciting to follow, which made the competition side feel alive in…
- Minor update: QOL Weapon Tuning & Difficulty Lives adjustment Fix - 28 February 2026
Thanks everyone for playtesting the new Caravan level! - Weapon Tuning for some of the underperforming weapon sets - Difficulty selection, fixed the number of lives given for each difficulty level - Minor tuning adjustments, bug fixes, and good ol' spit & polish
- V 3.4.0 Live - QOL Weapon selection for stage practice, weapon buffs & Moarz - 6 February 2026
New features:Caravan 3 level, the community is going nuts over this onePracticing a level now let's you pick your starting weapon setWeapon buffs and balancing passPerformance optimizations (runs like a dream on a Steam Deck)Various bug fixes and improvments labor of lovin type stuffThank so much to our community for playing, putting up high scores, and sharing their passion for our projects!
- Ho Ho Ho Interstellar Sentinel 3.3.0 is now live under your X-Mas tree! - 26 December 2025
Happy holidays, friendoes, it's been a wild year. Your support means everything to us, and we wish you the very best in your gaming adventures! Thank you for being on this journey with us to craft modern retro games with that tight gameplay you've come to love from us! Brand new RRG Caravan level added. More audio polish with enemy death sounds and attacks. Tuned up quite a few underperforming weapon sets, like the BFM (Big Fuggin Missile), to now have homing missiles on the power shot. Added auto bomb on death for the Caravan levels Performance optimizations for potato computers and improved bullet patterns when the CPU is overtaxed. Various bug fixes and polish. Here is my developer playthrough and commentary. It was a lot of fun
- Uplifting Goat October Wins: Unreal Engine Milestone, Caravan Competition & More - 11 November 2025
October has been a busy month packed with breakthroughsUnreal Engine Port ProgressThe Interstellar Sentinel port to Unreal reached a major milestone.Over 8000 bullets in a single shader running with animations, collisions, and multiple bullet types.Significant improvements in speed and performance.PlayStation 5 release targeted for next year.IS2 Update – Build 0.7.0Build 0.7.0 is live, featuring new Quantint area patterns.Players are testing their skills with updated boss mechanics.Community feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.Upcoming Caravan EventsDecember 6 to 7 – RRG Champion Edition, Rio de JaneiroTournaments on consoles from Atari to modern systems.Featured games: Fatal Fury: City of Wolves, Street Fighter 6, and Interstellar Sentinel.Rumor of a new caravan level in development.January – East Coast Candy Crew Arcade, Shelton, ConnecticutRetro gaming vibes, cash prizes, and m…
- Uplifting Goat Sept. Highlights: High Scores, Canal 3 Expo, & a Glimpse at IS2! - 5 October 2025
September has been an exciting month for Interstellar SentinelCaravan Competition and High Score ChasingThe community has been chasing high scores in the main game while super players pushed the leaderboards even further. At Canal 3 Expo in São Paulo, the Caravan Competition was a huge success, showcasing the immense energy and passion of the shmup community.Below is our wonderful staff for the Caravan Competition at the Canal 3 Expo in São PauloHere's our booth in the video game competition area.Here's the top 5 highscore winners that took home cash prizes and merch!Sweet New MerchWe created a whole range of merchandise in response to the fans' demand for the caravan competition. The merch was a total hit, with fans loving the shirts, art book, and stickers. For those who missed out, the sticker shop is still open here: https://www.stickermule.com/ugoat. Interstellar Sentinel 2 Alpha P…
- Interstellar Sentinel – 25% Off + IRL Caravan Competition in São Paulo - 13 September 2025
What's a Caravan? Caravan competitions began in Japan in the 80s, when Hudson Soft toured with Star Soldier and Hector ’87. Players had just 2–5 minutes and one credit to prove themselves. The format was pure intensity—fast score chases, quick decisions, and bragging rights etched in history.Now we’re reviving that tradition at Canal 3 Expo, São Paulo, Sept 13–14.Here’s what’s happeningInterstellar Sentinel (IS1) is 25% off on Steam during the event.Caravan Mode is free to download, so anyone can practice and step up.5 minutes. 1 credit. One shot at the leaderboard.Super cool prizes for top scores and giveaways all weekend.Merch live at the booth – premium vinyl stickers, posters, and shirts. Browse here: Our Merch Store.Brazil has always had an incredible gaming culture—arcade passion runs deep, with communities that celebrate high scores, tournaments, and the joy of playing together.…
- Free Caravan Competition Build 1.3.0 Live Now! - 14 June 2025
This is the free demo; grab it from the download demo button on the page.This demo is a nice cross-section of the core game system at work in Interstellar Sentinel. Your objective is to survive, don't let enemies escape, and use your super weapon like a maniac! Fixed the chain combo meter not maxing out if you died in the middle of a chain comboAdjusted enemy spawnsbuffer weapon set 2 plasma laser (longer, stronger, uncut, and full of uhmm... plasma)Minor adjustments to enemy timing
- Two new game modes, more bad ass baddy deaths, and weapon buffs are waiting... - 15 March 2025
Version 3.2.0 Build Notes Big Highlights: 🚀 New Game Mode: Caravan 1 — Blast your way to glory in this action-packed, 5-minute high-score chase! 🏁 New Game Mode: Race 1 — Speed thrills and thumb skills: rubbing is racing in this lightning-fast thumb-warmer-upper! 💥 Enemy Death FX Upgrade — Dramatically improved enemy death sounds and visual effects. Blowing demonic beasties away has never felt so satisfying! 🌟 Scoring Boost — Tweaked scoring system to reward your skillful gameplay even more generously. 🔫 Player Weapons Revamp — Weapon sets have been finely tuned with buffs and improvements to underperforming sets. Time to discover your new favorite weapon! Caravan Mode Explained: Dive into an intense 5-minute high-score battle, perfect when you're short on time but high on adrenaline. Share your best runs on Discord to compete on our community leaderboard! What exactly is Caravan M…
- Games That Inspired Interstellar Sentinel - 10 March 2025
Games That Inspired Interstellar Sentinel Inspired by Salamander/Life Force, Gradius, R-Type, DeathSmiles, Akai Katana Shin, Einhander, and DoDonPachi. These titles heavily influenced Interstellar Sentinel's mix of horizontal adventure/exploration that you get with a horizontal shmup (Gradius/Einhander) and Cave style bullet-hell memorable boss fights. (Albeit we're less intense and more welcoming, but the influence is there). It's awesome to stand on the shoulders of giants across the shooter, sorry shoot'em up, shmup genre. Life Force (Salamander outside of the United States) What amazed me most about this game was its ability to create a sense of living, breathing horror inside a shmup. Blasting through grotesque flesh walls that pulsed and moved, facing off against Intruder, the unforgettable Golem (eyeball boss) — a grotesque, brain-like entity with twisted arm stalks that writhe a…
- New Game Mode: 9 Hells Boss Rush - 18 November 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-FYOFpUygo Big new mode! 9 Hells Boss Rush! Recommended for players familiar with the existing game features. This mode was built to leverage all your acquired skills and then turn up the heat for some sweet boss rushing in a 15-minutes or less experience. Reimagined bosses and attack patterns in a time. We hear you like bosses for your boss rush mode, so how about finding all the mini bosses between the bosses? We brought in a music randomizer to keep the experience fresh for your ears. Hop on over to our Discord and post your high scores! General: Performance and optimization improvements Audio Mix: Adjusted audio levels across the game Minor audio adjustments to some enemy weapons Voice volume: Super weapon online, increased volume slightly Voice volume: Extra Ship volume, decreased volume Adjusted title screen track to be more epic when it comes in V…
- Interstellar Sentinel Turns 1 year old Birthday & Gamescom Sale - 22 August 2024
This month, Interstellar Sentinel turned one year old, and we're doing a 25% off birthday & Gamescom 2024 sale! We're so grateful to our community for playing and sharing!
- Build 2.4.0 is now live with moar polish, tuning and bug fixes! - 19 March 2024
General: - Increased DBK wing flap animation speed a bit because he was being a little too lazy - Fixed up on hit visual effect triggering at the wrong time with environmental conditions - Lesser Demons now get sucked back to hell in a more fitting way than a wimpy little explosion - Intro Cutscene, fix fire sorting issue on ship Audio: - Original Sound Track updates are now present in game with almost every music piece updated - New track Zenwards added to game ending sequence - Boss Defeat audio transitions are now improved across the game - Laser Stasis Auto weapon: impact sound effects are now improved - Fixed up Lesser Demon exploding sfx triggering Weapons: - Ringshot short beam damage buffed & now functionality with 300% try hard beam functionality - Weapons: Infinilaser got a small damage buff - Vertical spread weapon set, auto missile weapon now shreds like a beast Level01: - F…
- LISTEN; to the Full Interstellar Sentinel Original Soundtrack - 1 March 2024
LISTEN; to the Full Interstellar Sentinel Original Soundtrack for your listening pleasure! Wow! I mean, wow, the reception of this album has been phenomenal! So many people have reached out over the last couple of days with so much positivity that I am a little overwhelmed. I am immensely grateful for all our fans. Interstellar Sentinel Soundtrack by Chris Huelsbeck Digital Album Streaming + Download Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Track List: 1. Monster Soul Collector (Main Theme) 03:07 2. Demonic Dream Lure 03:18 3. Dark Wellspring Court 04:02 4. Dark Wellspring Infiltration 03:12 5. In The Face of The Machine (Theme reprise) 03:16 6. Vamperial Remnants 03:21 7. Multiverse Drifter 04:11 8. Abyssal Grove's Metamorphosis 03:32 9. Astral Courage 04:08 10. Astral Rebuff 03:27 11. Hyper Slider 03:42 12. Through The T…
- Build 2.3.5 is now live with lots of polish, tuning and shenanigans! - 7 February 2024
General: - Optimization improvements across the game on first time weapon and enemy explosions DrBossKey: - Improved collision with a new gold shield effect Weapons: - Weapon set 3, bottom plasma laser weapon is now longer and does more damage - Weapon set 9 (tri-eletro-scythe weapon is buffed to shoot further out from the player) - When no enemies are on screen weapons now fire from their weapon direction Enemies: - Treant demon arms now have glorious explosions - Dreadmusk weapon sound effects are improved - Fixed and punched a variety of visual effects for enemy deaths across the game Opening Cutscene: - Improved audio design - Improved visual effects - Minor bug fixing Audio: - Music tracks extended across the game in preparation for the OST drop - Various improvements across the game for enemy attacks, explosion sfx, and pitch shifting - Boss defeated victory jingle is now the game…
- (Navi voice from Zelda) Hey, listen! Interstellar Sentinel demo is live! - 15 December 2023
(trumpets from the heavens are sounding in your mind) The Interstellar Sentinel Demo is now available for you to play! Check it out and hop on over to the Discord server to post your high scores! Can you achieve the S+ tier rank? Also the calm before the storm, try this: Relax on the title screen for 2 minutes to practice mindfulness; it's a DrBossKey order :)~ https://youtu.be/KoJSCS0gGas?si=9DfA2FRRdJfw4KV8 Loki the fairy cat will be making wisecracks when you complete the demo, how cool is that? #shmup #mindfullness #STG Happy shmupping friendoes!
- Build 2.2.0 is now live with a brand new feature Weapon Dumper! - 4 December 2023
Build 2.2.0 is now live with a brand new feature Weapon Dumper! New Feature: Power Downer! You're in for a treat! Now, just hit that triangle or Y button to unleash the Power Downer – a nifty power-up right in the middle of the screen! These little boosts are limited but fear not, they refresh every level. Perfect for those who fancy their weapon sets but still want to snag power-ups for a high score or to tweak their strategy. Happy Shmupping! General: We've slimmed down the game download size by optimizing assets on disc. Shield design got a makeover! Now, your pacifist mode force field lets you keep an eye on your weak spot. Score & Bonus multiplier points text is now a tad larger for your reading pleasure. Brace yourselves for Challenge level 4 with a spanking new track. Pacifist Mode: Pacifist Mode just got an upgrade! It not only cancels enemy bullets but also spawns soul bits on…
- Build 2.1.1 is Live! New intro cinematic featuring Loki & Zay's shenanigans! - 17 November 2023
Build 2.1.1 is Live! Hot and new! - Adventure Introduction cutscene & shenanigans General: Music: - New boss battle music; Titanic Champions - Music balancing pass across all levels - Boss battle intro warning sound and boss battle music adjustments - Music arrangement adjustments - Monster Trophies, switched all to bullet canceling on death SFX: - Various polishing and sound effect updates across the game for enemies, weapons, and more Weapons: - Various minor tuning pass over weapons for utility and damage - Super weapon minor tuning pass - Octa Plasma tentacle Weapon Set: replaced weapon smoke vfx - Top/Bottom Spread weapon set, slight buff to damage - Plasma Ring Auto Weapon: Fixed rapid fire exhausting the auto weapon set - Weapon Set 05: Changed Smoke Puff to non additive blending to stop covering up vulnerability spot Difficulty Select, Level Select & Tutorials: - Updated backgro…
- Interstellar Sentinel Update 2.1.0 is Meow Live! - 26 October 2023
**Bigger Notable Changes:** - DrBossKey now has flapping wings just like the heavens of supernatural mischief intended! - Player bullets now draw behind the player so you no longer need to panic when not being able to see your weak spot - Reorganized HUD for improved readability of super meter, health, monster trophy medals, and lives. - Balancing and tuning passes across the weapon sets - Various gameplay tweaking and tuning across the levels to improved difficulty for newcomers and shmup veterans - Two new music pieces have been added! - Fixed spawn portals not appearing when enemies were teleporting in - Updated the visual indicator for the super weapon ready VFX surrounding the player weak spot. - Updated gun portal animation and added second gun type for missiles - Performance and optimization passes across the game. We’re running at a stable 60fps on a Steam Deck! - Changed extend…
