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JumpJet Rex

A great speedrunner that does the little things right and plays to a certain style of charm.
JumpJet Rex Game Cover
82%Game Brain Score
music, gameplay
grinding, optimization
86% User Score Based on 397 reviews
Critic Score 76%Based on 6 reviews

Platforms

LinuxPCMac OSPlaystation 4Xbox OneXboxSteam DeckWindowsPlayStation
JumpJet Rex Game Cover

About

JumpJet Rex is a single player and multiplayer open world platformer game with anime and science fiction themes. It was developed by TreeFortress Games and was released on April 21, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Our submission to #gbjam3 Story: You're a T-rex with rocket boots. Gameplay: While avoiding obstacles, navigate jumpjet rex through the various rings throughout the level, fly through them all...

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86%
Audience ScoreBased on 397 reviews
music53 positive mentions
grinding10 negative mentions

  • Tight, responsive controls with smooth and rewarding movement mechanics.
  • Engaging retro-style pixel art graphics complemented by a catchy chiptune soundtrack.
  • High replayability due to multiple objectives per level (completion, no deaths, time trials), collectibles, and character customization, including local co-op mode.
  • Steep difficulty curve, especially in later levels and final stage, which can lead to frustration and repetitive retries.
  • Progression gated behind collecting stars from challenging objectives can feel grindy and limit accessibility for casual players.
  • Occasional bugs such as glitches during boss fights, control input issues on some controllers, and performance drops affecting gameplay experience.
  • music
    108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in Jumpjet Rex is widely praised for its catchy, energetic chiptune soundtrack that perfectly complements the game's retro style and fast-paced gameplay. Fans appreciate its nostalgic yet polished 8-bit/16-bit vibe, with tracks that enhance the racing-against-time tension and add charm to the platforming experience. While some find the soundtrack repetitive or occasionally muted after deaths, overall it is seen as a strong highlight and a motivating element of the game.

    • “Complementing this is a wonderfully catchy chiptune soundtrack that perfectly matches the game’s rhythm.”
    • “The music shifts between energetic beats and tense melodies that drive the player forward, reinforcing the sensation that you’re always racing against time.”
    • “The soundtrack consists of well-crafted true-to-hardware chiptune, which is admirable, fitting, and sounds great.”
    • “- The soundtrack is serviceable but not really memorable.”
    • “- It's obvious that the developers are aiming for a classic Mega Man musical vibe, but fell short.”
    • “- The music tends to stop after deaths sometimes.”
  • gameplay
    88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Jumpjet Rex is centered on precise, fast-paced 2D platforming with unique rocket boots mechanics that allow infinite jumps and air dashes, offering a challenging yet rewarding experience that balances nostalgia with modern design. Its tight controls, varied level design, and speedrunning elements create high replay value, though its steep difficulty and time-trial focus may not appeal to all players. Overall, the gameplay is praised for being smooth, fun, and deeply satisfying for enthusiasts of skill-based platformers.

    • “Its simple premise, tight mechanics, and high skill ceiling make it both approachable and deeply rewarding for players who enjoy the process of mastery.”
    • “Every game mechanic is spot-on and well thought out, from checkpoints and waypoints to coin and star collection, nothing is needlessly grindy or unnecessarily obtuse.”
    • “Jumpjetrex managed to both bring a new fun platforming experience while hitting all the old platforming nostalgia that you'd want from this kind of hand-eye coordination challenging platformer with rad retro feel graphics and polished clean mechanics with a great soundtrack to match.”
    • “Game seems decent but playing with a controller is impossible as the controls randomly switch around mid gameplay.”
    • “Unfortunately the gameplay isn't good enough to justify playing all the levels several times to get enough stars to actually continue through the entire game.”
    • “The game mechanics and level designs are decent enough, but the stages aren’t terribly pretty and are pretty bare-bones functional, as is typical in such retro games.”
  • graphics
    78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Jumpjet Rex features a charming 16-bit retro pixel art style that evokes strong nostalgia, paired with colorful, cute, and well-designed visuals reminiscent of classic platformers. While some find the graphics simplistic or dated compared to modern standards, the art style consistently complements the fast-paced gameplay and is enhanced by character customization options. Overall, the graphics strike a pleasing balance between old-school appeal and polished, inviting aesthetics that fans of retro games will appreciate.

    • “Visually, the game embraces a 16-bit art style that is both nostalgic and full of personality.”
    • “Tight controls, wonderfully colorful pixel graphics and interesting level design makes this platform gem both feel nostalgic and refreshing at the same time.”
    • “The graphics and art are absolutely charming and include just the right amount of retro, with some fantastic and appropriate music to match.”
    • “What the game suffers from is being mediocre when it comes to visuals.”
    • “The game supports 4k graphics... yet uses ugly retro pixel "art" instead of contemporary graphics.”
    • “Feels very 2015 in the presentation, artstyle, and just the very concept of "hey!"”
  • story
    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in this game is short, simple, and somewhat generic, mainly serving to provide context for the gameplay rather than driving the experience. While some find it funny and cute with nostalgic retro-style presentation, others feel it lacks depth and significance, focusing more on mechanics and replayability than narrative. Overall, the story is a light, enjoyable backdrop but not a major highlight.

    • “Enough story to contextualize the journey, immaculately precise and fair gameplay mechanics, great art, a banger soundtrack, and silly cosmetics to unlock through progression.”
    • “This is one of my favorite platformer games and one to not only kill time, but to take part in a nice little story about a dinosaur saving planet Earth. If you like Sonic the Hedgehog and Shovel Knight, give this game a go!”
    • “The story is not to be taken serious, but it is very funny and cute.”
    • “A few plot points come up as you progress, but the story doesn't really carry through or pertain to the game.”
    • “There is little story, and the game does seem to become really repetitive after a while.”
    • “The story is also pretty generic and serves basically only to get the game started.”
  • replayability
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers exceptional replayability through layered challenges, collectibles, and variable difficulty, appealing especially to completionists and competitive players aiming for leaderboard rankings. Features like split-screen co-op and time-attack modes further enhance long-term engagement, making it a standout choice for fans of fast-paced platformers. Overall, it combines solid gameplay with high replay value that encourages repeated play and mastery.

    • “This star system introduces a layer of replayability that pushes players to refine their technique and master every stage.”
    • “Online time-attack leaderboards ensure that there's always a time to beat, propelling the replay value to phenomenal levels.”
    • “As of this review, I've completed the game, 3-starred all missions, and collected all secret items. The game definitely has high replayability, especially if you're aiming for leaderboard times, which will demand a lot more hours invested.”
  • grinding
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is noted to be somewhat tedious, particularly when farming coins for customization or completing grindy achievements, which some players find artificially extends difficulty. However, many of these grind-heavy tasks are optional, and core mechanics like checkpoints and item collection are well-balanced to avoid unnecessary grind. While later stages and boss fights can feel challenging and repetitive, they can often be brute-forced without penalty, providing some relief from the grind.

    • “There is an achievement to spend 1 million coins - so you better get out there farming those coins.”
    • “Rather than letting the game sprawl out on its own and have these as fun challenges for those who enjoy that grindy gameplay, they gate off their game behind artificially induced difficulty.”
    • “It takes a long time to find enough money for all customization unlocks, meaning the game is somewhat grindy.”
  • humor
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in Jumpjet Rex is characterized by its charming, absurd, and cartoonish style that complements the game's fast-paced platforming. Players find the story funny and cute, adding a lighthearted tone without detracting from the tightly crafted gameplay experience. Overall, the humor enhances the game's retro appeal and energetic vibe.

    • “Jumpjet Rex is a vibrant and fast-paced 2D platformer developed and published by Treefortress Games, paying homage to the golden age of arcade precision games while injecting its own unique sense of humor and energy.”
    • “It’s an absurd premise delivered with charm and style, but beneath the cartoonish humor lies a tightly crafted experience built around reflexes, timing, and mastery of movement.”
    • “The story is not to be taken seriously, but it is very funny and cute.”
  • optimization
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization supports fast-paced, responsive gameplay ideal for speedrunning and time trials, rewarding players based on performance. However, some level designs and controls feel less refined, and the engine exhibits notable performance issues that affect the overall experience.

    • “Every level feels like a playground for speedrunners, with its short length encouraging experimentation and optimization.”
    • “Gameplay is a quick responsive jumping and air dashing to race through well designed levels, better performance rewards more stars used to unlock further levels.”
    • “The level design feels bland overall and the controls are workable, but not optimized for time trials.”
    • “One main problem is its performance.”
    • “Based on the overall performance in the level you are to complete.”
  • stability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game demonstrates solid stability with no reported glitches, offering a challenging yet fair difficulty. However, boss fights tend to be sluggish and occasionally exhibit bugs, contrasting with the otherwise smooth gameplay.

    • “This fast moving action however does not translate as well to the boss fights which are sluggish, bland and occasionally buggy.”
    • “Admittedly, as an adult it's not my favorite, as it can be frustrating at times, particularly when attempting to obtain some treasures in the game, though it is due to a legitimate toughness as opposed to any glitches or nigh-impossible fake difficulty.”
    • “Glitches.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game feels somewhat limited, with gameplay focused on completing levels by interacting with rings but lacking engaging or heartfelt graphics. Players express a desire for more wholesome and emotionally resonant visuals to enhance the experience.

  • atmosphere
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere is praised for its unique blend of retro visuals and sound, which together create a vibe that is both nostalgic and refreshingly distinctive.

    • “The combination of retro visuals and sound creates a distinct atmosphere that feels both familiar and fresh.”
  • character development
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users appreciate the character development for its customizable features and well-designed bosses, highlighting subtle nods to classic games that enhance the overall experience.

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9h Median play time
8h Average play time
8-10h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

JumpJet Rex is a open world platformer game with anime and science fiction themes.

JumpJet Rex is available on PC, Mac OS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and others.

On average players spend around 8 hours playing JumpJet Rex.

JumpJet Rex was released on April 21, 2015.

JumpJet Rex was developed by TreeFortress Games.

JumpJet Rex has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked JumpJet Rex for its music but disliked it for its grinding.

JumpJet Rex is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

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