Jumplight Odyssey

About

Jumplight Odyssey is a strategy role-playing game that takes players on a journey through a vibrant, ever-changing universe. Command a fleet of ships, explore new worlds, and engage in thrilling tactical battles against alien races. Your decisions and the alliances you forge will shape the fate of the Jumplight Galaxy.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,159 reviews

story26 positive mentions

stability77 negative mentions

Charming art style and nostalgic 70s anime vibes.
Engaging gameplay that combines resource management with a narrative-driven experience.
Active developer engagement and responsiveness to community feedback.

Game is currently plagued by numerous bugs and performance issues.
Lacks essential resource management tools and crew control features.
Development has been paused indefinitely, leaving the game in an unfinished state.

story
242 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
86%
3%
The game's story is described as having great potential but currently feels underdeveloped, with many players expressing disappointment over the lack of scripted events and character-driven narratives. While the art style and concept are praised, the repetitive gameplay loop and limited storyline content detract from the overall experience, leaving players wanting more depth and variety in the storytelling. Many hope for future updates to expand the narrative and enhance character interactions, as the current state feels lacking and somewhat anticlimactic.
- “The world and story are engaging and exciting, the art is nostalgic and beautiful, and the gameplay is deeply satisfying, a great source of dopamine.”
- “The highlight so far has been sending crew out on missions and watching the emergent stories and micro-interactions between crew.”
- “I love the charm of the setting, and really look forward to the devs adding in more personality and story, especially to the princess' scenario.”
- “It's exceptionally sad because there was supposed to be a lot of content coming along the way, like new ships and storylines; however, now there is just one storyline and with the same ship, which is not much considering you're paying almost 30€ for it.”
- “Right now it plays like it's on rails and any story content or random events aren't there, so the game's main failing right now is its core gameplay loop is quite bland.”
- “More specifically, the game's description made me think there would be a focus on characters and storytelling, maybe random events about the crew's needs and moods... but there's nothing.”
gameplay
196 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
73%
6%
The gameplay of the game has been described as a mix of resource management and ship customization, reminiscent of titles like "Space Haven" and "Exogate Initiative." While many players find the core mechanics engaging and the art style appealing, the game suffers from numerous bugs, a lack of polish, and missing features, leading to a frustrating experience for some. Overall, it shows potential but requires significant improvements and content additions to fully realize its gameplay promise.
- “It is a great game, the art style is awesome, and so is the gameplay.”
- “Gameplay is heavily focused on resource acquisition and management which in turn allows you to build things on your multiple ship decks like metal extractors, medical beds (healing), and greenhouses consisting of various crops.”
- “Even at this early access stage, it's a fun game with challenging gameplay making you want to come back for more when you eventually have to start a new run due to mishaps!”
- “I wanted to like this game, but development has stalled and I don't see any of the major issues I had with the gameplay addressed in the patch notes.”
- “Unfortunately, there are a lot of bugs which makes gameplay a bit boring.”
- “The current bugs completely break gameplay.”
graphics
183 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
52%
2%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming retro anime aesthetic, reminiscent of classic 80s and 90s space operas, which evokes nostalgia among players. While the art style is considered delightful and visually appealing, many reviews note that the game is still in early access and suffers from various graphical glitches and performance issues that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are seen as a strong point, but players recommend waiting for further updates to address the existing bugs and improve performance.
- “The game is full of charm and humor, with colorful graphics and animations that evoke the classic space anime of the 70s.”
- “Its early sci-fi anime art style fills me with nostalgia and looks amazing, and I love the premise of the game, space battleship Yamato meets Battlestar Galactica.”
- “The graphics are cutesy cool and cartoonish; it's a nice blend of enough realism to keep things working, but cute enough that it's fun and a great aesthetic choice.”
- “Oh and graphics are ... bad.”
- “I really wanted to like this game, but it basically only has aesthetics going for it at the moment.”
- “Example: crew members' photos disappeared, crew stop building, crew stop delivering supply to build site, crew stop growing plant/biomass, graphics get worse the longer you play or get really slow forcing you to quit and reload.”
stability
81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
2%
95%
The game is widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and unresponsive AI, making it feel unfinished and frustrating to play. While some players acknowledge the potential and fun aspects of the game, they emphasize that the current early access state is plagued by significant issues, including corrupted saves and heavy lag. Overall, the consensus is that while the game shows promise, it remains a "buggy mess" that requires substantial improvements before it can be fully enjoyed.
- “I have enjoyed the game when I can get it to play properly with no glitches or crashes.”
- “The early access is bug-ridden and glitches galore.”
- “Still far too buggy and frustrating to enjoy at all; maybe it will improve with more patches, but this one hasn't really addressed anything useful.”
- “There are a lot of bugs; I've experienced some corrupted saves, some annoying glitches, and I've had to mess around with save-scumming to avoid some other bugs and annoyances too.”
music
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
59%
7%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the main soundtrack for its nostalgic and uplifting qualities reminiscent of 1970s and 80s animation, while some criticize the pause screen music as repetitive and unpleasant. Overall, the production quality is noted as high, with a strong emphasis on atmosphere and sound design, though some players express a desire for better balance and options to customize the music experience. Despite some negative feedback, the soundtrack is often described as a highlight, contributing significantly to the game's charm.
- “The soundtrack is a masterpiece at reflecting romantic 1970's animation.”
- “It knows what it wants to be - Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato simulator with incredible art, music, and atmosphere.”
- “The music fills me with a sense of hope and the soundtrack is a superb delight.”
- “I make use of the pause screen frequently to consider builds, and the music there is like an elevator style which evokes a smile the first time but quickly becomes nauseating, and thus I had to turn the music off, which is a shame as the main music is quite good.”
- “Also, the music makes my ears bleed.”
- “The soundtrack is the sort of thing you would expect to hear in an elevator.”
optimization
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
66%
23%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some players experiencing significant performance issues such as stuttering and sluggishness, particularly after extended play sessions. While some users report solid performance and high frame rates, others express frustration with the game's responsiveness and crew management. Many acknowledge the developers' efforts to address bugs and improve performance, but emphasize that further optimization is necessary for a smoother experience.
- “Performance has been solid for me and I get around 100+ fps at 5120x1440.”
- “Updated following some early patches: performance issues I experienced on launch are fixed, and now this feels like a really strong foundation to an interesting spin on the survival city builder genre.”
- “Overall there are a lot of bugs, a few performance issues, and a handful of things I would like added (namely a much more detailed and usable crew manifest) but given that the game is in early access and the devs are incredibly dedicated to improving as much as they can, I don't doubt that by full release it'll be one of my favorite games.”
- “They really should have left it alone on v0.3.0 and spent their time fixing bugs instead of introducing more content because they really messed up the performance of the game.”
- “The final update has caused a horrible stuttering problem that only gets worse the longer your playthrough continues.”
- “Great game with a lot of potential, but currently unplayable due to bugs and performance issues.”
grinding
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
18%
76%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly in managing crew assignments and navigating the user interface, which requires multiple steps to access essential information. Many reviewers express frustration with the lack of clarity and efficiency in resource management, leading to a feeling of needing "a second life" to complete the grinding tasks. Despite these issues, some players still enjoy the overall experience, particularly in the campaign.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Things are very tedious and invisible, and I just have to guess where to focus my resources.”
- “The UI is extremely tedious; you have to go through several steps to get information that should be accessible right at your fingertips.”
- “Switching your crew roles is so tedious I gave up.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
The game, currently in early access, shows significant potential for replayability with a solid foundation and engaging content, though some players note that bugs and design choices can hinder the experience. While many have invested considerable hours exploring its mechanics, opinions vary on the overall replay value, with some feeling it is substantial and others finding it limited due to implementation issues. Overall, the community expresses hope for future updates to enhance replayability further.
- “The game is still in early access, but it already offers a lot of content and replay value.”
- “I have now spent over 150 hours in this game just tinkering around and seeing what breaks, what doesn't, and replay value is still huge for me.”
- “The foundation is there, the premise is good, there is tension and pressure, and the game has replayability.”
- “This in fact makes the game almost unplayable and kills any replayability (your fuel is in the kitchen, your food is in the engine room).”
- “Replayability is limited.”
- “There are still bugs that forced me to save, quit and reload but it is definitely much more playable.”
humor
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is a mix of charming, colorful animations reminiscent of 70s space anime and the quirky personalities of its characters, particularly the pig and robot. While some players find the AI's antics—like crew members neglecting basic needs for socializing—amusing, others feel the humor can become repetitive. Overall, the game has potential for more comedic elements, especially with hopes for additional side characters and humorous scenarios.
- “The game is full of charm and humor, with colorful graphics and animations that evoke the classic space anime of the 70s.”
- “Love the 80s cartoon feel of the game, and love the pig and robot characters (except when the robot gets depressed and stops working) - I hope more side characters are added with abilities and more humorous 80s cartoon incidents.”
- “Not being able to manually control crew members and being able to dictate their jobs and/or priorities is... an interesting decision to have in a game like this... the AI needs work as crew members can be rather dumb such as not prioritizing not starving over hauling your materials around... or having a chin wag with crew mates whilst dying of dehydration (admittedly it is a bit funny though...).”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game struggles to evoke emotional attachment, particularly in moments of stillness, which detracts from its overall impact. Players express heartbreak over the development pause, highlighting their fondness for the game and the community's shared experiences. However, concerns about the game's emotional morale system suggest it may not fully resonate with players even if development resumes.
- “Seeing that the devs had to pause development on this game was honestly heartbreaking, because it's easily one of my favorite management games yet.”
- “So you can imagine how incredibly heartwarming it’s been to see all of you come along after development has already been placed on hold and hear of the grand adventures you are all having!”
- “Then the rest of the crew began their emotional break spiral.”
monetization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with early access being perceived as a way to gauge interest while the developers simultaneously work on another project. Players express concern over the game's halted development due to financial issues, leading to accusations of it becoming abandonware. Despite these criticisms, some players appreciate the game's unique qualities amidst a landscape of generic titles.
- “The developers put this up as early access as a cash grab and to gauge interest.”
- “The game was good, but selling it as early access and then a few months later saying they don't have the money anymore so the development is frozen while also developing another game smells like a cash grab.”
- “I see the game being called abandonware and a cash grab.”
character development
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
50%
38%
Reviewers express a desire for deeper character development, particularly for the lower deck crew, indicating that while the character design, artwork, and audio elements are praised, the narrative depth and growth of characters could be significantly improved.
- “The artwork and character design, along with the music, are really calming, and the game is pretty to look at.”
- “Personally, I'd like to see more in the way of character development, even for the lower deck crew.”
- “Character design”
- “The character design, artwork, music, sound effects, and voice acting are very nice.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive art and music, effectively capturing the essence of a space battleship simulator. Players must navigate complex environmental challenges, such as managing atmosphere pressure and responding to emergencies, which adds to the tension and depth of the experience. Overall, the atmosphere enhances the gameplay, making it both engaging and challenging.
- “It knows what it wants to be - a Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato simulator with incredible art, music, and atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is immersive and engaging, making every moment feel intense and meaningful.”
- “That's not good when one of them starts a fire and 10 crew members run in to put the fire out with no success. After you see the fire spread, the only thing that you can do is vent the atmosphere, and this way you kill the 10.”
- “You've got to consider power, atmospheric pressure, production, as well as layout to enable your crew to perform their duties as best they can.”