The current state of Jumplight Odyssey sets a clear vision for what the developer is trying to achieve and, hopefully, what the game will become. The gameplay loop and how you engage with the game have a strong foundation. However, despite some changes from its pre-release state to a couple of weeks post-launch, there are still tweaks to be made and areas to be filled before it is a universal recommendation.

A stylish, retro anime opening cinematic welcomes you into your Odyssey as you seek to deliver the SDF Catalina and the remnants of your world to the Forever Star while being bared down upon by the villainous Zutopons. It is an intriguing concept that has been translated well into the gameplay. The Zutopons are an ever-present threat as they advance on your position, forcing you to make numerous little jumps or conserve fuel for less frequent, longer distant jumps. I did generally outpace them in my runs and was only caught when I let them catch me (I swear), but their presence in the star map and the ominous time to engagement remained an ever-present factor in my decision-making.

The core of Jumplight Odyssey’s gameplay loop is present in its Early Access Release and presents an enjoyable loop to engage with. Jump to a coordinate, send out your shuttles to engage in surveying and resource gathering while making further modifications to your ship, setting building plans with the resources available, and watching your crew members go about the orders.

While the anime-style aesthetic is enough to draw people in, do not be fooled by it into thinking you are in for a casual space management romp. Jumplight Odyssey is, first and foremost, a resource management sim, severely restricting your available resources and how quickly you can locate more. Jumplight Odyssey presents you with high-level information on these resources and current onboard problems, helping you connect the dots of how to turn these resources into a solution. These solutions can sometimes be logical – I was told that some of my crew were depressed, so I investigated what I could build in the medical bay. Lo and behold, I would eventually be able to build a therapy pod for my crew. The problem was that I needed to create several items before I got to the therapy pod, and with the slow nature by which you ramp up your starship, the number of depressed crew members grew and grew before I could adequately address it.

This hints at the biggest problem I see with the Jumplight Odyssey, which often suggests you will have more control than you currently do. This is especially evident when it comes to managing your crew, particularly their ailments, as you cannot directly assign crew members to engage in their own self-care. Often, in my runs, I would have dozens of crew complaining of being hungry. All the while, I have the ship on green alert (meaning that crew would rotate work shifts and theoretically live their lives) and an abundance of food and seats in the mess. I have seen the AI improve already in the several weeks I have had access to the game, but the crew-related systems leave a bit to be desired, with the touted crew mate interpersonal relationships and stories also needing more time to develop.

It is almost uncanny how the story of Jumplight Odyssey is analogous to its current state in Early Access, with both the game and the flagship SDF Catalina in functional yet imperfect states, as both seek to work towards optimisation, development of systems and eventually the salvation of the Forever Star/ 1.0 Launch.

(Jumplight Odyssey code provided for review)