League of Geeks offer this amazing aesthetical style that few studios can match.

The incomparable Armello immediately stood out from the pack for its stunning cinematics and eye-watering visuals, but kept us around with intriguing gameplay and fun-filled mechanics.

That game made such a big impact, selling over 2 million copies. It even converted players to the genre, turning them into fans of tabletop and strategy games, whether they wanted to play them or not.

So I come into Jumplight Odyssey with a similar sense of optimism, but equal understanding that this is early access, Armello didn’t get everything right at launch, and there’s almost certainly a lot more to come. Also, I don’t often play games of a similar nature so maybe LoG will strike lightning in the bottle twice.

Sadly, not quite. The potential is clear for all to see with this space simulator with more beautiful animation, some clever ideas that put the spotlight on the individual, and daring space battles that make for a challenge. But right now it all feels just a little bit too rough.

The game has this cute early 70s cartoon vibe to it and it’s up to you and your crew to reach the Forever Star, all while trying to get away from Admiral Voltan and the Zutopans. I love the setup and really got hooked in by the intro. Frankly, I’m not sure how you wouldn’t be.

To fulfil such lofty ambitions, you have to manage your crew directly, build new areas of your ship, tend to everyone’s needs and reach your end goal, following a wider story. For now, there’s just the one main story mission – Euphora’s Odyssey – but the game is due to receive more story updates over the course of the early access period. It’s a smart plan to space these out and a good way to keep players invested, however long the campaign may be.

But the thing that immediately grabbed me was quite how buggy the experience felt, between getting around the ship, crew members getting stuck, no easy way to track resources and follow the tasks you want to complete. You can’t even prioritise your buildings at this point. Even for an Early Access title, I was a little taken aback by just how … well … early it feels.

Especially with the regular stuttering and buffering that disrupts you when moving around, though that’s absolutely an optimisation thing which will be ironed out over time. I also had quite a few hard crashes during my various playthroughs. Which was unfortunate, but not entirely unsurprising.

But beyond that it never seemed particularly clear about what I’m supposed to be doing or even how I’m supposed to do it and where I need to be. Screens just seemed to be lacking clear information and, in truth, tutorialisation felt quite vague and passive. I often found myself a little bit aimless, as if I was lacking some context from an earlier screen that never popped up. Or maybe I’m just dumb, I don’t know.

Finding the right person for the job or someone you need to help also isn’t as straight forward as it probably should be. As for combat, luck just really wasn’t going my way as I kept missing most of my shots, getting lucky on one or two others. I also seemed to get regularly caught up in ship fires which spread a little bit too wildly. Those probably need to be toned down a bit.

If all that sounds wildly chaotic, it is. And that’s kind of where the game shines. It gives off those Two Point Hospital vibes of lots of things going on at once and you having to do more than any one person should have to in a day’s work. Put it this way, you more than earn your paycheck.

The beautiful art style also helps compliment this a lot, easing you back into things when you feel a bit frustrated. Coupled with the knowledge the game is in Early Access, I felt pretty forgiving through most of time in Jumplight Odyssey. But past that, for now at least, I’m not seeing anything particularly groundbreaking or memorable that stands out about the game. At least, not yet.

And once you are past the beautiful art and the game is further along in Early Access, the need to find that engaging hook is going to be all the more necessary. Substance over the style.

Perhaps it comes with the story? Perhaps we haven’t seen some of the key mechanics to come, like the additional captains? Maybe further optimisations will allow the game’s features to really stand out. Right now, it’s hard to say, but what I will say is I’m incredibly impressed by the developer’s responsiveness and regular updating of the game. Their willingness to listen, to keep iterating and improving goes a long way in my estimation and it will serve them very well, especially when in Early Access.

Like I said at the top of this, there is something here. What that is, I’m not sure, but it will surely become clearer over time. I do think the developers are tackling an interesting idea in an endearing way.

And because of that, to be honest, I nearly didn’t write anything as it probably seems like I don’t have a lot of good things to say about Jumplight Odyssey right now. That’s kind of because I don’t, but I do have hope for the game’s future.

I’ve seen so many Early Access projects fail or lose their way and I don’t want that to happen with this one. I truly want to see these developers succeed because I loved Armello so very much. So they will need time to feel out the process and work through feedback, understanding community needs. That said, I’m barely seeing anything out there about this game and I don’t think it deserves to be forgotten either. Something so sadly and easily done in this climate.

It’s the age old conundrum and tricky balance of wanting to raise awareness about something but because of what you think and hope it will be and not what it currently is.

Being honest, this doesn’t give me the same spark Armello first did, but there is an interesting game layered underneath this, with some clever ideas, interesting potential and an unforgettable visual style. I like how different it feels and I’m at least compelled to revisit at a later date.

Because I absolutely trust in the process and know the studio will find a way to get things on course. But for now, I would say be wary as this one is super early in development and there’s lots of work to do. Equally, the developers need support to make sure they can see through on this journey and not leave it cast adrift among the stars.

Whatever happens, I’ll be keeping a close eye.