Jumpdrive

Jumpdrive, formerly known as Paragon, is an ambitious space simulation game that attempts to capture the spirit of classic titles like Elite and Frontier. Players appreciate its retro-futuristic 80s sci-fi aesthetic, synthwave soundtrack, and vast procedurally generated universe that includes seamless transitions from space to planetary surfaces. The game offers exploration, trading, missions, and combat elements, appealing especially to fans of old-school space sims.

However, the game remains in an unfinished alpha state despite being marked as "released". Development has stalled for long periods, with many players reporting crashes, bugs, and broken gameplay features such as autopilot malfunctions and docking issues. The devs have largely gone silent, leaving the game feeling abandoned and unstable. Many players recommend alternative titles like Pioneer or Elite Dangerous instead. Overall, Jumpdrive holds promise but currently suffers from incomplete content and technical problems that hinder enjoyment.

Highlights

Players praise Jumpdrive's authentic retro 80s sci-fi atmosphere, including its detailed ship models, colorful planets, and immersive synth soundtrack. The game's vast, seamless universe offers extensive exploration opportunities with a mix of trading, missions, and combat. Many highlight the smooth transition between space and planetary surfaces without loading screens, which is rare for space sims. The game captures the nostalgic feel of classic Elite and Frontier games, appealing to fans of the genre. Additionally, the game runs well on modest PCs and features a relaxing, chill gameplay style with autopilot handling much navigation.

Criticisms

Common criticisms focus on the game's numerous bugs and stability issues, including frequent crashes during docking, saving, and loading. The autopilot is often unreliable, causing collisions or erratic behavior. Players report unfinished UI elements, confusing menus, and lack of tutorials making the game hard to learn. The game is criticized for being abandoned by developers with no significant updates for long periods. Many feel the "release" is premature, as core features remain broken or missing, and the game still carries alpha labels internally. Some accuse the developers of reskinning the free open-source Pioneer game without meaningful improvements.