Next Jump’s Quick Stages Make For Fast Fun For Shmup/Tactics Fans

Next Jump, a mixture of shmup and tactical play, offers short stages so that bust players can quickly and easily sneak in a level or two no matter how busy they are.

Next Jump offers players classic shmup action, pitting them against enemy ships that will shower the screen with shots as the player tries to weave between them. However, it uses turn-based play, having players and enemies choose actions like firing and moving around, then having all of those actions occur for a few moments before asking players to make decisions again.

This decisions offers a tactical slant on the normally twitchy, precise combat of shmups, allowing players the time to consider their enemy’s movements and shots when picking where they want to go. Adding on procedurally generated stages of enemies offers new challenges each time the player goes through the game, though, so no one tactic will work each time.

Each of Next Jump’s stages features a very short board of enemies, giving players various generated situations and scenarios to work their way through. Players can go through several of these if they so choose, unlocking equipment and upgrades as they do so, but if they have little time, each of the game’s boards can be completed quickly for burst play.

Next Jump is available now on Steam.