New space game Jump Ship is the ideal alternative to Starfield and No Man's Sky

No Man's Sky is limitless, infinite. But in that endless simulated universe, I often find myself feeling adrift, wishing for a greater sense of direction and purpose. On the other end of the scale, Starfield, for all its ambition and visual splendor, is surprisingly narrow and contained. The cosmos is essentially a series of loading screens. Planets are either totally barren or rote, Fallout and Skyrim-style mission hubs. Both these games have strengths and qualities, but Jump Ship feels like a more balanced, playable middle ground. After surging up the Steam wishlist chart, and boasting incredible, seamless co-op play, you can finally try Jump Ship right now.

It's you, three friends, and your ship. Roles aren't fixed; depending on the circumstances, you might hot swap between the four of you. But typically, one person steers, one's on the turret guns, and one is in the engine room fixing and rerouting the main systems. The fourth person can help out with any of these roles – or leap off the side of the ship and use a jetpack to board enemy craft, and sabotage them from close range. This is the first half of Jump Ship. You have to travel through a series of random encounters – sometimes bandits, sometimes a destroyed supply craft that you need to board and strip clean – and keep your ship in one piece on the way. It's all seamless. You're fighting in space, but there are no loading screens or divisions.

The second half of the space game begins when you reach your destination. Again, without any cuts, you exit your ship and begin to explore the planet's surface. It's not fully free roam – this is a four-player co-op game, rather than an MMO or RPG. But the environments used for raids are still large and open. Using guns and other abilities, you shoot your way through enemy outposts, grab what you can, and fight back to the ship.

Chart a course back to base, successfully calculate a series of light jumps, and survive whatever gets in your way on the journey home. There are shades of FTL and Left 4 Dead in here, but also Hunt Showdown and Payday.

More than 700,000 people have added Jump Ship to their Steam wishlists already. Now, if you want to try it for yourself, there's a brand-new playtest. Available ahead of Next Fest, you can play the Jump Ship demo right here.

Alternatively, try some of the best multiplayer games, or look ahead to the best upcoming PC games on their way to you soon.

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